When can I include event attendees in an email warming list?

Summary

Including event attendees in an email warming list requires careful consideration of legal requirements, technical best practices, and user experience. Explicit and freely given consent is paramount, complying with GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations. Implement a clear and transparent opt-in process, ensuring attendees understand they are subscribing to receive ongoing communications. Start with highly engaged segments, gradually increasing email volume to maintain a good sender reputation. Warm up your IP address and segment your list based on engagement levels to tailor content effectively. Regularly clean your list, and test emails thoroughly before sending to ensure optimal deliverability and user experience. Continuously monitor your domain reputation and adapt your strategies accordingly.

Key findings

  • Explicit Consent: Explicit consent (GDPR compliant) is essential before adding event attendees to any email list.
  • Transparent Opt-in: A clear and transparent opt-in process is crucial for building trust and maintaining a positive sender reputation.
  • Gradual Warm-up: Gradually warm up your IP and sender reputation with highly engaged users before adding new contacts.
  • Segmentation: Segmenting your email list based on engagement levels allows for more targeted and relevant communication.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list improves deliverability and engagement rates.

Key considerations

  • Legal Compliance: Adhere to all relevant legal regulations, including GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and other applicable privacy laws.
  • Sender Reputation: Monitor and maintain a positive sender reputation to ensure high deliverability.
  • Content Relevance: Provide valuable and relevant content tailored to the interests of your subscribers.
  • Testing: Thoroughly test all emails before sending to ensure proper rendering and avoid spam filters.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor your email performance metrics and adapt your strategies as needed.

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

Experts and email marketers agree that including event attendees in email warming lists requires careful consideration. Explicit permission and voluntary opt-in are essential before adding attendees. Starting with smaller, highly engaged segments and gradually increasing the volume to less engaged contacts is advisable. Employing double opt-in methods, segmenting the list based on engagement levels, and warming up the IP address beforehand are also important. Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM, and maintain list hygiene to optimize deliverability. Testing emails before sending is a recommended best practice.

Key opinions

  • Permission Required: Explicit permission and voluntary opt-in are essential before including event attendees in email warming lists.
  • Gradual Addition: Start with smaller, highly engaged segments and gradually add less engaged contacts.
  • Double Opt-In: Employ double opt-in methods to ensure higher engagement and deliverability.
  • Segmentation: Segment the list based on engagement levels and send targeted emails.
  • IP Warming: Warm up the IP address before adding new contacts to avoid deliverability issues.

Key considerations

  • Compliance: Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain list hygiene to optimize deliverability and engagement.
  • Content Relevance: Send valuable content that aligns with the event attendees' interests based on their engagement at the event.
  • Email Testing: Test your emails before sending to ensure they render correctly and avoid spam triggers.
  • Welcome Email: Sending a welcome email right after subscription is a good way to engage new contacts.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends adding risky prospects in tiny increments to minimize any negative impacts.

April 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

November 2021 - Campaign Monitor
Marketer view

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.

September 2023 - Neil Patel
Marketer view

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.

November 2021 - ActiveCampaign
Marketer view

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.

October 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

June 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

July 2022 - Email on Acid
Marketer view

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.

December 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

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.

January 2025 - Reddit
Marketer view

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.

August 2021 - Mailchimp
Marketer view

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.

January 2022 - HubSpot
Marketer view

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.

February 2022 - Litmus

What the experts say
2Expert opinions

Experts emphasize the importance of obtaining clear and explicit consent from event attendees before adding them to email marketing lists. The opt-in process should be transparent and ensure attendees understand they are subscribing to ongoing communications beyond event-related updates. Confirmation of consent is critical, allowing them to opt out easily if they choose.

Key opinions

  • Confirmation of Consent: Confirmation of consent is essential when adding event attendees to email marketing lists.
  • Transparent Opt-In: The opt-in process must be clear, obvious, and transparent, ensuring attendees understand the nature of the subscription.
  • Beyond Event Updates: Attendees should be aware that they are subscribing to receive ongoing communications beyond just event-related updates.

Key considerations

  • Easy Opt-Out: Provide an easy way for attendees to opt out of the email list.
  • Transparency: Ensure the opt-in process is transparent and understandable for the attendee.
  • Clarity: Make sure it is clear what attendees are signing up for.
Expert view

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.

April 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

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.

June 2024 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Legal and technical documentation underscores the importance of adhering to best practices when including event attendees in email warming lists. GDPR mandates that consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. The CAN-SPAM Act requires clear identification of the sender, a physical postal address, and an opt-out mechanism. SendGrid's documentation emphasizes gradually increasing email volume to maintain a good sender reputation. Google's Postmaster Tools highlights that a good domain reputation is essential for high deliverability, recommending monitoring sender reputation metrics.

Key findings

  • GDPR Compliance: Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, as mandated by GDPR.
  • CAN-SPAM Compliance: Adhere to the CAN-SPAM Act by clearly identifying the sender, providing a physical postal address, and offering an opt-out mechanism.
  • Gradual Volume Increase: Gradually increase email volume to maintain a good sender reputation, as per SendGrid.
  • Domain Reputation: A good domain reputation is essential for high deliverability, as explained by Google's Postmaster Tools.

Key considerations

  • Legal Compliance: Ensure compliance with all applicable legal regulations, including GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Monitor sender reputation metrics to identify and address potential issues.
  • Opt-In Clarity: Make sure event attendees clearly understand what they are signing up for when opting in to your email list.
  • Data Privacy: Respect event attendees' data privacy rights, including providing an easy opt-out mechanism.
Technical article

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.

May 2024 - GDPR
Technical article

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.

May 2024 - FTC
Technical article

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.

May 2022 - Google
Technical article

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.

July 2023 - SendGrid