Outside The Desktop: 51 Offline Email List Building Ideas That Still Work In 2024

Just be careful using the borderline legal ones!
Pardon the pun but Michael Idov is no longer bitter about his charming Viennese coffee shop closing after just six months.

The experience was dark, expensive and nearly cost him his marriage.

There are many harsh lessons in his fiercely funny yet frequently touching story and it got me thinking about what I would have done in his place.

The fundamental problem for many new, owner managed businesses is this:
“The traditional model of marketing and advertising is dead. The balance of power has permanently shifted from seller to customer. The seller now has to continuously engage and connect with her prospects relentlessly”.

But how many business owners are prepared to do that?

When was the last time you received an email or a letter from any of the businesses you use on a regular basis – your local supermarket, your garage, your favourite restaurant or your gym?

Maybe once? Probably never.

But yet, as a business or a start up, you are going to invest significant amounts of money into advertising and communicating to prospects in order to get sales.

But here’s the thing.

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Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Over 90% of small business owners don’t follow up on their leads and just let them vanish, wasting their advertising money!

Why do owners spend time, effort and money on obtaining contacts and then just let them leave because they’re too busy or don’t care?

Here are some frightening numbers from Helpscout regarding how most businesses treat customers:

  • 45% of sales people never follow up with a prospect after the first contact
  • 25% of sales people make a second contact and stop if they don’t get a sale
  • 12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop if they don’t get a sale
  • 10 % of sales people make more than three contacts and
  • 8% of sales people make more than seven contacts. 
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Don’t Give Up on Me. Please!

It’s a shocking statistic that only 18% of businesses make more than three contacts and that’s why they’re losing business and ultimately fail.

Based on empirical research and anecdotal evidence, did you know that:
  • 3% of sales are made on the first contact with a customer
  • 4% of sales are made on the second contact with a customer
  • 5% of sales are made on the third contact

  • 12% of sales are made on the fourth contact
  • 76% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact with a customer

So 65% of all businesses don’t bother to make more than one follow-up to their prospects... leaving all their revenue on the table for their competitors to swipe! 
It gets worse.

Most businesses don’t make it easy for new customers to engage with them.

Most businesses don’t speak to their customers after they have bought.

Most businesses don’t use auto responders to drive customers back into their sales funnel with interesting content or exclusive offers .

Most businesses allow their customers to drift away, unloved and ignored.

Is it any wonder that most businesses ultimately fail?

Build An Offline Customer List Gagging For Your Services Even Before You Launch!

Don’t wait until you’ve started your business to acquire customers.

As you plan and create your business, start to acquire prospects three to six months BEFORE you launch and have a line waiting on opening day!
Doing this does three things for your business:

It creates a sense of excitement and anticipation for your prospects

It reduces your post launch marketing costs on acquiring new customers

You can begin a conversation and engage your prospects by tantalizing them with content, exclusive and early bird offers not available to everyone else.

Grow your offline community by actually connecting with people

No matter how digitally focused you are, meeting people in person gives you a wide spectrum of verbal, non verbal and pre/post gestures that tell you so much more about their most significant ambitions or frustrations and how your services solve their problems.

In any face to face or engagements that require other humans to interact with you, you get far more context, depth and clarity about your prospects. And increasing engagement with your community increases connection, even if they’re initially exhausting and sometimes overwhelming. My first BNI networking meetings were excruciating but I soon become an accomplished 60 second storyteller about my brand.

Let’s look at how you can actively engage your community, prospects and customers:

53 Easy, Fun (and Possibly Borderline Legal) Ways to Build Your Customer List Offline - Steal Them All!

Simple, (Relatively) Easy Methods:
  • Run a “Free Prize Draw” using an A5 leaflet competition with a good (but not expensive) prize, such as a short break holiday for two for between $250-$750 for two people and distribute it to as many people as you can. Post the competition on your website too.
  • Write two or three PR articles outlining what your business is about, the benefits of why your customers should buy from you and send them to the trade press, local and national press, local radio and global PR sites with an opening date and if relevant, an opening offer.
  • If your business serves the local community, produce and print A5 leaflets outlining what your business is about, the benefits of why your customers should buy from you and distribute to every residence/business within a five or ten mile radius of your business. ASK friends and family to help with this!
  • Contribute articles, advertorials and advertising to your trade press with links to your opt in pages.
  • If you have managed to acquire a physical mailing list, post a personally signed teaser newsletter, postcard or coupon offering incentives to sign up.
  • Identify a list of “shoulder niches”, i.e. markets that are similar or related to your business and write or advertise in publications that are likely to be read by your target prospects. For example, if you’re selling pesticides, advertise or write about organic bug killers in gardening magazines.
  • Meet People at Live Events: Attending events relevant to your industry allows you to meet potential subscribers in person. Collecting business cards or contact details directly can be an effective way to build your list.
  • Drawings & Giveaways: Hosting drawings or giveaways at your business location or events can incentivize people to provide their email addresses. Ensure to communicate the benefits of subscribing to your newsletter during these events.
  • Business Cards: Collect business cards at consumer touchpoints like office receptions or trade fairs. You can place an empty fishbowl or a similar container for people to drop their cards into. This information can also help in segmenting your email list.
  • Offers and Incentives in Store: Providing gift cards, coupons, or information about sales and discounts in-store can encourage customers to provide their email addresses. Incentivizing sales staff to collect emails can be particularly effective.
  • Networking Events: Use industry events for email collection. You can ask event organizers for access to attendee emails or include your sign-up page URL in presentations or materials you distribute at the event.
  • Employee Outreach: Encourage or train your employees and sales staff to collect email addresses from people they interact with. This method can gradually build a substantial email list.
  • Telemarketing: If your business uses telemarketing, train your callers to politely ask for emails at the end of their calls. Offering a reason or benefit for subscribing can increase the likelihood of people providing their email addresses.
  • Subscribe for Exclusive Local Discounts: Partner with local businesses to offer exclusive discounts to your email subscribers. People can sign up for your list in-store to immediately receive a discount for their current purchase.
  • Email for a Cause: Partner with a charity and encourage people to sign up for your email list. For each new sign-up, pledge to donate a certain amount to the charity.
  • Interactive Workshops or Classes: Offer free or low-cost workshops or classes related to your business. Participants need to sign up with their email to register.
  • Scavenger Hunts with QR Codes: Organize a scavenger hunt where each clue is accessed through a QR code linked to an email sign-up page.
  • Storytelling Nights: Host a storytelling night at a local venue. Attendees can sign up for your email list to receive future event notifications or exclusive content related to the stories shared.
  • Local Business Collaboration: Collaborate with local businesses to include a message about your email list on their receipts or shopping bags.
  • Collect Emails for a Community Project: Encourage email sign-ups as a way for community members to stay informed and involved in a local community project or initiative.
  • Book Clubs or Reading Groups: If your business is related to books or publishing, sponsor book clubs or reading groups and collect email addresses for exclusive content or author events.
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More Complex But Rewarding Offline List Building Strategies:

  • Your Email, Your Environment: Launch a campaign where for every email sign-up, your business commits to an environmental action, like planting a tree or cleaning a local park.

  • Produce stylish (but inexpensive) business cards with intriguing messages and website / phone / email details and place them wherever it is legal to do so. Examples may be notice boards in supermarkets, community areas, hospitals, shopping malls, car windscreens, newsagents, airports and anywhere that has substantial footfall.
  • When using printed marketing material such as leaflets or newsletters, add a QR code that prospects can scan via their smartphones to sign up to your email database.
  • Pay to advertise on Print Materials: Use any printed materials like booklets, cards, menus, or brochures to promote your email list. Include a call to action (CTA) encouraging people to subscribe to your online communications.
  • Host an Event: Organizing events such as industry forums, fundraisers, or product launches can be a platform to collect emails. Setting up a kiosk for email sign-ups or using giveaways and incentives can make the process engaging for attendees.
  • Sponsor Community or Art Projects: Invite people to contribute to a sponsored community or art project, with an email sign-up required to participate.
  • Ask For Email Subscriptions In Return for Expert Advice: Offer a free mini-consultation or expert advice session in exchange for signing up to your email list. This can be done at events, trade shows, or even in-store.
  • Creative Workshops or DIY Sessions: Offer workshops or DIY sessions related to your business, and collect emails for registration or to provide follow-up materials.
  • Local Partnerships: e.g. with Fitness Centres if your niche is wellness. Partner with local gyms or fitness centres to offer wellness tips or related content through your email list in return for a request for email subscriptions from the Fitness Centre’s mailing list.Item

List Building Ideas That Require You To Invest Financially:

Buy a targeted mailing list and send direct mail targeted to a specific call to action but be careful with these lists as many lists do not have permission to include those names.
Participate at relevant trade shows, meetups, networking groups and conferences where you will meet stronger prospects who are in the market for your products / services. Better still, organize your own event and maximize the PR and mailing list you’ll get from it. Make sure you send these new contacts a welcome email that confirms their opt ins.
Inside Packages: If your business involves shipping physical goods, include a slip of paper in the package with a URL for customers to visit and subscribe to your email list. This method capitalizes on the customer's positive experience with your product.Item
Packaging Inserts and QR Codes: For physical stores, include inserts or QR codes in packaging, offering incentives for online email sign-up. Receipts can also be used for this purpose.
Print Ads: Use newspaper or magazine ads to include a CTA or a QR code leading to your email list sign-up page. This can be a subtle yet effective method to reach a wider audienceItem
Pop-up Themed Events: Host pop-up events with unique themes related to your business. Attendees can sign up for your email list to get early access or special perks at these events.
Interactive Billboards: Set up billboards that require people to send an email to a specific address to reveal a hidden message or get a chance to win a prize.
Coffee Cup Sleeves: Collaborate with local coffee shops to use custom coffee cup sleeves with a QR code or short link to your email sign-up page.
Recipe / “How To” Cards in Grocery, Hobby or DIY Stores: If your business is food-related or requires some skills, e.g. carpentry, distribute recipe cards in the relevant stores with a sign-up prompt to receive more tips via email.
Charity Runs or Sports Events: Sponsor a local charity run or sports event where participants can sign up for your email list to track their results or receive training tips.
Custom Fortune Cookies: Distribute custom fortune cookies in restaurants or events. The fortunes inside could prompt recipients to sign up to your email list with the promise of more 'fortunes' or insights.
Custom-Designed Postcards: Distribute creatively designed postcards in popular cafes or stores. These postcards can have a QR code or a fun riddle that leads to your email sign-up page.
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Borderline Legal List Building: (Don't blame me!):

 Interactive Public Installations: Set up an engaging installation in public spaces like malls or parks. It could be an interactive art piece or a fun activity that captures public interest. Participants can provide their email to receive photos or results from their interaction.
Flash Mobs: Organize a flash mob with a captivating performance. At the end of the performance, distribute flyers or have QR codes displayed that lead to an email sign-up page.

 Flash Mobs: Organize a flash mob with a captivating performance. At the end of the performance, distribute flyers or have QR codes displayed that lead to an email sign-up page.

 Mystery Boxes in Public Places: Place branded mystery boxes in high foot traffic areas. To get a chance to open a box and win a prize, people have to sign up to your email list.Item

 Roving Brand Ambassadors: Have brand ambassadors roam around crowded areas with tablets, inviting people to sign up to your email list in exchange for an immediate small reward or entry into a larger draw.

 Subscription Cards in Library Books: Place cards inside library books inviting readers to sign up for your email list to get more content similar to the book they're enjoying.

 ‘Hidden’ Email List Invites: Place ‘hidden’ invites to join your email list in unusual places like inside book covers at a bookstore or under coffee cups in a cafe.

 Interactive Mural: Create a large, interactive mural in a public space. People who want to know more about the story or idea behind the mural can sign up with their email.

 Local Tourist Attractions: If your business is related to travel or local attractions, offer informational brochures or guides in exchange for email sign-ups at these tourist spots.

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