Summary
Including event attendees in an email warming list requires careful consideration of legal requirements, technical best practices, and user experience. Explicit and freely given consent is paramount, complying with GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations. Implement a clear and transparent opt-in process, ensuring attendees understand they are subscribing to receive ongoing communications. Start with highly engaged segments, gradually increasing email volume to maintain a good sender reputation. Warm up your IP address and segment your list based on engagement levels to tailor content effectively. Regularly clean your list, and test emails thoroughly before sending to ensure optimal deliverability and user experience. Continuously monitor your domain reputation and adapt your strategies accordingly.
Key findings
- Explicit Consent: Explicit consent (GDPR compliant) is essential before adding event attendees to any email list.
- Transparent Opt-in: A clear and transparent opt-in process is crucial for building trust and maintaining a positive sender reputation.
- Gradual Warm-up: Gradually warm up your IP and sender reputation with highly engaged users before adding new contacts.
- Segmentation: Segmenting your email list based on engagement levels allows for more targeted and relevant communication.
- List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list improves deliverability and engagement rates.
Key considerations
- Legal Compliance: Adhere to all relevant legal regulations, including GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and other applicable privacy laws.
- Sender Reputation: Monitor and maintain a positive sender reputation to ensure high deliverability.
- Content Relevance: Provide valuable and relevant content tailored to the interests of your subscribers.
- Testing: Thoroughly test all emails before sending to ensure proper rendering and avoid spam filters.
- Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor your email performance metrics and adapt your strategies as needed.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
Experts and email marketers agree that including event attendees in email warming lists requires careful consideration. Explicit permission and voluntary opt-in are essential before adding attendees. Starting with smaller, highly engaged segments and gradually increasing the volume to less engaged contacts is advisable. Employing double opt-in methods, segmenting the list based on engagement levels, and warming up the IP address beforehand are also important. Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM, and maintain list hygiene to optimize deliverability. Testing emails before sending is a recommended best practice.
Key opinions
- Permission Required: Explicit permission and voluntary opt-in are essential before including event attendees in email warming lists.
- Gradual Addition: Start with smaller, highly engaged segments and gradually add less engaged contacts.
- Double Opt-In: Employ double opt-in methods to ensure higher engagement and deliverability.
- Segmentation: Segment the list based on engagement levels and send targeted emails.
- IP Warming: Warm up the IP address before adding new contacts to avoid deliverability issues.
Key considerations
- Compliance: Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
- List Hygiene: Maintain list hygiene to optimize deliverability and engagement.
- Content Relevance: Send valuable content that aligns with the event attendees' interests based on their engagement at the event.
- Email Testing: Test your emails before sending to ensure they render correctly and avoid spam triggers.
- Welcome Email: Sending a welcome email right after subscription is a good way to engage new contacts.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends adding risky prospects in tiny increments to minimize any negative impacts.
3 Mar 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor suggests segmenting your email list based on how attendees interacted with your event. Send targeted emails based on their interests and level of engagement to avoid alienating them.
15 Jun 2025 - Campaign Monitor
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
Experts emphasize the importance of obtaining clear and explicit consent from event attendees before adding them to email marketing lists. The opt-in process should be transparent and ensure attendees understand they are subscribing to ongoing communications beyond event-related updates. Confirmation of consent is critical, allowing them to opt out easily if they choose.
Key opinions
- Confirmation of Consent: Confirmation of consent is essential when adding event attendees to email marketing lists.
- Transparent Opt-In: The opt-in process must be clear, obvious, and transparent, ensuring attendees understand the nature of the subscription.
- Beyond Event Updates: Attendees should be aware that they are subscribing to receive ongoing communications beyond just event-related updates.
Key considerations
- Easy Opt-Out: Provide an easy way for attendees to opt out of the email list.
- Transparency: Ensure the opt-in process is transparent and understandable for the attendee.
- Clarity: Make sure it is clear what attendees are signing up for.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise answers that the opt-in process for including event attendees in your email marketing should be clear and obvious, ensuring they understand they are subscribing to receive ongoing communications beyond event-related updates. The process needs to be transparent.
2 Jan 2022 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, emphasizes that confirmation of consent is critical when adding event attendees. Asking them to confirm ensures they understand they're being added to a marketing list and allows them to opt out easily.
10 Dec 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Legal and technical documentation underscores the importance of adhering to best practices when including event attendees in email warming lists. GDPR mandates that consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. The CAN-SPAM Act requires clear identification of the sender, a physical postal address, and an opt-out mechanism. SendGrid's documentation emphasizes gradually increasing email volume to maintain a good sender reputation. Google's Postmaster Tools highlights that a good domain reputation is essential for high deliverability, recommending monitoring sender reputation metrics.
Key findings
- GDPR Compliance: Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, as mandated by GDPR.
- CAN-SPAM Compliance: Adhere to the CAN-SPAM Act by clearly identifying the sender, providing a physical postal address, and offering an opt-out mechanism.
- Gradual Volume Increase: Gradually increase email volume to maintain a good sender reputation, as per SendGrid.
- Domain Reputation: A good domain reputation is essential for high deliverability, as explained by Google's Postmaster Tools.
Key considerations
- Legal Compliance: Ensure compliance with all applicable legal regulations, including GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
- Reputation Monitoring: Monitor sender reputation metrics to identify and address potential issues.
- Opt-In Clarity: Make sure event attendees clearly understand what they are signing up for when opting in to your email list.
- Data Privacy: Respect event attendees' data privacy rights, including providing an easy opt-out mechanism.
Technical article
Documentation from GDPR explains that consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. Ensure event attendees have a clear understanding of what they are signing up for when opting in to your email list.
26 Jan 2024 - GDPR
Technical article
Documentation from the FTC's CAN-SPAM Act states that you must clearly identify yourself as the sender, provide a physical postal address, and offer a clear opt-out mechanism in every email. Always adhere to these rules when emailing event attendees.
10 Jun 2024 - FTC
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