ADVICE for Successful E-mail Appending

"Select the type of match that is appropriate for your audience," [Tom Burke] says. "Your customer list can be matched to the append database by last name and address or by full name and address. For example, a nonprofit seeking to increase donations will benefit from a household match, but a pharmaceutical company promoting a specific medication should use an individual match." And if you are a B-to-B marketer, make sure that your append supplier isn't giving you generic addresses such as info@companyname.com, [Chris Rowe] adds. Make your first e-mail contact with newly appended customers a Can-Spam-compliant opt-out message. "This is simply a kind request [asking customers to allow you] to e-mail them in the future," Rowe explains. "This is not the time to produce an ad campaign with links and colorful marketing material." The message itself should be simple and straightforward; if you're unsure about the content, most vendors will provide sample messages, Rowe says.