This article looks at marketing tools you are already familiar with but aims to give you creative ideas of how you can use these for building up your own house list of email addresses.

1) Email
Sending an incentivised email to a rented third party list can be an effective method of achieving opt-ins particularly in the B2B sector.

2) Website
Every time a visitor arrives at your website is an opportunity to capture their email address. At the initial point of someone visiting your website they might not be interested enough to phone you or buy online but they may be interested in receiving further information from you.

Make sure that you have a highly visible location for users to submit their email address. Where suitable make sure this is clearly displayed on your homepage.

3) Direct Mail
Direct mail is a particularly good method for updating your existing client records to capture email addresses. An incentive can be used to encourage customers to either send back a form with their updated contact details or to register online.

4) Telemarketing and Sales Teams
In B2B industries finding the right contacts within complex purchasing groups can only be achieved via sales teams. These employees need to be educated of the importance of collecting not only the email address of the contact but also the opt-in.

5) In-store Marketing
Retailers can use their in-store promotions and the point of sale to collect opt-ins. A perfect example would be a car dealership that could collect the email address and then send regular newsletters and notices detailing information such as the next recommended date for their car service.

6) Direct Response Advertising
Again whether an advert directs viewers to a website or to make a phone call this is another time when it is important to collect opt-ins.

7) Viral Marketing
Email addresses that are collated as part of a viral email campaign can only be used for the initial viral email. Therefore it is important to have a strong call to action to get them to register for further emails.

8) E-Newsletter Sponsorship
Advertising in a relevant e-newsletter enables you to reach a targeted audience very cost effectively. A call to action offering a particular incentive such as a free white paper in B2B industries or entry into a prize draw in B2C industries can be used to get the recipient to click through and then the user details are captured on a registration screen.

9) Trade Shows and Exhibitions
It is easy to meet hundreds of people a day at an exhibition. Using data capture tools such as light pens or simply capturing details on a hand written form will enable you to boost your list considerably.

10) PR
PR is not an obvious way of building an opt-in list. However by releasing research articles as a press release will drive traffic to your website where people can sign up for further updates.

To speak with a marketing consultant for some advice on building a list or any email marketing topic call Emailcenter on 01327 350921.