When can I include event attendees in an email warming list?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends adding risky prospects in tiny increments to minimize any negative impacts.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor suggests segmenting your email list based on how attendees interacted with your event. Send targeted emails based on their interests and level of engagement to avoid alienating them.
Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that you need explicit permission before adding anyone to your email list, including event attendees. Ensure they opted in to receive emails from you during registration or through a separate signup form.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign advises cleaning your email list regularly to remove inactive subscribers. This helps improve deliverability and ensures your emails reach those who are truly interested in your content, even if they are event attendees.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that adding "less active" data means you're out of ramp-up, which is fine after the reputation has been increased and stable already.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that webinar/virtual event and physical event/tradeshow attendees are risky to include in warming lists unless they explicitly and voluntarily opted in to receive emails.
Email marketer from Email on Acid notes that you should warm up your IP address first by sending emails to highly engaged subscribers before adding any new contacts like event attendees to avoid deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests only including event attendees in an email warming list if they gave explicit permission to be contacted, and to start with a small, highly engaged segment before expanding to the rest.
Email marketer from Reddit recommends segmenting the list of event attendees based on their engagement level at the event. Send personalized emails to smaller segments before sending a mass email.
Email marketer from Mailchimp advises using double opt-in methods for adding new subscribers, including event attendees. This involves sending a confirmation email to verify their subscription, ensuring higher engagement and deliverability.
Email marketer from HubSpot recommends sending a welcome email immediately after an event attendee subscribes. Provide valuable content that aligns with their interests based on their engagement at the event to keep them engaged.
Email marketer from Litmus suggests testing your emails before sending them to the full list of event attendees. This includes checking for broken links, rendering issues, and spam trigger words to ensure a positive user experience.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise answers that the opt-in process for including event attendees in your email marketing should be clear and obvious, ensuring they understand they are subscribing to receive ongoing communications beyond event-related updates. The process needs to be transparent.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, emphasizes that confirmation of consent is critical when adding event attendees. Asking them to confirm ensures they understand they're being added to a marketing list and allows them to opt out easily.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from GDPR explains that consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. Ensure event attendees have a clear understanding of what they are signing up for when opting in to your email list.
Documentation from the FTC's CAN-SPAM Act states that you must clearly identify yourself as the sender, provide a physical postal address, and offer a clear opt-out mechanism in every email. Always adhere to these rules when emailing event attendees.
Documentation from Google's Postmaster Tools explains that a good domain reputation is essential for high deliverability. Monitor your sender reputation metrics and ensure you are adhering to best practices before adding event attendees to your mailing list.
Documentation from SendGrid explains the importance of gradually increasing your email volume when warming up an IP address. Start with your most engaged users, then slowly add new contacts such as event attendees to maintain a good sender reputation.