A ‘house list’ is any list of e-mail subscribers that you’ve built yourself. Examples include a newsletter e-mail list, a list of past customers, or a list of customers who’ve asked that you notify them when you have a sale or announcement.
House lists generate the best e-mail marketing results.
So how do you grow your house list? Here are strategies I use:
The special offer: Invite users to subscribe to your e-mail list in exchange for a deal – a free consultation, a white paper, a discount, etc. all work.
Guilt: Provide customers with a special deal, then ask them to subscribe, reminding them of the great deal you just gave them.
Value: If you’re a consultant or offer some kind of valuable information, offer an exclusive tidbit of information in a newsletter.
Group Marketing: Offer someone a discount or special offer if they get someone else to sign up for the newsletter.
Forward to a Friend: This one’s easy, because nearly every newsletter tool out there offers ‘forward to a friend’ functionality. Every time a subscriber forwards your newsletter to someone else, they’re enticing that person to subscribe, too.