Building a List from comment email addresses

14 replies
One of the websites I have had for about 4 years gets good traffic and generates 5 or so comments a day. I have been thinking about getting a list going for years now and just never have. At this point I have 1000s of unique comments, which all have an email address. Can I use those emails as a starting point for a list?

Also, I do not want to cut back on revenue while building a list. That being the case I wonder what is the best wordpress plugin for gathering emails and at the same time not distracting people away from ads?
#addresses #building #comment #email #list
  • Profile picture of the author Romeo90
    No, you can't use those email addresses.

    What you can do though, is use a plugin (like CommentLuv Premium), to redirect commentators to a thank you page after they have submitted their comment (i.e - "Thanks very much for commenting...join my newsletter here...etc).

    I use this for new commentators on my blog. If a visitor leaves a comment (thier first ever comment on my blog), they are redirected to a thank you and opt in page. If they however, make another comment, they won't be redirected (as this could get annoying after one or two redirects after comments).

    If you are serious about building a list, you will need an autoresponder service (i.e Mailchimp, Aweber, GetResponse etc) and then integrate the code into a plugin (or even use the the in built options of creating a web form).
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Hess
    If you're looking for a free solution, try this plugin: WordPress › Email newsletter « WordPress Plugins

    "Email Newsletter plugin has options to send HTML emails/newsletters to registered users, comment authors, subscribers and contact form users."

    Most paid autoresponder services have supported plugins that allow you to place a checkbox under the comment form and will subscribe commentors to your mailing list.

    Aweber for instance: WordPress › AWeber Web Form Plugin « WordPress Plugins
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    • Profile picture of the author CynthiaC
      Yoast has one that will redirect to a squeeze page.

      https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/comment-redirect/
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      • Profile picture of the author bootstraps
        Thanks for the tips, I have a lot to learn regarding list building. I went ahead with mailchimp for now. I see where I can upgrade to autorespond at a later date. What I want to see now is just how fast I can grow a list. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
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        • Profile picture of the author Steve B
          bootstraps,

          My guess is you're going to end up with a list that is only marginally targeted and may not have much interest in your offers. A lot of the comments are there because people are trying to get links back to their sites and they don't care much about what their comment says.

          Having an opt-in rather than "scraping" emails from comments would be much better.

          The best to you,

          Steve
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          Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
          SteveBrowneDirect

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          • Profile picture of the author bootstraps
            Thanks I see this plugin has the double opt-in option. I approve all my comments before I let them through. My site is in a real estate niche' and I get a lot of requests for information.
            Looking at my google analytics i have a lot of return visitors. My thought was to create new pages on related topics to see if i can drive more ad revenue. I am open to other ideas, anyone got real-estate related ideas I am open to just about any ideas.
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            • Profile picture of the author bootstraps
              Well I am pleasantly surprised. I added the mailchimp plugin and enabled both a comment newsletter checkbox and I added a box on my sidebar for people to sign up for my news letter. So far I have 8 people that have filled out the form on the sidebar and have done the double opt-in(confirmation with their email).

              I guess I need to start figuring out how to monetize these leads. Any ideas? I run a large hand full of sites, but have only done google ads. Well I have done some amazon affiliate but never could get more than a few bucks a month doing that.

              The niche for this site is real estate and helping people find a particular type of apartment/home to rent. Any ideas?
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanLB
    You can't use old email addresses, you have to install an opt-in before you can use any email address for marketing purposes. There are some that plug right in to wordpress, which makes it easy.
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    I'm a Freelance Copywriter that helps Agencies, Startups and Businesses Educate Their Audience and Grow Sales
    Skype Me: r.boze
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  • Profile picture of the author hostdare
    I am using Yoast its best......you can try this
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  • Profile picture of the author Nail Yener
    You have the right to contact them since they posted a comment on your website and provided their email address. But you cannot put them to a list and start sending emails to them promoting stuff. What you can do is that you can contact them and ask if they would be interested in joining your mailing list and give them a way and reason to join your list.
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    • Profile picture of the author bootstraps
      Originally Posted by Nail Yener View Post

      You have the right to contact them since they posted a comment on your website and provided their email address. But you cannot put them to a list and start sending emails to them promoting stuff. What you can do is that you can contact them and ask if they would be interested in joining your mailing list and give them a way and reason to join your list.
      I think I am going to do that. I have over 2000 unique email addresses that I will email and let them know about my newsletter. I still am not 100% sure how to monitize. I signed up for a cj.com account last night, but I am not sure how effective that will be. I have a lot of ideas rolling around in my head. I just need to come up with a plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author theo1995
    You cannot build a list that way and if you do it, yo will be considered as a spammer in your subscribers' eyes. You just have to force them to opt-in. Give them something valuable in exchange for their email. Build trust and the sales will come in.
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  • Profile picture of the author gcbmark20
    Hi,

    DON'T add any bodies name to your list without their consent.

    I've had my email address added to loads of spammers lists and it
    can be quite annoying at times but most of those emails go into
    the SPAM bucket anyway.

    You need to add some kind of opt in form onto that site and a free incentive to
    get those visitors onto your list.

    If you're getting that much traffic then you need to act fast and filter some of that
    onto a list FAST!
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  • Profile picture of the author webmarke
    There are some plugins to allows you to add people to your list when they comment on your blog.

    I don't recommend you scrape the existing comments because this would be considered spam if you import them and contact them through a mailer.

    Another option would be to use an exit pop up on your site that gives away a free report.
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