Less than 25 percent of online marketing professionals ask their email subscribers to add them to a white list. Even fewer, at only 15% provide the required instructions. While the steps are simple and and only take a few seconds, basic usability research suggests that providing instructions will greatly increase your success rate.

AOL 8.0

1. Open the email.
2. Click the “add address” icon.
3. Verify the sender’s contact information.
4. Save it.

AOL WebMail

1. Open the email.
2. Click on the sender’s name or email address.
3. Click “add to address book” in the windows that appears.
4. Enter any additional information.
5. Click “save.”

Hotmail

1. Open the email.
2. Click “save address” in the toolbar.
3. Verify the sender’s contact details.
4. Click “ok.”

Yahoo!

1. Open the email.
2. Click the “add to address book” to the right, next to the sender’s name.
3. Verify the sender’s contact details.
4. Click “Add to Address Book.”

Gmail

1. Open the email.
2. Click “more options” in the email header.
3. Click “add sender to contacts list.”

Earthlink

1. Open the email.
2. Click “add to address book” in the email header.
3. Use the “address book editor” to verify the sender’s contact details, and click “save.”

Outlook (2003+)

1. Open the email.
2. Right-click the sender’s email address.
3. Click “add to contacts” in the short-cut menu.
4. Click “save and close.”

Outlook Express (6+)

1. Open the email.
2. Left-click the sender icon, or right-click the sender’s name.
3. Click “add to contacts.”
4. Click “save and close.”