Reasons to Build your Email list Early PART 2

By Jackie Bateman

Having a highly engaged email is critical to the success of a digital program. Here are EVEN MORE reasons to build and invest in your email list earlier rather than later. Click here to read Part 1.

1. Less Competition

The sooner you invest in building your list, whether that’s through paid names or through swaps, the less competition you’ll have.

Why? Two important reasons:

1. There are less campaigns sending email. This is your chance to shine when there are less people swimming in the proverbial pool.
2. Volume drops at the beginning of a political cycle and therefore your messages have a better chance of being seen, read, and acted upon. (BIG CAVEAT: You must have GOOD content).

2. Better Names

Hear me out on this one: If you wait until the on-year to buy names, you’ve probably missed out on some really good, qualified names that could have already been paying back.

From where you might ask? (Thanks for asking!) One of the best places to find qualified names is from former campaigns that have similar profiles as you. The closer you can purchase them to the last E-day, the warmer they’ll be. If this list is similar to yours, you should be able to convert these names easily. And if they’re looking to put their political dollars towards a new candidate, you’ve given them the perfect opportunity.

3. Avoid List Burnout

Email lists that aren’t periodically refreshed with new names are at high risk for burnout. There’s only so many times John Doe from Philadelphia will invest $25 in your campaign. So if you want to continue raising the same amount of money, you need to find a replacement for John.

That’s why investing in your email list growth early is so important. As donors reach their political or personal max, you should have more names warmed up ready to be converted into donors. It takes time to warm up a list and get them engaged, so you can’t expect a new list to perform right away. Avoid list burnout by expanding your list.

Take it from me: getting a client to invest in list growth, participate in joint actions, and engage in swaps can be a challenge — particularly early in the cycle when they don’t feel the urgency to raise money because they aren’t yet investing in television budgets or mail. Most of the time, you can’t show them immediate results and ROI, which can lead to frustrations and disinterest in engaging more. But it’s worth the time and effort to continue to have these conversations, because at the end of the day, you’re helping them grow their program and expand their bottom line.