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A newsletter is an incredibly powerful marketing tool. It’s an inexpensive way to build and maintain a relationship with your customers, but it can also cost you if you don’t meet your legal obligations. If you are planning or currently managing an email newsletter, you are required by law to have a comprehensive privacy policy as you collect personal information.

Legal requirements in general

Most laws require that you inform users of your data processing activities (usually via a privacy notice) and – depending on the region – that you obtain users’ consent and/or provide them with an easy way to withdraw consent.

In general, these laws apply to all services aimed at residents of the region, which effectively means they can apply to your business whether it’s located in the region or not. This is even more relevant if you are using a purchased email list, as in such a case you may not know the recipient’s country of residence. For this reason, it is always advisable to approach your data processing activities taking into account the strictest regulations in force.

Read more about which laws apply to you here, or read our general legal overview here.

Inform users about your data collection activities

The vast majority of laws require that your privacy policy informs your users of your data collection activities in a way that is easy to understand, clear, and accessible.

It must contain information on the following points:

what data you process;

how you process it;

Purpose of processing (e.g. sending a newsletter or market analysis);

All Third Party Interests;

The user’s rights in relation to their data;

How to handle requests related to your rights;

The communication mechanisms actually used (e.g. email, paper mail);

How to protect your data

Third Party Requirements

Third-party apps and services must also comply with the law. Because of this, it is often imperative that all partners and customers using their services comply with regulatory standards. The vast majority of reputable newsletter management platforms have made it mandatory for users of their services to have a comprehensive privacy policy in place that clearly discloses their involvement and is compliant with the regulations.

Here is an excerpt from Mailchimp’s Terms of Service:

Will clearly describe in writing how you intend to use the data collected, including for your use of Mailchimp. You will receive express consent to transfer data to Mailchimp as part of this process and will otherwise comply with the privacy policies you have posted.

And one more thing from the Campaign Monitor Terms of Service:

You adopt and maintain a policy that complies with all applicable data protection laws and that is at least as strict as our Privacy Policy (as amended by Campaign Monitor from time to time). You acknowledge that any personal information that you provide to us has been collected with the consent of the individual concerned and that you have informed the individual of the purpose for which that information was collected and that you will give us that information for the purposes may provide use in relation to the Services. You acknowledge that we may store the personal information you provide to us on servers in the United States of America and you warrant that you have obtained the consent of those individuals to store and transfer their personal information in this way to have.

Where should you place your privacy policy

Generally, regulations require your privacy policy to be prominently visible and easily accessible throughout your website or app site, so simply having it in your footer can be enough. However, as part of transparency (which is itself typically one of the primary purposes of data laws) it is advisable that you also make your privacy policy available where appropriate; For example, link to it in both your signup form and email newsletter.

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Legal obligations when adding users to your mailing list

US law

Per the FTC’s CAN-SPAM law, you do not need consent before adding US users to your mailing list or sending them commercial messages. However, it is imperative that you provide users with a clear way to opt out of further contact.

EU law

As newsletter sign-up forms are data collection tools, EU law (namely the GDPR) makes it mandatory that you obtain the user’s informed consent before subscribing them to the service. Under EU rules, obtaining consent can be viewed as a two-part process, involving informing the user and obtaining verifiable consent through affirmative action.

If you notify the user, you must:

Be precise.

You must clearly state the type of email that the user will consent to;

Be clear and unambiguous.

The average user should be able to easily understand who they are consenting to;

Make it clear that signing up is optional.

Consent must be “voluntary”; You may not force users to join your mailing list or make it appear that joining the list is mandatory. For this reason, you must make it clear that signing up is optional. This is especially relevant if you offer free white papers (or e-books) for download. While the user’s email address is required to provide the service, signing up for your newsletter is not required. In such a case, you must not give the impression that subscribing to the newsletter list is mandatory and make it clear that it is optional.

So in practice, for example, if you also want to add people who download your e-book to your newsletter list, you should include something similar to the following under the e-book download form:

As can be seen in the example, users must be made aware that consent is in fact optional and not mandatory.

obtain consent

The act of consent must be explicit and verifiable.

The process for obtaining user consent must be straightforward and include a clear “opt-in” action. This means that mechanisms such as pre-ticking newsletter sign-up boxes at checkout are not allowed, as the EU regulation specifically prohibits pre-ticking boxes and similar “opt-out” mechanisms.

However, you can use any method that requires the user to take a direct positive action (this can include any verifiable consent action, including sending an email or clicking a checkbox).

You must provide users with the ability to withdraw consent.

According to the GDPR, users have the specific right to withdraw consent. This means you need to make withdrawing consent just as easy as giving it. This can easily be achieved by including a visible and valid unsubscribe link in your newsletter. Users should also be able to manage their email preferences from their account.

The consent obtained must be specific to the type of content being sent.

This means that the newsletter should only contain information that the user has agreed to. For example, if the user has only opted in to receive emails about your new products, you should not send them promotional emails about partner/third party offers.

In cases where you want to send more than one type of email to your users, you will need to obtain additional consent specifically for those uses, as you will need to have multiple consents for multiple purposes.

This does not have to be an additional form. In practice, you can simply add multiple gdpr checkboxes that will inform the user of any additional purpose and allow them to give their consent for those cases.

This applies in particular to direct email marketing communications (emails whose sole purpose is to directly promote products or services). In the case of DEM communications, you must obtain additional consent when sending emails about third-party products/services in addition to your own.

exceptions

There are some exceptions to the requirement for the type of active consent mentioned above. The exceptions are as follows:

Soft opt-in (where the recipient provided their email address when purchasing a product or service). If the email address was collected as part of a previous sales process on your website, you may use the information collected to send promotional emails about similar products and services. However, this only applies if the user has been adequately informed of this incident (e.g. by a notice on the sales page) and he does not object to this use.

Explicit form (when the purpose of the login mechanism is clear). So, for example, in a scenario where your website has a popup that invites users to sign up for your newsletter with a clear phrase like “Subscribe to our newsletter for access to discount coupons and product updates!” A promotion that the user executes by entering their email address would be considered valid consent.

Records of Consent

Because consent is such an important issue under the GDPR, it is important that you keep clear records of consent received. Records of consent should contain at least the following information:

The identity of the user giving consent;

When they agreed;

What disclosures were made (what they were told) when they consented;

Methods for obtaining consent (e.g. newsletter form, during the ordering process, etc.);

Whether they have withdrawn consent or not

While maintaining valid records is mandatory, it can present a technical challenge. Our consent solution simplifies this process and makes it easy for you to view, manage and export your recorded consents. You can read more about it here.

Single opt-in vs. double opt-in

While “single opt-in” only requires users to submit their information to be added to your list, “double opt-in” requires users to first validate their email address before being added to your mailing list . Validation is performed when users click on a specific link contained in a “verification” message sent to their email address.

This method allows you to ensure that the email address receiving your communication actually belongs to the person who gave consent, further ensuring you avoid high unsubscribe rates, the integrity of your list and the reputation of your preserve address. This registration method is considered best practice in many countries, especially in Germany and in the EU in general.

In several cases, German courts have ruled that a one-time opt-in procedure is not sufficient to demonstrate prior consent. An example of this would be the Celle Higher Regional Court, judgment of May 15, 2014:

In principle, the sender of (e-mail) advertising must state that consent has been given and that this has come in particular from the addressee… The sender of advertising e-mails can comply with this requirement using the so-called opt-in procedure”… in a reasonable manner way for each individual email address.

Legal obligations related to newsletter content

US law

Depending on where your customers live, certain laws regarding spam may apply. In the US, the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act sets rules for sending commercial messages, including email.

The main requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act are as follows:

Use truthful header information.

Your name, email address, and routing information (including domain) must be correct and correctly identify the sender of the message.

Don’t use misleading subject lines.

Subject lines must accurately reflect the message content.

Identify the message as an advertisement.

There is no specific method for doing this, but disclosure must be “clear and conspicuous”.

Let recipients know where you are.

You must provide your valid physical mailing address.

Monitor what others are doing for you.

Even if you’ve outsourced your email marketing to another company, the law can hold both you and the other company accountable.

Inform users about this and provide a visible opt-out option.

The “unsubscribe” option must be easy to identify and include a clear explanation of how the user can opt-out of receiving future emails from you. The notice must be easy for an average user to see, read and understand. A handy way to implement this would be to simply include an “unsubscribe” link along with an explanation informing the user of the option. For example, your statement could read: “You are receiving this business communication from [company name] because you have expressed an interest in our products and services]. If you no longer wish to receive these communications, you can unsubscribe by clicking here”. Under CAN-SPAM, the option to unsubscribe should be free of charge and should not follow a registration process. This means that users must be able to unsubscribe without incurring any fees, without having to log into their account. The FTC states: You cannot charge a fee, require the recipient to give you personally identifiable information beyond an email address, or get the recipient to take any action other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page of an Internet website as a condition of fulfilling an opt-out request.

unsubscribe requests

The unsubscribe link must be valid for at least 30 days after the email was sent;

You must respond to unsubscribe requests within 10 days

exceptions

Some types of email are exempt from most CAN-SPAM law requirements and are only subject to the requirement for truthful routing information.

These exceptions include emails whose primary purpose is to:

Transactional: These are emails related to transactions that have already been agreed, or emails that deliver goods or services as part of a transaction that the user has already agreed to (e.g. license key or e-book delivery) .

Relationship: These are emails notifying users (who already have a relationship with your service) of changes to product/service terms, features, or account information; this includes warranty, recall, safety or security information about a product or service.

Other (non-commercial) emails.

EU law

In the EU, the ePrivacy Directive sets general guidelines that are implemented individually by member states, however some elements (such as the ability to withdraw consent) fall within the scope of the GDPR.

In general, EU anti-spam regulations usually require that you:

Include an unsubscribe link in the email.

The withdrawal option must be clear, visible and easily accessible. This element falls within the scope of the GDPR and in particular the right to erasure; Therefore, you have a maximum of 30 days to honor user withdrawal requests. However, it’s worth noting that while the law can give you up to 30 days to comply with these requests, most subscribers don’t. It is therefore advisable to comply with opt-out requests promptly or risk being flagged as spam and jeopardizing the entire legitimacy of your associated address.

Clearly state the identity of the sender.

Disguised sender identities are prohibited; The information must be clear and simple.

Provide a physical company address.

A valid return address must be provided.

Clearly identify and specify the nature of the message.

You should clearly indicate the nature of the message being sent (e.g. promotional or not).

Avoid using incorrect or misleading expressions in your text.

Advertising in any form (including commercial messages) must not be done in a way that is likely to mislead the people to whom it reaches.

Some jurisdictions (e.g. Germany and Australia) may also require you to provide information to contact the sender. It’s always best to either simply follow the strictest laws, or check local anti-spam requirements specific to your recipients’ location.

Below is an example of a commercial communication that includes all the basic elements. The example includes elements such as name and address at the top of the email, but placement is entirely up to you, provided the information is visible and easy to find.

John’s Store Ltd [address] [city] [state] [zip code] [country] [Return email address (e.g. [email protected])] [Subject: New Arrivals for Spring! [your site name] [Type of email (e.g. advertising)] “Dear customer, we are pleased to be able to offer you our latest spring products. See something you like? You can purchase any of these items by clicking directly on the products in this email and you will be taken to our website where you can pay securely.” [Opt-out] If you no longer wish to receive communications from us, click click here to unsubscribe.

The terms described here also apply to other marketing methods that use electronic messages, including direct email marketing messages and viral marketing communications (eg, asking users to forward a marketing message to their friends).

consequences of non-compliance

Legal consequences

The legal consequences of non-compliance include hefty fines, ranging from tens of thousands to millions, in both the EU and US. But perhaps equally worrying are the other potential sanctions that may be imposed on organizations found to be in breach. These sanctions include administrative reprimands (for first-time violations), regular privacy audits, and liability damages.

In particular, the GDPR gives users the express right to complain to a supervisory authority if they believe that the processing of their personal data is unlawful. For example, if a case of legal infringement is reported to the authority, the authority can decide to carry out an audit of your data processing operations. If it turns out that some processing activities have been carried out unlawfully, not only will a fine be imposed, but you may be prohibited from further using both the data of the request and the data collected through similar mechanisms. This means that you risk being banned from using the entire associated email list if the use of the violation involved email address collection.

Regarding liability damages, both EU and US laws give individual users the right to compensation for damages resulting from an organization’s failure to comply with regulations. This means that you may face potential litigation if you break any regulations.

Other Consequences

loss of services

Some third-party services may make compliance with legal requirements part of their terms of service. In such cases, a violation of legal regulations can also be considered a violation of their provisions; Such violations may result in termination of service or possible permanent bans.

reputational damage

Failure to comply with your legal obligations can lead users to perceive your business as either incompetent or malicious. This can result in significant and lasting damage to public trust and your organization’s reputation.

Steps to legally compliant design of your newsletter process

What you need to do In terms of compliance, it is always advisable that you approach your data processing activities in accordance with the strictest applicable regulations. Regarding the newsletter process, compliance requires at a minimum that you put into practice the following: Define: your services;

the data collected from you;

the purposes of the collection;

the specific types of communications you may send;

your shipping method. Inform users about: any third-party service providers involved in your newsletter management process and include links to their privacy documents;

involved in your newsletter administration process and provide links to their privacy documents; their rights in relation to their data (including the right to withdraw consent). If you use Direct Email Marketing (DEM) for the German market, you must add a statement to your privacy policy that specifies the companies and the types of goods and services that are advertised through the newsletter. Obtain prior consent (depending on local law) that: is based on clear positive action;

informed;

Specific. Provide a means to withdraw consent that is: available in the newsletter itself;

easy to see and understand;

easy. Keep valid records of the consents collected: If you fall within the scope of the GDPR (which you probably do), you need to collect and keep valid records of your consents. Without these records, the consent you have obtained will be deemed invalid. Your consent records should include when and how individual user consent was obtained; exactly what the user was told at the time; and what conditions/legal documents were in force at the time consent was obtained.

Sending GDPR Consent Emails: Necessary or Bad Idea? With the enforcement of GDPR, many companies have been filling users’ inboxes with requests to renew their consent to marketing communications and data processing. Because of this, sending GDPR consent emails is difficult and should be handled very carefully. In general, consent is one of the six legal bases for processing user data. The others are: legal obligation, contractual requirements, vital interests, public interest and legitimate interests. If you already lawfully process (i.e. collect, access, store or otherwise interact with) personal data on the basis of one of these other legal bases, there is no need to send consent request emails – provided that this processing basis has been stated in your privacy policy and that users had easy access to the notice before processing their data. If this information was not available to users at the time, but one of these legal bases may currently lawfully apply to your situation, it is best to ensure that your current privacy policy meets the requirements so that you can continue to process your user data in a legally compliant manner. Can consent be transferred? Whether the consent is “transferrable” – i.e. there is no need to obtain a new consent or to rely on another legal basis – depends on whether the consent was obtained in a GDPR-compliant manner and whether you can prove this. Here are some questions to ask yourself: Was the user properly informed at the time? (Was there an easily accessible privacy statement that included all the relevant information, including the purpose of the processing, the processing method, any third parties that might be involved, and the rights of the users in relation to their data?)

Was consent given by verifiable affirmative action? (Was it given via a clear opt-in mechanism like clicking a checkbox? Quick note: if your opt-in process included pre-checked boxes or a mechanism that prompted the user to opt out instead of opting out, then it was Your method is not compliant and you must either rely on another legal basis – if applicable – or obtain a new valid consent).

Was the consent given voluntarily? (Did you realize that signing up is optional and not mandatory?)

Was the consent specific? (Have you clearly stated in detail which users will be consented to, and has consent been obtained specifically for each individual purpose? See example here)

Have you given users the ability to withdraw their consent?

Do you have appropriate records of these consents? (Were the consents and data protection notices documented for the users at the time of collection; can you prove that the consents were obtained in a compliant manner?) If the consents I have obtained in the past have not been GDPR-compliant, what are my Possibilities? Using consent as a legal basis in the past does not mean you need to do so now. It might even be inadvisable to do so, especially if you are not entirely sure how you collected the contact information/data in the first place (e.g. illegitimately acquired email lists) or if you cannot prove that you have collected them in a legally compliant way. To be clear, if you are contacting users to ask for their consent when you currently have no legitimate legal basis at all to obtain their data/contact information, you are not only violating the GDPR, but also the existing data protection directive. Another reason for assessing whether or not another legal basis may apply as a ground for processing in these cases is that, strictly speaking, if you do not have the necessary consent to contact users, you probably do not have the necessary consent either to ask for their consent via email. If no other legal basis is acceptable in your case, you may need to seek consent again. A notice on your website or social media posts are some of the legitimate ways you can let users know that they need to sign up if they want to keep in touch. Note Legal bases cannot be “chosen” as such, as they must lawfully apply to your situation. When considering whether or not a legal basis is applicable, please be sure to review it with your solicitor as determining the correct legal basis can be very important and difficult.

How iubenda can help

Privacy Policy

Our Privacy and Cookie Policy Generator makes it easy for you to meet your disclosure obligations by enabling you to provide your users with comprehensive information and to define the necessary details in a legally compliant manner.

The process is straightforward and intuitive. Just click to add your services, enter your web/app owner and contact information and integrate.

1. Add your services

Click Add Service and start typing the name of the service you want to add. In this case, it’s Newsletter;

and start typing the name of the service you want to add. In this case it is ; Select and customize the mailing list or newsletter clause by simply adding the specific types of personal data you collect (our attorney-created, pre-packaged clauses automatically include the relevant user rights disclosures and service definitions based on yours inputs here);

Clause and customize it by simply adding the specific types of Personal Data you collect (our attorney-created, pre-packaged Clauses automatically include the relevant User Rights Disclosures and Service Definitions, based on your inputs here); If you use a third-party service as part of your newsletter management process, e.g. Mailchimp, Constant Contact, etc., you should also add these third-party services (you may also add an “email opt-in form” or other collection forms, if applicable);

If you are promoting third party services/products in any way through your email newsletter, you should review the direct email marketing clause and add it as appropriate.

clause and add it if applicable; If you want to add a custom clause, just click the Create Custom Service button and fill out the built-in form.

2. Enter your web/app owner and contact details

Enter name and full address;

Enter email address.

Congratulations! Your policy has been created. Just check that all the information is correct, then:

3. Embedding

Customize the look of your button or just select a text link;

Choose the embedding method between footer widget, direct link and text in text;

Just embed wherever you want! As mentioned above, you need to choose a location that is easily accessible and visible to users. For the sake of transparency, you should also consider embedding the policy in your newsletter as well.

More information about the privacy policy can be found here.

Records of the consent you collect

Our consent solution simplifies the process of collecting and maintaining compliant consent records. It allows you to track every aspect of the consent (including the legal or privacy notices and the consent form presented to the user at the time consent was obtained) and the user’s associated preferences.

To use, just enable the Consent Solution and get the API key, then install it via HTTP API or JS widget and you’re done; You can retrieve consents at any time and keep them up to date.

For a list of all the features of the consent solution click here, read the overview guide here, or for a hands-on tutorial using a common scenario, read our guide to using the consent solution with Contact Form 7.

Keep in mind that these compliance steps are specific to email and newsletter requirements. For more information on general website requirements, see our getting started guide here.

→ Get your questions answered live and learn more about the Privacy & Cookie Policy Generator and Cookie Solution by attending one of our free English language webinars.

See also

No matter what type of direct mail you want to send, you need a mailing list of people to send it to. The basic way to create a mailing list is to collect name and address information for everyone who will buy or show an interest in your product. If you sell by mail, you already have this information. If not, you can deduct it from customer checks. Or you can hold a drawing and ask customers to fill out an admission ticket or toss their business cards in a bowl. Or just keep a distribution book by your tills where customers can sign up to receive mailers and advance sales notices. You can also collect names by placing a classified or printed ad and then collecting the names of people who respond to your ad. Online, you can ask people to subscribe to your monthly e-newsletter or provide contact information before they download your free e-book. Whatever you decide, it’s not difficult to put together a list of people interested in your products or services.

The list you create using the names of your own customers is called a “house list.” It’s important to keep an ongoing list of your current and past clients. But if you’re starting out and your house list is meagre, or if you’re trying to expand your business, consider renting a mailing list, either by contacting the company you want to rent from directly or by using a list broker .

Any business that mails goods or information to its customers—catalog companies, magazine publishers, manufacturers, etc.—usually has a list manager who handles mailing list inquiries and orders. For example, if you know that subscribers to Modern Photography magazine are likely to be good prospects for your product, you can rent the subscriber list directly. Another good source is local newsletters or membership lists from groups. Many organizations let you use their membership lists; these can be very inexpensive.

If you’re not sure whose list you want, contact a mailing list broker. List brokers know all the lists available and can advise you on what type of list is best for your business. Many can also create custom lists based on your needs. Brokers can be found in the Yellow Pages under “Mail order lists” and “Mail order services” as well as in the classified ads of mail order magazines. Another source is the bimonthly Standard Rate and Data Service Direct Marketing List Source, available at most libraries.

Some list companies allow you to try a list before you buy it. Rental costs typically range from $50 to $80 per thousand names. This is for single use only. (List owners usually “seed” their lists with their own names and addresses so they can tell if you’re using the list more than once.) Lists usually come on CDs, so you can easily use them with your computer. others ship pre-printed names on shipping labels.

Most experts agree that hiring fewer than 5,000 names isn’t worth it, mainly because a large mailing doesn’t cost much more per piece than a small mailing and the return is higher. So start with about 5,000 names for your first mailing and consider it a test.

If your answer is less than 1 or 2 percent, something is wrong. Either the market isn’t right for your product, your mailer isn’t attention-grabbing enough, or your prices are too high. If you get an answer of 2 percent or more, you’re on the right track.

Once you’ve developed a complete mailer, continue testing your inserts, adding or removing a key element at a time and tracking any changes up or down in response.

For information about the Wikipedia mailing lists, see Wikipedia:Mailing lists

System or list for multiple email recipients

A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people who subscribe to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as “the mailing list” or simply “the list”.

The transmission can be paper-based or electronic. Each has its strengths, although a 2022 article claimed that “direct mail still brings in the lion’s share of revenue for most organizations.”[1]

Types [ edit ]

At least two types of mailing lists can be defined:

An announcement list is closer to the original sense, where a “mailing list” was used by people as recipients of newsletters, magazines, or advertisements. Traditionally, this was done through the postal system, but with the advent of email, the electronic mailing list became popular. This type of list is mainly used as a one-way information conduit and is only allowed to be “posted” by selected people. This can also be referred to as the newsletter. Newsletters and promotional email lists are used in various industries as part of direct marketing campaigns.

closer to the original sense where a “mailing list” of people was used as recipients for newsletters, magazines or advertisements. Traditionally, this was done through the postal system, but with the advent of email, the electronic mailing list became popular. This type of list is mainly used as a one-way information conduit and is only allowed to be “posted” by selected people. This can also be denoted by the term. Newsletters and promotional email lists are used in various industries as part of direct marketing campaigns. A “discussion list” allows subscribed members (sometimes even people outside the list) to post their own articles, which are sent to all other members of the mailing list. Recipients can respond in a similar manner, allowing actual discussion and information sharing to take place. Mailing lists of this type are usually topic-oriented (e.g. politics, scientific discussions, health problems, joke contests) and the topic can range from very narrow to “whatever you think might interest us”. In this they are similar to Usenet newsgroups, another form of discussion group that may have an aversion to off-topic news.

Historically, mailing lists preceded email/web forums; both can provide analogous functionalities. When used in this way, mailing lists are sometimes referred to as discussion lists or discussion forums. Discussion lists offer some advantages over typical web forums, so they are still used in various projects, especially Git and Debian. Advantages over web forums include the ability to work offline, the ability to sign/encrypt posts via GPG, and the ability to use email client features such as email. As filters to use.

Pursuit[ edit ]

Mailers want to know when mail will be delivered, in part to know how to staff call centers. Salting (or seeding) their lists allows them to compare delivery times, especially when time of year affects arrival delays.[2] It can also provide information about poor specimen handling.[3]

Subscribing to an email list makes it easier to track who may have “borrowed” the list without permission.[4]

More definitions[ edit ]

When similar or identical material is sent out to all subscribers to a mailing list, this is often referred to as a mailing or blast. A list for such use can also be referred to as a distribution list.

Legitimate (non-spam) mailing lists allow individuals to subscribe or unsubscribe themselves.

Mailing lists are often rented or sold. When renting, the renter undertakes to only use the mailing list at contractually agreed times. The mailing list owner usually enforces this by “salting” (referred to as “seeding” in direct mail) the mailing list with fake addresses and creating new salts for each time the list is rented. Unscrupulous renters can try to circumvent Salts by renting multiple lists and merging them to find the common, valid addresses.[5]

There are mailing list brokers that help organizations rent out their lists. For some list owners, such as Companies such as specialized niche publications or charity groups can have their lists among their most valuable assets, and mailing list brokers help them maximize the value of their lists.

A mailing list is simply a list of e-mail addresses of people who are interested in the same topic, are members of the same research group, or take classes together. When a member of the list sends a note to the group’s special address, the email is sent to all members of the list. The main advantage of a mailing list over things like web-based discussions is that new messages are immediately sent to subscribers’ mailboxes as soon as they become available. A mailing list can sometimes also include information such as phone number, mailing address, fax number, and more.

Electronic mailing list[ edit ]

An electronic mailing list, or e-mail list, is a specialized use of e-mail that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users. It is similar to a traditional mailing list – a list of names and addresses – such as might be maintained by an organization to send publications to its members or clients, but typically relates to four things:

a list of email addresses,

the people (“subscribers”) who receive email at those addresses, thereby defining a community gathered around a topic of interest.

the publications (e-mail messages) sent to these addresses and

a reflector, which is a single email address that, when designated as the recipient of a message, sends a copy of that message to all subscribers.

Mechanism[ edit ]

Electronic mailing lists are usually fully or partially automated through the use of special mailing list software and a reflector address set up on a server capable of receiving e-mail. Incoming messages sent to the reflector address are processed by the software and, depending on the content, processed internally (in the case of messages containing commands addressed to the software itself) or distributed to all e-mail addresses registered in the mailing list .

A web-based interface is often available, allowing users to subscribe, unsubscribe and change their preferences. However, mailing list servers existed long before the World Wide Web,[6] so most also accept commands via email to a specific email address. This allows subscribers (or those who wish to become subscribers) to perform tasks such as subscribing and unsubscribing, temporarily pausing messages from being sent to them, or changing available settings – all via email. The usual format for sending these commands is to send an email simply containing the command followed by the name of the electronic mailing list to which the command belongs. Examples: Subscribe to anylist or Subscribe to anylist John Doe.

E-mailing list servers can be set up to forward messages to subscribers of a specific mailing list, either individually as they are received by the list server, or in digest form, which aggregates all messages received by the list server on a given day into an E -Mail sent to subscribers once a day. Some mailing lists allow individual subscribers to choose how they want to receive messages from the list server (individual or digest).[7]

history [edit]

Mailing lists were initially scientific mailing lists.[8] The genealogy of mailing lists as a means of communication between scientists can be traced back to the early days of Arpanet. The aim of the computer scientists involved in this project was to develop protocols for communication between computers. They also built the first tools for human-computer mediated communication. By and large, the scholarly mailing lists can even be viewed as the modern version of the Enlightenment salons designed by scholars for scholars.[9]

The “branched conversation” structure (where the title of a first post defines the subject of a series of replies, thus forming a thread) is a typical and ubiquitous discourse structure within lists and forums of the Internet. It is central to the structure and topicality of debates within mailing lists as an arena or public in Habermas formulation. The Flame Wars (as the most vivid episodes) provide historians with valuable and unique information to understand what is at stake in the communities gathered around Lists.[10]

Anthropologists, sociologists, and historians have used mailing lists for field research.[11] Topics include TV series fandom,[12] online culture[13] or scientific practices[14] among many other academic studies. From the historian’s point of view, the issue of preserving the legacy of mailing lists (and the legacy of Internet forums in general) is essential. Not only the text of the message corpus has yet to be archived permanently, but also the associated metadata, timestamps, headers that define topics, etc. Mailing list archives present a unique opportunity for historians to examine interactions, debates, and even tensions that are uncovered a lot across communities .[15]

List Security[edit]

Precautions are taken on both discussion lists and newsletter lists to avoid spam.

Discussion lists often require each message to be approved by a moderator before it is sent to the rest of the subscribers (moderated lists), although higher-traffic lists usually only moderate messages from new subscribers. Businesses that send promotional newsletters have the opportunity to work with whitelisted mailing lists, who agree to standards and heavy fines from ISPs if any of the opt-in subscribers complain. In exchange for their compliance and agreeing to prohibitive fines, the emails sent by whitelisted companies are not blocked by spam filters, which can often redirect these legitimate, non-spam emails.[16]

Subscription[edit]

Some mailing lists are open to anyone who wants to join, while others require approval from the list owner before joining. Joining a mailing list is referred to as “subscribing” and leaving a list is referred to as “unsubscribing”.

Archive [edit]

A mailing list archive is a collection of past messages from one or more electronic mailing lists. Such archives often include search and indexing capabilities. Many archives are directly related to the mailing list, but some organizations, like Gmane, collect archives from multiple mailing lists hosted by different organizations; Therefore, a message sent to a popular mailing list can end up in many different archives. Gmane had over 9,000 mailing list archives as of January 16, 2007. Some popular free software programs for collecting mailing list archives are Hypermail, MHonArc, and FUDforum.

List washing[ edit ]

List washing is the process of removing individual mailing list entries. These mailing lists usually contain email addresses or phone numbers of people who have not voluntarily subscribed. An entry will be removed from the list upon receipt of a complaint. Only complainers are removed through this process. It’s widely believed that only a small fraction of those who are harassed with unsolicited email end up filing a proper complaint. Since most of those who didn’t sign up voluntarily remain on the list, and only the complainers stop complaining because they’re being removed, this helps spammers maintain a “complaint-free” list of spamable email addresses . ISPs that forward complaints to the spamming party are often seen as helping the spammer with list washing, or in short, helping spammers. Most legitimate list owners regularly offer list washing and data deduplication services to their customers for free or for a small fee.

See also[edit]

If you’re still getting used to the new Gmail, you might be wondering where your contacts have gone. Fear not – they are easy to find once you know where to look.

In this step-by-step guide we’ll go over the following:

Here’s how to get to Gmail and find your contacts

How to add new contacts (two ways)

How to manage your contacts (check for duplicates, create labels/groups)

How to import and export your contacts

So let’s start.

Step 1: Open Gmail

Go to your Gmail account and look at the home page. In the upper right corner you will see a square of nine dots (these are your apps):

Welcome to Gmail 🙂

Step 2: Open your apps

Click on that square and you will see a drop down menu with all your available apps. The Contacts app may not be at the top, but you can drag the apps into any arrangement you like.

If you don’t see a Contacts app, click More below and add it.

Your Gmail apps

Once you click on the blue “Contacts” icon you will be taken to this screen (you may or may not have more than one contact – or you may not have one yet):

Gmail’s contact page

If you already have a set of contacts, you can find them here. More on that below (in step 5).

If you don’t have any contacts yet or want to add new contacts, you’re also in the right place.

You can create a new contact in several ways. The first way to create a contact, which you use if you haven’t already emailed the person you want to add, is to click the “Create Contact” button:

One way to create new contacts in Gmail – click the “Create Contact” button.

When you create a new contact using this button, you will be asked for some information to complete the contact entry. You can fill out as much or as little as you like – a name and email address are usually very helpful.

New contact information in Gmail

Then click “Save” and you’re good to go! New contact created.

But there’s another super easy way to create a contact – if you already have an email from the person. Just hover over the email address in your inbox and wait for the box to appear as below:

A second way to create a new contact in Gmail – hover over the email address

Then click “Add to contacts” and voilà – you’ll be taken to the same create contacts screen (see above).

If you’ve already added this person to your contacts, you’ll see “Edit contact” instead of “Add to contacts”.

Note: After adding some new contacts this way, you may need to refresh your browser to see those contacts.

You can do a lot more on the contact page. Let’s take a closer look.

First, you can see the people you email most often under the “Frequently Contacted” tab in the left sidebar menu.

Other ways to manage Gmail contacts – “Frequently Contacted” and “Duplicates”

Next, you can search for duplicate contacts in the Duplicates tab. Gmail will clean up duplicates for you so your contact list doesn’t get cluttered, but you can find those duplicates here.

labels

You can also create groups of contacts that you email frequently—like your team at work, your family members, friends, and so on.

To create a labeled group, go to the “Captions” tab in the left sidebar menu and click on “Create Caption” – then name it whatever you want. Like the core team of freeCodeCamp Unicorns. Then save it.

The Label tab in Gmail contacts

Now when you go to your contacts and hover over a contact’s profile picture, it becomes a checkbox. If you want to add this contact to the group, just check the box.

How to create a label (like a group) in Gmail contacts

Next, click the Manage Labels tab at the top and select the label you want to use:

The Manage Labels tab in Gmail Contacts

Once you select this label, all of these tagged contacts will be added for your future emailing pleasure.

If, for whatever reason, you want to delete someone from your contacts, it’s easy. Just hover over that contact/line and click on the three vertical dots that appear on the right:

How to delete a contact in Gmail contacts

Then click on the “Erase” option and confirm. Bye.

You might want to import new contacts in bulk, and you can do that using the import feature (in the same left toolbar menu).

Just click the “Import” button and then select a contact list you want to import to Gmail (in CSV or vCard format):

How to import contacts into Gmail

You follow a similar procedure if you want to export your Gmail contacts as a CSV or Outlook file:

How to export contacts to Gmail

As simple as that!

If you need to manage your contacts in any other way – update an entry, delete an entry or whatever you want to do – just go back into that contact list and edit it.

abbreviations

There are a few super quick and easy ways to get to your contacts.

If you don’t already use Gmail, just visit contacts.google.com in your browser. You can even bookmark it for easier access. If you’re already in Gmail, you can use a keyboard shortcut (if you have it enabled, check in your settings menu). Just type G followed by C and the contact page will open.

Or at least a much wiser hobbit.

Create a new contact group label: Under Labels on the left, click Create Label . Enter a name and click Save.

Add contacts to a group label: Check the box next to each contact name to select it. Click Manage Labels in the top right. Select the group or groups you want to add the contacts to. A check mark appears next to the selected groups.

Remove contacts from a group label: Click a group name on the left. Choose an option: To remove a contact, check the box next to the contact, click Manage Labels in the upper-right corner, and then click the group name.

and click on the group name to remove a contact. Click More next to the contact and click the group name to remove a contact.

You can access your contacts in Gmail on the web or in the Contacts app for Android.

In the People app, you can add contacts one at a time or enter multiple email addresses at once.

To delete a contact, select the contact and click Delete from the three-dot menu.

Check out Insider’s tech reference library for more stories.

It’s a good idea to add your most frequent contacts to your Gmail account — not only is it easier to email them, but their messages are automatically “whitelisted,” meaning they’re never accidentally sent be sent to the Gmail spam folder.

You can also use Contacts to store additional information about people who are important to you, such as phone numbers, birthdays, and other personal information. And anyone you add to your contacts is instantly available on all of your devices where you use Gmail, including your computer, phone, and tablet.

Here’s an overview of the main ways to use contacts in Gmail, including adding, editing, and deleting contacts.

1. Open Gmail on your Mac or PC in a web browser.

2. Click the Google Apps button (it’s shaped like a grid) in the top-right corner of your account icon.

3. Click Contacts.

You can find the Contacts app in the Google Apps dropdown at the top of Gmail. DavidJohnson

4. Contacts will now be launched and you can use it to add, search, edit and manage your contacts.

If this is your first time looking for the Contacts app, you may have to scroll down to find it. By default, the Contacts app is saved on the seventh row. If you use Contacts frequently, you might want to click and drag them closer to the top of the list.

Quick Tip: There is also a Contacts app for Android that you can download from the Google Play Store. However, if you’re an iPhone user, you’ll need to open Gmail in a web browser on your phone by following the steps outlined for desktop.

When you get an email from someone you want to add as a contact, you can do so in Gmail with just a few clicks.

1. On your Mac or PC, open Gmail in a web browser and click on the email message of the recipient you want to add to your contact list.

2. Hover the cursor over the contact’s name. You can do this either in the message list or in the reading pane.

3. In the pop-up contact details, click the Add to Contacts button to the right of the person’s name.

To quickly add someone to Contacts, hover over their name in your inbox and click the Add to Contacts button. DavidJohnson

After a moment, the Add to Contacts icon turns into a pencil-shaped Edit Contacts button, which you can use to add details or otherwise modify the contact entry.

Quick Tip: You can only add people to your contact list from Gmail using a web browser. This is not possible with the mobile app for Android or iOS.

You don’t need to add contacts from Gmail; If you’re using a web browser or Android device, you can use the Contacts app to add contacts manually. (There is no Contacts app for iOS.)

On desktop:

1. Open Gmail on your Mac or PC.

2. Click the Google Apps button at the top right of your account icon.

3. Click Contacts.

4. Click Create Contact at the top left of the screen and then click Create Contact.

There are two ways to add contacts using the Contacts app in a web browser. DavidJohnson

5. Enter the details for this contact. At a minimum, you should enter the name and email address, although you can add phone numbers, notes, mailing addresses, and other details. (Click Show More for more options.)

6. When finished, click Save.

If you want to add multiple contacts at once, there’s another technique you can use: you can add names or email addresses in batch, and then edit each entry with any additional information you like.

1. In Gmail Contacts on Desktop, click Create Contact and then click Create Multiple Contacts.

2. In the Create Multiple Contacts window, enter names or email addresses separated by commas.

3. When you’re done, press Tab, and then click Create.

If you typed just the name, Contacts creates a mostly blank contact with just the name; If you entered an email address, Contacts creates an entry with the email address in both the name and email fields. You can now search and edit these entries as needed.

Quick Tip: If you want to keep a copy of your contacts outside of Google, you can export your contacts from a web browser or Android device and save them to your computer.

On Android:

Gmail Contacts app is only available for Android, not for iPhone or iPad.

1. Launch the Contacts app on your Android device.

2. Tap the plus sign + at the bottom right of the screen.

Tap the plus sign at the bottom of the screen to add a contact. DavidJohnson

3. Enter the details for this contact. At a minimum, you should enter the name and email address, although you can add phone numbers, notes, mailing addresses, and other details. (Tap More Fields to see additional options.)

4. When done, tap Save at the top of the screen.

One of the main advantages of storing your most important contacts in Google’s contact list is that they are easy to edit and keep up to date. You can also save personal information, so birthdays and addresses are always easily accessible. To edit a contact:

1. Open Gmail Contacts on your desktop by following the steps outlined earlier in this article, or you can go directly to contacts.google.com in your browser.

2. Find the contact you want to edit. You can search for it using the search box at the top of the page or browse the list below.

3. Once you have found the contact, there are two ways to start editing:

Hover over a contact, then click the pencil-shaped Edit Contact icon that appears on the right side of the screen.

that appears on the right side of the screen. Click the contact, and then click Edit on the contact’s detail page.

To start editing a contact, just tap the pencil icon on the right side of the screen. DavidJohnson

4. Make the desired changes to the contact information. You can add or change personal information – to see all your options, click Show more.

5. To add a label to your contact, click the Labels button at the top of the page and select the labels to add (or create new ones). You can use these labels to easily send a group email to everyone with the same label.

You can assign a contact to one or more labels. DavidJohnson

6. When finished, click Save.

It only takes a moment to delete contacts from Gmail as long as you know where to look. First, open the Contacts app on your desktop using the steps outlined earlier in this article, or you can go directly to contacts.google.com in your browser. There are two ways to delete contacts:

If you just want to delete a single contact, hover over the contact and then click the three-dot icon on the far right of the screen. Click Delete from the drop-down menu and confirm the deletion by clicking Delete again.

, hover over the contact, and then click on the far right of the screen. From the drop-down menu, click and then click again to confirm deletion. If you want to delete multiple contacts at once, hover over the contact and then click the checkbox on the left side of the screen. Mark all the contacts you want to delete. Then click the three dots icon at the top of the screen and select Delete. Confirm the deletion by clicking Delete again.

You can find the Delete tool in the three-dot menu at the top of the page. DavidJohnson

The technique of deleting contacts on an Android device is similar. In the People app, tap and hold the contacts you want to delete until you see a tick indicating they’re selected, then tap the trash can icon at the top of the screen.

If you have an iPhone, you need to delete contacts in a browser.

A lot of people tend to think that mailing lists are relics when it comes to internet marketing. While many businesses today are focusing on social media marketing, email remains the most effective tool when it comes to online marketing.

Email has been around since the dawn of the internet, and it’s also easy to use. For businesses, email marketing has proven to be one of the best ways to increase online and in-store sales.

Advantages of the mailing list

A good mailing list has many positive benefits for your business. Here are some of them:

Communicates directly with your audience

A good mailing list allows you to connect directly with your customers. Often, these people have chosen to subscribe to your mailing list so that it’s easier for you to forward your message.

Because of this, mailing lists have a high conversion rate. This is a big reason why many ecommerce sites like Amazon or Lazada still rely on email marketing when they want to offer you something.

Inexpensive

Unlike brochures, flyers, and traditional mail, email marketing requires little money to be effective. While your promotions and designs still require a small budget, email marketing is really inexpensive compared to the other options mentioned.

Wider audience than social media

Social media has become one of the hottest online marketing tools. However, when it comes to getting your message across the internet, email marketing remains king.

Think about it, you probably know a handful of people who aren’t on social media, but you’d have a hard time thinking of someone without an email address. This is backed up by actual facts.

According to Optinmonster, there are about 2.6 billion email users compared to 1.7 billion Facebook users. Additionally, 77 percent of people prefer email over social media when it comes to permission-based messaging.

Faster word of mouth

Mailing lists are made up of people who are your target demographic and who are most likely to buy what you’re selling. A major advantage of mailing lists is that these customers are more likely to share your offer with other potential customers.

Buzz is one of the most valuable phenomena for a small business. Having a mailing list full of people who have volunteered to join your email list will most likely get the word out faster than other online marketing tools.

Guide to building your mailing list

If you’re convinced of the benefits of a mailing list outlined above, it’s high time you created one for your business. Here is a step-by-step guide to creating your mailing list.

1. Look for a great email marketing service

Before you start thinking about the rewards you can reap from a mailing list; You must first choose an email marketing service.

You must choose one that best suits your business needs, especially the size of your audience. Email marketing services offer different pricing models depending on the size and needs of your marketing. If you want to test the waters, start with Mailchimp. They have a freemium option for up to 2,000 subscribers, where you can send 12,000 emails per month, which is up to 6 email blasts to your 2,000 subscribers.

2. Come up with a great initial offer for your mailing list

The transfer of an email address is based on trust. People get hundreds of offers every day. You need to entice them with a compelling offer that will engage the right potential audience to join your list.

There are many ideas you can implement to make growing your mailing list easier. You can give them access to a webinar, give them promotional coupons, or give them something for free. The key is to give your prospects something valuable to trust you with their email addresses.

3. Create an opt-in form and place it on your website

An opt-in form is something you can place on your website for customers to sign up. A good opt-in form can make or break your mailing list. Ask too many questions and you run the risk of people not signing up at all. If this is your first time creating an opt-in form, a field for a name and email address should suffice. You can also use a tool like OmniKick to make your life easier.

Image by social triggers

It is also very important where you place it on your website. According to Social Triggers, the best places to place your opt-in forms for a higher conversion rate are the following:

In a feature box (see Social Triggers feature box above)

At the top of your sidebar

After each blog post

In the footer of your website

On your about page

In a small bar at the top of your page

In a popup box

4. Get your subscribers!

You can now start collecting emails and building your list. If your website gets a lot of traffic (check out our online marketing services), your opt-in form should have no trouble sending emails to you. Otherwise, there are other ways to grow your mailing list.

One idea is to use other people’s lists. You may know of complementary companies with a similar customer profile to yours who have already amassed an extensive list. You can contact them for a joint venture! Joint ventures are common in online businesses because advertising on each other’s lists can be beneficial to both businesses. Want more ideas for growing a mailing list? Ask us in the comments!

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be well on your way to building a great mailing list for your business. Email marketing is also something we help our clients with at 2Stallions, so get in touch if you’re interested.

Streamline Your Email Marketing (BONUS!)

While the previous steps should serve you well to start building your mailing list, at some point you will also want to improve conversions from your email marketing. Optimizing your email marketing should be your next step in making your emails more effective. Below are three basic tips for optimizing email marketing.

1. Test your subject lines

According to a survey published in Hubspot, 33% of email recipients open emails based on what’s in the subject line. That alone should be enough to tell you how important a good subject is to your email marketing. This is a trial and error process and will take some time. Try A/B testing your emails by splitting your list in two. Send them the same content with different subject lines and track which version gets better open rates. Your results over time will help you figure out the words and phrases that resonate more with your audience and get your subscribers to open your emails.

2. Segment and personalize

As your marketing list grows, your subscribers will begin to differentiate themselves. Instead of sending out one unified bulk email, try creating smaller groups of subscribers based on categories like gender, location, and past purchases. This allows you to sell more effectively by sending each segmented group of subscribers what they really need. A study found that the more targeted your emails, the better the engagement and response.

3. Social sharing buttons in emails

According to Marketing Charts, emails with social sharing buttons have a CTR (click through rate) of 115% compared to those that don’t. By integrating social media sharing, your email marketing has the potential to reach a much wider audience.

We’ve given you more than enough reasons to stop worrying and take action on your own mailing list. As a proven marketing method, email remains the most reliable and effective tool you can put your company resources on.

If you have any mailing list tips and experiences you’d like to share, we’d love to hear them. Our comments section below is waiting for your feedback.

The mailing list at every school is something you want to be on.

Basically, this means that you give the school your email address and they then send you news and information about their school.

What it really means is they know you’re interested and then you’re on their radar. This has several great advantages for you!

Why join the mailing list:

1. You show interest in the school by joining the mailing list. Schools like to know who is really interested so you can stand out from the crowd.

2. Find out about new programs and offers on campus. This is how you can determine whether the school suits you or not. The college will send you messages that can really tell you a lot about what it’s like to go there.

3. You find out when this college will be in your city or near you. That’s great because then you can go to the events and meet the actual people who will read your file and decide whether or not to attend. These guys are the best people to answer all your deepest questions about college, so it’s great to meet them!

To join the mailing list:

1. The easiest way to join the mailing list is to click the red “Request Info” button on your college list on CollegeMapper and you will be automatically added to the college mailing list.

2. If there is no red button next to the college name, you can join the mailing list by going to the admissions page of their website. Click “Request Information” and enter your contact information.

It’s never too late to join the mailing list, but you can start signing up anytime during and after the first year! Before that, it might seem a little strange to think about college, but once high school starts, it’s completely normal! Joining the mailing list is a great way to get in touch with your target universities!

Have you ever subscribed to an email newsletter on a website to receive weekly emails or free eBooks?

Then you are on the mailing list of that particular website.

But have you ever wondered, “What exactly is an email list and how does it work?”

The answer is pretty simple and once you understand everything on the subject, you can start building your own email list.

What is an email list?

An email list is a collection of emails you have received through your blog or website.

It is a collection of email addresses used by an individual or organization to send marketing material to multiple recipients.

Simply put, an email list refers to the total number of subscribers you have, which is basically a synonym for “the mailing list” or “subscriber list”.

What Makes an Email List Valuable?

If you’ve been around long enough, you probably know that email marketing has a higher ROI compared to all other marketing methods.

Fan Fact: Did you know that for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return exceeds $38?

This applies to most industries and basically shows how much you can earn if you decide to sell products/services to your subscribers.

In the long run, this makes email marketing one of the best digital marketing methods you can use to grow your business.

And while a solid ROI is often enough to persuade most people to take up email marketing, there are other reasons that should make list building a priority:

1. Email allows for more personalization

When emails are collected organically, businesses know the person is interested in their product and/or industry.

And depending on the signup process and other metrics, those subscribers can be further segmented into different email lists, making email marketing more personalized.

For example, if you offer a lead magnet called “Email Marketing Beginner’s Guide,” you can assume that everyone on your list will be a beginner.

On the other hand, if your lead magnet is a guide that talks about “best email marketing practices for Brazilian restaurants,” chances are your new subscriber owns or works at a Brazilian restaurant.

And just like that, you can break down your list into more specific subsets to send out more personalized emails with a CTA that takes into account the audience’s current struggles and challenges.

Apart from that, Mailigen allows for more personalization thanks to its large number of template designs.

2. Email keeps things professional

Even though many companies are currently using social media, email is still the preferred way to reach support teams.

Apart from that, email contact is also considered to be more professional when it comes to inquiries, complaints, partnerships and other reasons.

Finally, when it comes to product promotion, platforms like Instagram or Facebook will not get as much attention as personalized emails, since there is a large amount of automated and spam messages.

Different Types of Email Lists

A simple answer to the question “what is an email list” won’t get you very far. It’s important to understand the different types of lists and how they work best.

An email list can be created, purchased or rented for campaigns.

How to build an email list

Any email marketing expert will tell you that organic email lists built over time produce the best results.

And by that I mean your campaigns will get higher open rates, great click-through rates, and more sales.

For this reason, we will explain this step in more detail.

There are three main points to consider when creating an organic list. These are, in no particular order:

Quality – You want to make sure your emails are going to real people, who check their emails regularly.

Relevance – Your subscribers should belong in your niche and show interest in your industry.

Volume – Throughout the process of building your list, remember that the frequency of your email campaigns needs to stay the same. Changing volume as your email list grows can negatively impact your key metrics.

Step One: Start Early

Good advice to ensure effective and timely building is to start building your mailing list early. This allows your results to amplify over time while reducing the time you spend on email marketing efforts.

Step two: Use your existing contacts

Import all contacts of your existing customers that you have in your CRM system. This should give you a decent working start for your email list.

Start your list by sending emails to everyone on your contact list. You may have email addresses from previous campaigns or contact details from previous clients.

So use them.

Import them all into Mailigen and you’ll be one step closer to building a great organic email list.

Step three: add an opt-in incentive

Finally, find a creative way to “earn” your readers’ email addresses. The best way to do this is to create a lead magnet that users can use or download by providing their email address.

Most often, a lead magnet can be a free ebook, checklist, or short guide that solves one or more of your reader’s problems.

If you’re trying to build a listing for a software product, you can also offer free trials or discounts for your audience to take advantage of.

Renting an email list

Another option, mostly used by businesses looking to promote their products, is to rent an email list.

With this particular method, you never get an actual copy of the rented email list.

That means you never see the email addresses you want your campaign sent to.

Instead, the list owner is responsible for delivering your email.

Additionally, listing rentals sometimes provide extra exposure as you may be featured as a sponsor or partner in the renter’s newsletter for the listing.

Buying an email list

You can also buy an email list. The list of addresses you receive includes people who have never heard of you or your brand and may not be interested in your product.

Aside from very low open rates and minimal click-through rates, using purchased email lists can quickly lead to increased spam scores that can be devastating to your business.

Not to mention the legal issues you might encounter along the way.

The worst thing about bought email lists is that they just don’t work because:

They are overused (lots of people buy and send to the same list)

You do not have permission (emails are not collected with user consent)

they do not contain quality email addresses

Submitting to third-party lists is bad email marketing practice

Summarizing everything

In this article we aim to explain what an email list is and voila, there you have it.

If you’ve suffered from information overload and just want to remember one thing…

Then remember – essentially, an email list is a collection of emails that you can use to keep in touch with your fans and community.

You can either:

Build an email list

Rent an email list

Or buy an email list (not recommended)

From there, it’s all about testing to find out which method works best for you and your brand.

Now it’s your turn – build your email list.

And let us know your questions in the comments section below.

What you should know First, go to Home and select New Items > More Items > Contact Group. Name the group.

and select > > . Name the group. Then go to the Contact Group tab and select Add Members > From Outlook Contacts.

and select > . Finally, select a contact from the list and select Members to add them to the group. Add more members to the group as needed.

This article explains how to create a mailing list in Outlook. Mailing lists, also called contact lists and contact groups, group multiple email addresses under one alias, making it easier to send a message to everyone on that list. The instructions apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, Outlook for Microsoft 365, and Outlook.com.

Create a contact group in Outlook

Mailing lists are called contact groups in Outlook. Follow these steps to create a contact group and then add members to it in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and Outlook for Microsoft 365.

Go to Home and select New Items > More Items > Contact Group. Use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+L to get to the contact group faster. In the Contact Group dialog box, place the cursor in the Name text box and enter a name for the contact group. Go to the Contact Group tab and select Add Members > From Outlook Contacts. In the Select Members: Contacts dialog box, select a contact from the list, and then select Members to add them to the group. Add more members to the group as needed. Select OK to return to the Contact Group dialog box. Select Save & Close.

Create a contact group in Outlook 2010

Creating a contact group in Outlook 2010 is similar to later versions, but there are some differences.

Click Contacts. For a shortcut to Contacts, press Ctrl+3. In the Name text box, enter a name for the contact group. Go to the Contact Group tab and click Add Members. Select the contacts you want to add to the group. Click Members to add the selected contacts to the group. Click OK to return to the Contact Group dialog box. The contacts included in the group are listed. Click Save & Close.

Create a contact list on Outlook.com

Sign in to your Outlook.com account and follow these instructions to create a contact list.

Select the Office Application Launcher in the upper-left corner of the Outlook.com page, and then select People. Some users may need to select All apps to see the People option. Select the New Contact drop-down arrow, and then select New Contact List. Enter a name and description for the group (only you will see this information). In the Add email addresses text box, enter the name or email address of a contact you want to add to the list. Suggestions are generated from your contacts and displayed in a drop-down list. Either select a suggested contact to add to the list, or enter an email address and select Add if the contact is not in your address book. When you’ve added everyone to the list, select Create.

How to change Outlook.com contact lists

To modify a contact list after it’s created:

Open the Office Application Launcher and select People. Select All Contact Lists, select the contact list you want to change, and select Edit. Edit your contact list by adding or removing contacts, changing the description, or changing the name of the list. After making all changes, select Save.

How to delete Outlook.com contact lists

To delete a contact list:

Deleting a contact list does not delete the individual contacts in the list.