Once you have people on your list one of the most important things to do is to keep them on it, after - you've spent time and money getting them to sign up the last thing you'll want is for them to unsubscribe. There are a few things I'd say you can do to keep these out-outs to a minimum.
1. Don't sell to them too often. We all hate being sold to, so if you have a bunch of subscribers and you are constantly trying to sell something to them you can bet that you will have a high volume of people leaving you list.
2. Keep the information relevant, the content interesting, engaging and full of personality. Tell them a little about yourself (my professional blog at www.mindofkennedy.blogspot.com is full of personal experiences, stories and reports on what I've been up to. This makes readers feel like they know you and are a heck of a lot more likely to buy from you.
3. Give them exclusives, this could be announcing information before you put it out there officially on your site or blog, it could be a discount that only members are hearing about, it could be an additional product included for free such as additional report, audio cd or whatever - this is about showing how much value they are getting by just being a member that others aren't. It makes opting out a more painful thought.
4. During the opt out process have a box where they can type their reason for opting out. This way, when you DO have some people leave your list you can gain a better picture as to why they are doing this.
5. Make the content visually appealing. If you can use HTML in the updates or emails you send them this makes it a lot easier on the eye than just another plain text email.
6. Encurage participation. Ask for feedback, have the people you write to feel as though you are actually talking to them and they will feel personally involved, wanted and even needed.
7. If you're travelling it's nice to announce where you are going to be, this way if any of your subscribers are in that area, live near that place or are visiting they can identify with you (and even meet up for a coffee)
8. Have guest writers. This is something I haven't done too much myself, but has worked very well for other people. Have relvant and interesting people post as a guest on your blog. It is nice and refreshing to hear another voice and have an expert talk on their subject matter. It also adds to your credibility.
9. Post regularly. If you don;t send regular messages to your list they will forget about you and then when they DO hear from you they'll have forgotten who you are and unsubscribe.
10. Reference useful resources, websites and services that you have discovered. This shows that you are switched on and living in the real-life modern world.
There you have it, my 10 top rules for working with mailing lists. I do hope they are of use to you. Do you have a question about lists? What other rules would you say are Golden? Please do comment below this blog post.
No comments:
Post a Comment