Best E-mail List Source? It’s DM

Want to build your e-mail list? Forget appends. Most companies are turning to old-fashioned offline media.

That’s one finding of a recent poll by Silverpop.

Asked to name their list-growth tactics, almost two-thirds of the e-mail marketers surveyed cited offline advertising and direct marketing. More than half mentioned trade shows or online marketing and search. Viral marketing was third.

This proves “some of the most successful channels are the traditional ones [including catalogs and direct mail],” said Elaine O’Gorman, Silverpop’s vice president of strategy.

The study also revealed a gap between planned list-building tactics and those seen as successful.

For example, 24% intend to use viral marketing, but only 10% see it as successful. Similarly, 21% want to do online marketing/search, yet just 17% consider it a successful strategy.

“There’s a bit of a disconnect,” O’Gorman said. “But is it the technique or the way the technique is being applied?”

Silverpop surveyed 321 e-mail marketers, including those from B-to-B and B-to-C companies.

LIST GROWTH STRATEGIES