Question:  Can I collect information from bridal show leads and follow up automatically by email?

I signed up for you last 6-figure campaign. I really learned a lot and continue to read you emails every week.

I have two bridal shows coming up.  I want to offer all of the emails, and I have it setup in mailchimp, but I would like to set it up so that any email inquiries I have get it also.

Here is what I would like to do.  I want to have a couple of ipads at the bridal show and let the brides sign up for the automatic emails, but also give me all of their personal info.

for example:

Bride’s name
Groom’s Name
Phone Number
Email Address
Date of Event
Type of Event
Venue
Message Box
Would you like to recieve 37 Tips?

Do you think this is a good idea, and how hard would it be to incorporate this so that I receive the info to my account, but also send out the info through mailchimp?

Answer

Hi, Jason!

If I am understanding you correctly, you want to…
Collect all of this information from each contact at the bridal show.
Send those bridal show leads the email follow up sequence through Mail Chimp.
Have any new email inquiries that come in also receive these email follow ups.
Did I get that right?

Get Permission First

One thing that’s important to keep in mind: you still need to have permission in order to add someone to your email list.  Otherwise, you’re technically sending spam that can end up getting your email IP blacklisted. 

You can get permission by 1) having them check a box at the bridal show saying they wish to receive the 37 Tips report and join your list or 2) having them enter their name and email address on your website to receive the report and join your list.

Once you have permission, Mail Chimp (and any other email service like them) has an Import Subscribers feature.  All you have to do is import the list of contacts who have agreed to receive emails from you as something called a “csv file.”  Then they will automatically receive your follow up sequence.

Don’t import any contacts who have not given you permission to email them because even a few complaints from them can get you booted from Mailchimp altogether.  In those cases, you could send them an email individually, not through a mass email service, offering them the 37 Tips report as an incentive to join your email list.  Then once they join, you have permission to email them automatically.

Automatic Follow Up with Website Leads

If you have a contact form on your website, you can automatically add that information to your Mail Chimp list when they fill out the form.  (Instructions can be found on Mailchimp here.) 

Just make sure you add something on the contact form that lets them know they will also be added to your email list, or use the “double” aka “confirmed” opt-in for your list.  This means that people actually agree to receive emails from you TWICE.  First the bride enters her name and email into your form, then she receives a second email asking her to click to confirm that she would like to get emails from you.  If she doesn’t click, nothing gets sent.  This cuts way down on your spam complaints.

Learn More About How to Automatically Follow Up With Brides

I love that you emailed this question because we’re actually launching a new training that takes the email system to brand new heights RIGHT NOW!  You should definitely check out our new video series here to learn more about how to use the power of an automated follow up system.

Got a wedding business question you want answered? Email Stephanie & Jeff and you could be the next Question of the Week! All personal details about your identity will be removed unless you specify otherwise.

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