I'm just getting started building my email list. Help!

Dear List Envy,

First off, a good house list of 100 names is nothing to sneeze at. And if there is sneezing, it is only light sneezing, not the wet, gross kind of sneezing that makes people afraid to shake your hand for a week.

The important part is that you've started. You've got an audience that's interested in your business and a way to interact with them, and now you're thinking creatively about how to expand it. So here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Put a big signup link on your website.
You have a website, and you send nice email newsletters. It's time to connect the two, not with actual rope or string but with your Emma signup screen. That screen lets any visitor to your website instantly become a new member of your subscriber list. Some people even create a special Emma group (called "website subscribers," e.g.) to help keep track of who's signing up from the website.

2. Give people an incentive to sign up.
Naturally, you'll want to start by making the kind of emails you offer enticing in and of themselves. You might also consider rewarding new subscribers with a special offer - sign up for our email updates now and receive a free copy of our whitepaper, or 10% off your next visit, or a snowglobe. People like snowglobes.

3. Give people a reason to forward.
The people most likely to help you market are the 100 folks already on your list. Emma's send to a friend feature makes it easy for recipients to pass your emails on, but sometimes people need a bit more of a push. Consider creating coupons that can be used by up to five people (so send this to four friends...) or include a note at the top encouraging people to pass your newsletter on to their colleagues. Forwardees can then sign themselves up for your future emails using the sign up link at the bottom of your Emma emails.

4. Add Email Address to any form they fill out.
To collect email addresses, you have to ask for them. So put a signup pad by the cash register or the front desk. Add an 'email address' field at the bottom of credit card slips. End phone calls by saying, "Hey Bob, why don't we add you to our email list" (assuming in this example that the person's name is Bob and not Tony or Ron).

A restaurant using Emma put a fish bowl by the cash register several months back. At the time they had no email addresses and were starting from scratch. They now have well over 1,000 people on their list and counting - all loyal customers who were overjoyed at the prospect of getting weekly coupons by email. So take heart, start asking people to sign up, and good things will happen.

If you have any questions about building your list, just email or call. Hope that helps, and happy email marketing...

Cheers,
Emma