The worst mistake an email marketer can make is to get a reader’s email address and walk away. Getting the address is difficult enough, but what happens if that contact switches jobs, gets promoted or changes their primary email address. Prevent your list from getting stale with the following practices.
- Bounce Removal – make sure bad addresses are removed after a pre-determined number of bounces. Remember there is a difference between a hard and soft bounce. Hard bounces mean the address is bad; soft bounces mean there was a problem with the transmission, the server or the recipient’s inbox. eLoop automatically removes bounces from your data.
- Welcome Email – automatically send a welcome email after a new reader has subscribed. It should explain the features and services available to them and provide them with a connection to your company’s Web site and, ideally, a real-live person.
- Follow-up emails – follow up with contacts whose addresses continually cause problems.
- Managing Opt-Outs – your email service provider should automatically remove contacts that opt out from receiving messages. Make sure anyone choosing to opt out receives a confirmation message before permanently removing them from the list.