What is a contact list?

Mailing List = The people you know or want to know
Mailing List = Buyers, collectors, supporters, gallerists, curators, writers, critics, friends, family, and other artists
Mailing List = Receives email and postal mail from you

Contact List = The people you have contact with
Contact List = Your mailing list + your social media friends, connections, and followers
Contact List = Receives tweets, wall updates, blog feeds, event invitations on Facebook, etc. from you (in addition to the mail and email if they are also on your mailing list)

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3 thoughts on “What is a contact list?”

  1. So here’s a question.
    In trying to gather up people for Mailing List–people in the press, curators, or others I may not know–won’t I be spamming them if I send them email?
    I ask because I use my email marketing software to send my email announcements, and it’s set up with thepremise of permission marketing–that they opted in.
    Is the answer to keep the Mailing List separate from the opt-in email list?
    Thanks,
    Sarah

    1. Sarah: You can email them individually and you can send them snail mail. You shouldn’t send them bulk mail unless they opt in.

  2. Alyson: Thank you so much for driving this point home!
    Your mailing list is a list of only those people who “opted-in” i.e. subscribed to your newsletter, or specifically requested to receive regular emails from you. I use MailChimp to manage the list for my “ArtNews” email newsletter (for folks who have subscribed to receive invitations to my art shows, etc.) MailChimp is fantastic – and free up to 2000 subscribers.
    Your contact list – to put it in Old School terms – is your Rolodex®. You can add anyone to your contact list. But it is for one-to-one personal communications only. I use Mac Address Book.

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