Thoughts on Marketing…

Everyone knows the list is important – that’s why there are so many dozens (hundreds??) of programs out there telling you how to build a big list.

But what if you have a list but need to switch autoresponders?

The experts say you could lose as much as 60% of your list, and at first I thought that was because people had signed up who were simply no longer interested. Things change, after all. What seemed important last year may be something you routinely delete this year.

But I think I just found another reason – and it’s one you can do something about.

Today I got an email that read:

“To maintain contact with our customers and to ensure the very best email delivery possible, we are switching to a confirmed email list. Please confirm your email address by clicking the link below:”

I didn’t recognize the name in the from line, and I didn’t recognize the URL for the company. So… I didn’t click the link.

Surely if it was something I wanted I would recognize something – wouldn’t I?

Maybe not.

So what’s the cure? For one thing, you can do what one of my clients is doing – send a series of emails over the 7-10 days prior to the switch – informing your readers of the change, and reminding them (with good information) about why they want to continue their membership on your list.

Second, it appears that you can customize the message. All this says is “our SEO company” and the URL, but that leads me to believe that you could say something like:

“In order to keep receiving our timely tips on increasing your site’s SEO…”

The other important thing, if your readers know you by name, is to include the name they know in the from line on that opt-in message.

Losing followers is never a good thing – even though you have to expect to lose a few.

Do all in your power not to lose the ones who want to stay with you!