Email Marketing: 3 Tips to Avoid Subscribers Remorse

Have you ever purchased a product, only later to have that sinking feeling known as buyer’s remorse?  I have…and over the years, I’ve signed up for many email marketing lists for various products or services, and later couldn’t find the unsubscribe link fast enough. In this post I’ll share three main areas I found email marketers commonly forget when it comes to managing their email marketing campaigns.  This results in what I call, Subscribers Remorse.

Let’s Learn Together: This is an incomplete list, scroll to the comments box and add to the conversation.

Email Marketing: 3 Tips to Avoid Subscribers Remorse

Consistency. Having Some.

Risk. That is what email marketing is.  The subscriber is taking a risk that you will do what you say you will do when you ask them to fork over their email address.  Do you?  After hitting the “Subscribe Button” does the following (thank you) page reflect your branding and site design? Does it tell them what to expect next (confirmation email)?

If you have all subscribers click a confirmation link (double opt-in), does your confirmation page work like your thank you page with branding and design? Does it tell them what to expect next (check your inbox), etc?

Subscriber Longevity. Consistency begins with these first few interactions, and should remain throughout.  If you see sudden increases in unsubscribes, look at which messages are triggering the spikes, and make necessary adjustments.

Unless you build in these consistencies into your email marketing strategy, you are missing opportunities to build trust, and avoid subscriber’s remorse.

Expectations. Let Them Know What’s Coming.

Let your subscribers know up front what they will get and how it will add value to them by being your subscriber.  Share a subscriber quote or testimonial of how someone else benefited by being a subscriber. Also, let them know if you’ll be doing things that could potentially annoy people (product promotions,special offers, etc.).  Lastly, inform them that subscribers can unsubscribe at any time.

Some might suggest that last idea is counter-productive, in reality it is more counter productive to have disgruntled subscribers flag your email as spam because you didn’t do a good job letting them know what they were getting into,making it more difficult for emails to arrive to those who do want your information.

Manners.  Being a Gracious Host

What I’ve been finding is that very few (even online Guru’s) welcome new subscribers.  This speaks to the opportunity in the marketplace.  If this isn’t part of your email marketing strategy, it’s a great opportunity for you to stand out in your market.

What is in a welcome letter? Glad you asked!  There is no exact formula, but think of a time when you were a guest at someone’s house and felt really welcome.  Consider adopting a similar approach in your first email to them:

• Say thank you.  Common courtesy, wouldn’t you agree?
• Give them what you told them you would when you invited them to subscribe.
• Let them know how your subscribers get the most out of their interactions with you
• Give them an idea how often you will be communicating with them via email
• Let them know what to expect when they get an email from you (special offers, product recommendations, industry news, etc.)
• Give them access to you outside of your list… Contact information, and social networking contact info (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)

The good news, they all tie together and overlap so they can be a part of any email marketing strategy.  Avoid them, and you’ll be head and shoulders above the rest in your market.

*Image credits to Tanya Ryno