But I don’t have a list…
How often have we heard this when we are talking to clients about the possibility of starting to use email marketing? – Lots! 
But it isn’t true. It just requires a bit of lateral thinking… …and a glass of your favourite tipple helps! The problem normally starts because when people think about email marketing lists they think in terms of lists of 1000s or more – I once saw an email offering a DVD claiming to contain a BILLION email addresses – you get the point, email marketing is normally thought of as bulk marketing which is both off-putting and overwhelming to many people. But here we are talking about TARGETED marketing – using email as a platform to keep in touch with people we already know. It isn’t the quantity of the list we are bothered about – it’s the QUALITY. One of our longest-standing email marketing clients started with a list of only 54 names – yet their email marketing consistently produces results – even now, some 4 years later, the client’s list is less than 200. As I say, quality is more important than quantity.
So where to start:
First, go and raid your desk drawers, briefcase or anywhere else you put business cards (while you decide what to do with them) and gather them all together – If your collection is less than around 30, I suggest you go and have a ferret around the various storage bins in the car too. Second, open a blank spreadsheet using your favourite ‘Office Suite’ – if you use MS Excel, you can get a simple Email Target List Template here. Third, – this is important – pour a glass of your favourite tipple. Fourth, transfer the information from the cards into the spreadsheet – I think 1 sip/glug every 10 names is reasonable. Once you have finished I think another glass is a reasonable reward for a job well done! And then (a bit of discipline is required here) WHENEVER you get given a business card, add the details to your list. This will build your list using the principle of little and often which can produce good results in a surprisingly short time. Now you have your list and you CAN start your targeted email marketing.
