A business web site is a major connection point and should be thought of as a place to demonstrate your value along with an offer to visitors to stay connected over time. Adding a “Join My Mailing List” (JMML) link or sign-up box on your web site makes it easy for visitors to add themselves to your email list.

Your web site programmer can create a JMML link, or you can easily create one through your Email Service Provider as shown in Figure 5.2. Constant Contact allows you to create and customize your own JMML link and generates the HTML code so all you have to do is copy it and paste it into your web site.

When you’re creating and customizing your link, it’s better to avoid using the generic “Join My Email List” call to action as your only link or headline. Instead, include a brief but compelling message about the value of subscribing, along with a link to a privacy statement. Here are some helpful tips on how to make a JMML sign-up experience easy and engaging for your visitors, and a more effective marketing tool for you.

Since you are not physically involved in the interaction taking place during a web site sign-up process, you’ll need to find other ways to make the experience more personal.

One way is to provide a link to an archive of past email campaigns. This enables your visitors to view information that you have shared with your valued connections in the past before asking them to join your email list. You can read more about creating and utilizing email archives in Chapter 14.

Customer testimonials can also be used in this fashion to demonstrate the value of your email list before asking someone to join. Just have your customers share their insights into what makes your email list unique and ask their permission to post their comments near your JMML link.

You’ll also get more traction on your JMML links when you make them prominent on every web page and include a strong call to action. Don’t hide your JMML link on the “Contact us” page of your web site. It needs to be prominently displayed on every page for people to find it and sign up for your list. Find a prominent location on your web site near the top of the screen, and place your JMML link in the same spot on every page in your web site. That way, visitors don’t have to scroll to see the JMML link, and they can see the link no matter which pages they visit on your site.

Including something of value encourages more people to sign up for your list, but you need to choose what you offer very carefully to avoid attracting an audience that isn’t really interested in receiving your information. For example, a financial planner should offer a certificate for a free 60-minute consultation for anyone who signs up rather than a chance to win a trip to Disneyworld. That way he or she can be more certain that the people signing up for the list are interested in meeting a financial planner and not just meeting Mickey Mouse.

To invite your Facebook or MySpace friends to join your email list, you can add a JMML link by copying and pasting the HTML generated by your Email Service Provider in much the same way as you copy and paste the HTML to add it to your own web site.

Some social media sites don’t allow you to add complex HTML code. In these cases, you can simply create a link to your email list sign-up form or register a domain name or URL such as “JoinMyEmail-List.com” or “mycompany.com/email-list” and place the URL on the page as text or a link.

Email programs don’t read form fields, so you won’t be able to copy and paste a JMML box. However, you can include a link to your sign-up page, privacy statement, and images in most email signatures. Check the help files in your individual email program for instructions on pasting HTML or links into your email signature.

It’s also a good idea to place a JMML link or box it in your email newsletters, promotions, and other marketing emails. Why would you bother to include a JMML link in an email that gets sent to the people who are already on your email list? Because emails are often forwarded to friends and those friends represent touch points who can join your email list.

Also, if you archive your emails to your web site—and you’re using an Email Service Provider like Constant Contact who has enabled this function—the forward link on the archived email still works. This means people who visit your email archive page on your web site can forward information to their friends and colleagues as if the email was still in their inbox. You can read more about email archives in Chapter 14.

Inbound phone calls also provide a great opportunity to engage with a prospective customer and gather his or her contact information. Be sure to have a sign-up form near every phone to remind you and your employees to ask callers if they would like to be added to your email list. A great way to ask callers for their information when they ask a question is to answer the question and then let them know that you answer all kinds of similar questions in your monthly email newsletter. Then ask the callers if they might have an interest in receiving ongoing communications related to their question.

Mobile phones present a unique opportunity to ask for email addresses as well. Asking voice callers to join your email list is one way to do it, but people also use text messaging and email on mobile phones in increasing numbers. If your customers are on the go, ask them to join by texting their email address to your mobile number or by sending an email with “Join the Email List” in the subject or body of the email.

Networking also provides opportunities for partnering with other businesses or organizations. Think of a business or organization you have met that is related to your business, but not a competitor. You can work together to promote each other”s email lists to your customers. Some good partnership examples are a tax accountant and a financial planner, a public relations firm and a web site designer, or a theater and a nearby restaurant.

Placing a sign-up list on your desk or checkout point is a great way to ask for email addresses. It’s also effective to have a sample of your best marketing email printed out and displayed next to your sign-up list so people can see the value and start to recognize your branding.

I recommend separating all collected business cards into two piles. The first pile are people who asked for more information about your business. They’re expecting you to follow up. Go ahead and email them your Welcome Letter and attach a copy of your last email newsletter or a related promotion. Then, show them what they’ll receive in future mailings and give them an easy way to subscribe or unsubscribe if they prefer not to be on your list.

The second pile is for people with whom you had social contact but didn’t fully engage. They didn’t ask for, nor do they expect, any follow-up. Those are the ones you need to ask permission to send them your email newsletters or promotions. You can send those people a personal email asking for their explicit permission to be added to your mailing list, but don’t automatically add them just because you have their business cards. Remind them about the event where you met, asking if they would like to subscribe to your emailing list. Tell them how subscribing will benefit them. If they sign up, great! If they don’t, cross them off your list and cut your losses there.

When it comes to building an email list, you should always think about quality versus quantity. However, if you take the time to evaluate all of your touch points and train yourself and your employees to properly collect a prospect’s email address and permission, you will be amazed at how fast your list will grow.