Email list building isn’t a new concept – it just used to be much harder.
Here’s how The Grateful Dead did it before the internet and what you can learn from it:
In 1971, they packaged the note you see below with their latest album.
In a world without internet, there was a lot of friction for people to get on the list – they had to write a letter, get a stamp, put it in the mail, etc.
A lot harder than typing an email address in a form.
And yet…
Hundreds of thousands of people did.
It gave the band a direct connection to its fans and played a huge role in their ability to build a rabid fanbase.
Of course, they also regularly sent printed newsletters to fans too – they didn’t just collect names and do nothing with them like so many people do with the email lists they build these days.
A couple takeaways here:
1. A newsletter was the best connection you could have to your audience even before it was digital.
2. The Dead didn’t feel uncomfortable asking fans to write letters, so why do you feel uncomfortable asking for an email address?
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