Email Newsletters – Permission Based Marketing
February 4, 2011 by Lisa Call
Newsletters
I have decided to devote the month of February (and maybe into March if I have enough to say) to email newsletters.
Artists are often told they need to have one and I agree they can be very valuable tools to get your artwork and big ideas out into the world so I’m going to share my thoughts and opinions about artist newsletters over the next few weeks.
Permission Based Marketing
Permission Based Marketing is a term coined by Seth Godin and simply put means: never put anyone on your email mailing list unless they gave you explicit permission to do so.
This doesn’t mean you met them at a party and they gave you a business card. Nope – that person did not give you permission to send them your newsletter.
This doesn’t mean all your relatives and artist friends that you’ve known for years, so of course, they won’t mind. Nope – they might mind. So don’t put them on there unless you ask them first.
This doesn’t mean the person that sent you email saying they liked your artwork. Nope – they just like your art – maybe they don’t like your writing – let them decide.
Definitely tell these folks about the newsletter, but then leave it to them to subscribe if interested.
Permission based marketing means the only people that go on your list are the people that understand that if they sign up, they will be getting email from you about your artwork on a regular basis.
Targeted List
The purpose of permission based marketing, beyond not annoying people with unwanted emails, is that your list becomes a targeted list of people that have clearly stated they care what you have to say.
Instead of shouting to thousands, who might potentially be interested, you are engaged in a more personal conversation with those that are truly interested.
When I started my newsletter mailing list, I wanted to do the permission based marketing so I didn’t add anyone I knew. I didn’t even email them and tell them I was starting a list. It was pretty scary because I worried noone would care and noone would signup.
I let people know about my upcoming newsletter by writing about it on my blog. I ended up writing about it for a year before I sent my first newsletter as it took me quite a while to figure out what to say in my newsletter.
By the time I sent my first newsletter in 2008, I had over 200 people on my mailing list. People that asked me to send them email, that were welcoming me into their inbox. I attracted that targeted group of people by providing quality content on my blog and creating artwork that appealed to my fans.
Abundance
To this day some of my closest friends are still not on my mailing list. A fairly significant number of my collectors aren’t on the list either.
This used to bother me, I’d think I should tell them to sign up, or make an exception to my permission based marketing ideals. But slowly I got over it and no longer feel I should add them.
I find that if I trust in abundance, that my list grows faster than if I get all wound up about who is and is not on my mailing list. It’s about thinking BIG and knowing, trusting, that the people that need to be on your list, are on your list.
It’s also about providing great content so you attract those people and that once there, they remain on the list.
Less than 3 years after sending my first newsletter, I now have over 700 subscribers to my studio newsletter. Each of them has subscribed to the list by choice.
The Unread and Unwanted
Say you do add a bunch of friends and family to your mailing list because permission based marketing isn’t for you.
No doubt many of them will be thrilled to hear from you and embrace the newsletter.
What about the rest? You’ve now put them in a difficult position, some people are very picky about their email inboxes. If they unsubscribed, they know they will hurt your feelings. So are they just stuck with the newsletter? Probably.
But chances are they won’t read it if they don’t want it. That’s why we have delete buttons.
All those folks on your list that don’t want to be there, but feel stuck, yep, they are probably not reading it. So what is the point of sending it to them in the first place?
Respect your friendships and relationships and stick with permission based marketing.
Wrap Up
Think Big – trust that your message will reach your target market and embrace permission based marketing for your email newsletter.
I invite you to become a fan of MakeBigArt on social media where I’ll be sharing additional tips and comments.
MakeBigArt fanpage
MakeBigArt on Twitter
In addition you can also find me here:
My Blog
On Twitter
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Lisa Call – Textile Paintings Fan Page
—lisa
Thinking Big about Art
as you know i’ve been thinking about doing a newsletter…i liked reading that you have many friends who are not on the newsletter and everyone has permission to be or not be. i’m one of those picky people..ive been on and off your newsletter. i find if i keep up with everyone via blog/facebook etc that i DONT want to read a newsletter (or i’d like to have access to it but not necessarily get it in my inbox). so this was good.
over 700!!!! congratulations.
In one of my upcoming articles, I’m going to write about how I deal with email newsletters from the subscriber side, as I too am very picky about my email.
There are many channels for us to communicate with potential collectors and fans online: social media, blogs, newsletters, personal email, tumblr, etsy, etc, etc. A newsletter is just one of many tools we can use, and respecting and understanding that each of us has a preference for how we want to listen to that message is critical to no being annoying.
Not taking it personally when someone isn’t on the list can be difficult, but if we think about it logically, it’s really perfectly fine.
(and thanks – 700 is pretty cool :)
This article comes at a wonderful time! Well written and informative. I just started my mailing list at the beginning of this year. I have a sign-up box noted on my website and my facebook. For the last month or so I have really wrestled with ideas on how to encourage people to sign up before finally settling with the idea that “i won’t”.. I’ll let those who want to sign up do it. It’s easy to find and I don’t think I need to further push people towards it.
I truly agree with your point because the people that are really interested will take the extra step to sign up and at the end of the day those are the customers you want to target with a more “personal” touch versus the people that just happen to browse your blog or your portfolio. I’m not sure how this will go but I’m giving it a shot and hope to send my first newsletter in March (for now I’m sending them seasonally)…
Thanks again, this really helped me to feel more comfortable.
This is a very timely article considering I sent out my first newsletter last month. I attended a paintout last weekend and those who had received it were talking about it and those that hadn’t felt left out. When they asked why they hadn’t gotten one emailed to them I said because they have to sign up for it through my blog or website. I added that I want to respect people’s email privacy so if they were interested just sign up for it. My email list grew by thirty within two days. I feel better knowing the people who sign up for it really want it.
[...] Part I – Permission Based Marketing [...]
Great post, Lisa. And in general, I agree with permission-based marketing and how you lay it out. On the biz card rule though, I will say that I add a dose of situational analysis as to whether I add that contact to my database. In almost all cases, I verbally confirm that someone handing me a biz card wants to be in my contact database… but if I don’t AND I’m in an art-focused forum such as my studio or at a gallery event, I most definitely add them. I know it’s a small point, but I get more than a few folks added this way and wouldn’t want to miss them!
[...] Part I – Permission Based Marketing [...]
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