Should I use old event lists?
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You collected email addresses at your conference, and now you want to email those people. Seems reasonable, right? Well, it depends entirely on what you told them when they signed up.
If your registration form said something like "Sign up to receive updates and news from us after the event," you're in decent shape. That's a clear disclosure, and those attendees understood what they were agreeing to. If the form just said "Register for the conference" with no mention of future marketing, those people consented to event logistics (schedules, venue changes, your post-event survey) and nothing more.
This distinction matters a lot more in some places than others. Under GDPR (European contacts), consent must be specific and informed. Collecting someone's email for "conference registration" and then adding them to your marketing list is a real legal problem. CAN-SPAM (US) is more permissive, but your deliverability reputation doesn't care about legal technicalities. Spam complaints from people who don't remember opting in will still hurt you.
For the language that actually works at event signup, something like this does the job: "By registering, you agree to receive email updates about this event and future communications from [Company Name]. You can unsubscribe at any time." Simple, honest, and defensible.
Now if you've already got an old list and you're not sure what was disclosed, a re-permission campaign is your safest move. Send one email that reminds them of how they know you and asks them to confirm they want to hear from you going forward. Keep it short. Don't guilt-trip them into staying. Those who click to confirm are real subscribers. Those who don't should be suppressed, not retried.
It's also worth noting that old event lists tend to have cold addresses, typos from rushed registration kiosks, and people who gave a throwaway email just to get the WiFi password. Cold, unengaged contacts drag down your sender reputation fast. Running the list through validation before you send anything is just good hygiene.
If your list is sitting untouched from a conference more than 12 months ago, treat it like a cold list. Re-permission first, clean second, mail third.
Not sure whether your old list is worth salvaging? We can take a look. Drop us a message and we'll give you an honest answer with no pitch attached.
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