I joined a friend's ISO because I'd grown bored after closing my landscaping business (my knees gave out, not my desire to work). I have built a small portfolio, and the extra income has been a real boon. Now I want to grow my portfolio more quickly. I've been hearing about how effective a mailing list can be for growing your business. I had a database of customers in my landscaping business, but I never emailed them other than to confirm appointments and send estimates and receipts. I don't know how to go about building a list or even how to use one. Is this really as important as people say, especially for payments, or is it something for other industries?
Jon Mencott, Merchant Level Salesperson
Jon,
There are several reasons to use an email list to grow your payments business, not the least of which is that when used wisely, email is an excellent merchant retention tool. It's common knowledge that it's easier and less expensive to retain existing customers than to recruit new ones. Periodic newsletters that contain useful information and perhaps a compelling offer remind your customers that you are thinking about them and striving to help them succeed.
Email outreach also presents an opportunity to show a bit of your personality, making you more relatable and likable to your customers. Email is also an effective way to touch base with merchant prospects. Here, it's important to share expertise that they will see as valuable. You might have deep knowledge of particular verticals, technology trends they want to know about, or any number of other things.
With both groups it's important to gain permission to email them by having them opt in to your list. It's also essential to not bombard them with frequent emails or pound them with hard sells.
Thanks for your question, and good luck to you.
Editor
Do you use periodic emails to reach out to merchants? How effective has this form of outreach been for you? Tell us at greensheet@greensheet.com. 
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