Most people dread being added to mailing lists, but I’m just the opposite: Whenever anyone asks if I would like to be added to their promotional database, I’m all ears. Mailing lists are a great way for companies to share coupons, samples, and free offers with their customers – so if you play your cards right, it can really benefit you.

Earlier in the week, Earthbound Farms sent out a message to those of us on their email list, seeking 30 consumers to receive free salad in order to test out a new method of packaging and then provide feedback via a brief survey. I took a few seconds to email them back with my interest, and was notified that they’d be shipping me some salad directly via FedEx. On Friday, I received the box above with two lovely packages of organic salad mix; and that’s not all. They also enclosed these coupons:

After I took this photo, I found two more coupons for .75 cents off in the box!

Note the two coupons for completely FREE produce! It was well worth a few minutes of my time to receive these normally-expensive groceries for nothing.

Sign me up!

By being a part of corporate mailing lists, you will be the first to hear about new offers and promotions. Advertisers may send you coupons, free sample offers or product testing opportunities, so it can be a valuable resource. I recommend setting up a separate email account specifically for such offers, so that your primary account won’t be overloaded.

What About Snail Mail?

Receiving promotions via US mail is actually my preferred method. I know some people are (understandably!) completely fed up with all the catalogs and other mailings they receive, but it’s never been an issue for me. I love these type of lists, because I’ve received unusual, high-value coupons this way. Anything I don’t need goes directly to the recycling bin. The only piece of contact information I never give out? My phone number! I can’t think of a situation where a junk call could ever be useful, so when I register for promotional lists, I use the number of a pay-as-you-go cell phone that I keep for emergencies. I rarely turn it on, so I don’t care if they call it!

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Of course, you have to be smart about how you approach mailing lists so that it doesn’t become counter-productive. I actually ignore my own advice about a separate email account, because I find that when I keep mailing lists separate from my primary email, I end up just ignoring the secondary account and never look through it. I register my primary email address with the mailing lists I’m interested in, and it worked well for some time – I was able to keep up with what came in and benefit from it. Over time, my inbox became more and more crowded; and for me, manufacturer mailing lists actually comprised a minority of the emails I was receiving. Most of the overcrowding was due to the dozens of mailing lists I had registered for in order to enter contests, as well as email inquiries that I receive about my blogs. As a result, I went through this week and did a mass unsubscribe of lists that were no longer serving a purpose to me. Remember, your time is your most valuable resource – so if you’re spending hours sifting through junk mail, it’s not worth it. It’s important to find a happy medium and make your mail work for you.

What’s your approach to mailing lists, readers?

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 21st, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.