Here’s a question I get asked a lot (in various forms):
I have a big list from a previous industry / conference / networking events / etc. Can I, or how do I add them to my list?
This is a common dilemma. Let’s review:
You’ve worked your A$$ off for the last couple of years – meeting people, networking, building a career, religiously posting on social networking sites, etc. You’ve ate your share of breakfasts, lunches, and the occasional dinner with people who wanted to “connect”, drank enough Starbucks to make you think about buying stock, schmoozed, and networked. You are a social butterfly, and the proud owner of 5,000 business cards sitting in the corner of your office. You did your thing. You got sweaty, and then…you got bored / were downsized / had a better idea / had kids / or whatever your situation is.
The end result is the same – you are now in possession of a large amount of contact information for people who may or may not be interested in your services or products, and you feel that you deserve or are somehow entitled to add them to your list. They legitimately shook your hand and handed you their card, or gave you their email, or bought stuff from your old business, or SOMETHING.
Q: Can you add them to your list?
A: No. Well, yes – kind of.
It all comes down to the golden rule. And etiquette. Think about it – if those 5,000 people that you met all had newsletters and added you to their mailing list, would you be happy? No. You wouldn’t. So what do you do? I mean, the purpose of networking is to meet people and generate business, right?
Here are some ideas so you can legitimately add people to your list:
1. When you meet someone and get their card, ASK THEM if you can add them to your list. If they say yes, then you can add them when you get home. If they say no, then don’t. Simple enough. Now here is another idea – make a special “list” for people you meet in person. Some people just can’t say no. So, they will say “Yes, please add me to your list!” But in their head, they mean: “Noooooo pleeeeeease, no more email!” So when they go on your special list, they will get an autoresponder that says:
“Hi Jane – It was SO nice to meet you! When we spoke, you mentioned that you wanted to be added to my mailing list, so I’m just letting you know that I added you! Here’s what you can expect to receive on a regular basis. … … yada yada … … oh, and if you ever want to stop receiving emails from me, you can just click the unsubscribe button at the bottom.”
Now that…is nice! People will respect you for that. I don’t suggest just arbitrarily adding people and asking them to unsubscribe if they don’t want to be added. Yes, yes, I know – your list will be MUCH smaller if people have to actually give you permission, but it’s much better to have a small responsive list full of your adoring fans than a giant list filled with people who don’t care about what you are doing.
2. Send a one-time email to people you have previously met. If you have a database or stacks of cards from a previous job, career, or networking event, I think it is okay to reach out to those people once (or maybe even twice) to say something like “Hey – we met or know each other from <networking / social media / the race track> and I wanted to reach out to you and let you know <I am launching a newsletter / I am changing careers, focus or hair color / I have something that you might be interested in> and I want to connect or reconnect.” IMPORTANT PART —> “Out of utter respect for you and your time, and because I am the most un-annoying person EVER, I have not actually added you to my email list. So, if you don’t want to hear from me, you don’t have to do anything. But if you DO want to receive my incredibly cool newsletter, just <click here / enter your name / download this free thing / etc.>”
You get the point here….right? You get to use the names you worked so hard to get, and you also get to abide by the rules of The Net.
Now *I* want to know:
What have YOU done with your former contacts?
What’s worked and what hasn’t?
Let me know in the comments!