Using the Digital World to Expand Your Mailing List

Published by Leah Curran

Expand Your Mailing List Without a Pen or Paper

Do you want to expand your fan base and add to your mailing list without having to pass around a clipboard with a piece of paper? Well, there are a few cool ways that you can quickly and easily collect people’s names, emails, and social media “on the fly”.

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Google Voice: Create a local number that people can text or call info to.  Fans can leave a voice mail or send a text, which are then delivered to you in email form. You simply have to log in to your Google Voice account to get access to any messages.  Put this number in your program, on your posters, or post a notice around the performance venue.

* Example: “Text your name, phone number and/or email address to 510-555-1212 to join our mailing list.”


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Facebook: may be accessed by text message, but the users must have text interface set up on their phone. They would not be able to just do this “on the fly.”  Each individual person must turn text messaging on in his or her Facebook account to allow for text message. (Account Settings, Mobile)
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Twitter: can also be accessed by text message – again, the individual must have set this up through his or her Twitter account.  After you are set up,  text 40404 from your phone and send @companyx your information. (Settings, Mobile)

The downside to using Twitter or Facebook to collect information is that this information will be visible to any Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers that you have.  With Google Voice, and the below tool – QR Codes, anyone that wants to  give you access to his or her email address, phone number or mailing address can send this information in a private manner.

  • QR codes: A great tool!  QR stands for “quick response” and they are basically hyperlinks for cellphone cameras. You can design your QR code to “point” to a weblink, email address, or phone number when scanned with a phone. They work on all smartphones and even “dumbphones” with cameras (and the decoder app).  The cell phone needs a QR code reader – just search “QR Code Readers” and you will get a number of options.  It takes literally 1 minute for someone with a smartphone to find and install the reader.
This is what a QR code looks like – you can put them on anything! On a postcard or poster for an upcoming performance, on your business card, on a website.  You can even project these codes onto a wall or other surface. These are great for taking advantage of a site specific performance by your company that any number of people might happen upon.

qrcode

Ideas for how to use QR codes:

  • Generate your QR codes to text message anyone that “scans” it a specific message: “Thanks for contacting Company X, please text 510-555-1212 with your name and contact info to learn more about upcoming events, or visit us at www.yourwebsite.com.”
  • Set your QR code to link to a Google Form. This is really easy to work with and you can have everything from required date fields (like name, address, etc.) to multiple choice check-boxes and select from list kind of questions.  There are multiple pre-made templates in the templates section for you to use.  Things like “Contact Us” website form, survey templates, questionnaires, and more.
  • If you scan the above QR Code, I have set it to link to the Google Form I have created for Samantha Giron Dance Project, a modern dance company that I manage.  The person that scanned the code can choose how much information he or she would like to offer and click “Submit.”  The form populates a spreadsheet in Google Docs which I can access immediately.
  • Set your QR to your company’s website; a video of your company performing on YouTube or Vimeo; your company’s Facebook page; the list could go on and on.

To make a QR code go to: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ or you can use the Open Source code to generate codes for you if you have a smart developer on hand.

Related articles:

Checkout 13 creative uses of QR codes for marketing.What Is A QR Code And Why Do You Need One? (bayintegratedmarketing.wordpress.com)SmartyTags Takes QR Codes to the Next Level (bayintegratedmarketing.wordpress.com)
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One thought on “Using the Digital World to Expand Your Mailing List”

  1. This is so cool! I found another great QR code generator called Delivr.com that lets you make even more kinds of codes than Kaywa allows. Check it out!

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