They say the money is the list. Email addresses are a valuable asset to your business and can help you build new prospects and new sales on a daily basis. However, when potential clients share their email address with you there is a level of responsibility and trust you must earn in keeping in touch with them. Over communicating and not delivering on promises is a surefire way to get people to unsubscribe.
Email lists are the digital version of the traditional mailing address list, which means farther marketing reach, but it’s also easier to get taken off of an email list. So, unsubscribes are the last thing a marketer wants to see. Here are ten tips that every email list sender should use to his or her advantage:
- Learn market segmenting with your list – Just dumping out new marketing onto a raw list ( always avoid purchased lists!) is a quick way to lose people. That’s because not everyone on the list is interested in the same thing. Segmenting your list by demographics and interests allows targeted marketing, fitting the product or service being pitched to those most likely to want to hear about it. This will reduce unsubscribes considerably.
- Mapping content – The same way that the mailing list is being segmented, marketing content should be filtered and mapped as well. That means identifying each piece of content for its value and then matching that value to the mailing list segment that would want to hear about it the most. Some people are interested in new breaking changes in the marketplace. Others want to hear about discounts and deals. And then there are a whole bunch of folks in between. Content covers that spectrum with varying degrees as well.
- Give consumers a chance to control frequency – Nobody likes getting marketing email all day long. If you give folks a choice to get messages on their schedule, they’re far more likely to cooperate versus reject the messaging outright. Giving people the options for hourly, daily or weekly delivery fits people’s interests far better than just blasting emails out at will. Communicate to your audience if you are making changes to your deliverability. It builds trust.
- Proactively poll your list for what they want – If you’re not sure what your mailing list wants in terms of messaging or emails, then ask them. Even if you get a 5 percent response, it can be extremely informative versus guessing in the dark.
- Offer alternatives – If you get an unsubscribe request, then send back a question as to whether they might want to get your marketing in a different form instead. The worst the person can do is say no, reconfirming the request. However, if an alternative method works, then you’ve held onto a consumer that would otherwise be lost.
- Stick to a schedule – Always send out email blasts to a list at a set time, same day of the week and week of the month. People love regularity. It fits in their life and even if they don’t want all of your messaging, it still gives them the benefit of knowing what time of day it is if nothing else. We are creatures of habit.
- Try to be unique – Your marketing shouldn’t just be a rehash of what everyone else does. It should be different and unique enough that people will feel they are missing out on something special if they unsubscribe. Make it fun. Add an arching story, a repeat benefit offer, and points for benefits over time, etc. Provide value. Always being solving their problem with your content you are sharing.
- Use fast email design – Nothing is worse than an email that is so clogged with images and video, it bogs down someone’s account. That’s a fast way to get deleted.
- Be simple, fast and focused – People tend to skim, get to your point quickly.
Listen and respond to feedback – If your customers are telling you something is annoying or ineffective, listen to them and change.
- Don’t make empty promises – If you market a promise or deal in a marketing message, always follow through. Nothing sinks your reputation faster than being known as a cheat.
You won’t stop all unsubscribes, but a good number of these requests can be avoided or redirected. Marketing smart will keep a contact list growing instead of shrinking. Do not take it personally (although it sometimes can be hard!).
The more consistent you are and the better you communicate about any changes, you will find that you will have overall less unsubscribes. Share your expertise, be who you are and deliver on your promises. It will ensure that you have money in your list.