Neglected Email List – Smell the Success 7 Ways Lose the Fewest Subscribers
Neglect happens.
Eating your vegetables drink water, 10K steps a day, New Year resolutions, journaling, telling family you love them.
You’ve done it. I’ve done it. Neglect is not right. No one is proud. Yet, neglect happens.
Have you neglected your email list?
Don’t take solace in other people bad deeds. Don’t!
I’m not throwing guilt. Plenty enough in the world for that to go around. Unneglecting is me helping you and you helping you.
Neglecting your list of people is neglecting your business.
Instead of self flogging let plot a path to recoup credibility and reintroduce yourselves to the people on your email list.
Follow along as I give my top approaches, which I’ve uses successfully, to reviving a neglected email list.
Disclaimer Warning: your mileage may vary, as always, applies..
Don’t worry, I am Urban Renström, there is always science and research involved in everything I talk about, teach, and demonstrate.
An Ounce of Prevention is 100x better than a Neglected Email List
The ‘ounce of prevention is regular and consistent contact with your list of people.
The ‘pound of cure’ is the massive action required to restart, redouble, salvage, fix, repair the damage you have done by not delving out the ounce of prevention.
Let us make a pact together? Shall we? The pact is simple — we lift an ounce of work a week (message our list) and stop lifting the pounds later (lose money/time/people from our list).
People will love you more and your wallets will be fatter. Care for the pact? Good. Let get it on.
What Is A Stale Email List?
MailChimp one of many email marketing service providers, says “permission (to email) generally goes stale within 6 months”.
There it is. No contact for 6 months and people forget about you. Ouch. The gets stale is closer to 2 months. Considering people on average get 90-100 emails a day.
This is common sense stuff really. The needs and wants of people change over time. Priorities shift, competitors swoop in and pick up the pieces we dropped. Ouch.
Before we list the ‘7 Ways’ let us review a neglected email list. Here are a few ground rules of reengagement.
Neglected Email List Re-engagement Ground Rules
- No selling allowed
- Focus on getting your readers’ attention
- Keep expectation low
- Use a email service provider
- Be relevant
- Measure results
- Double opt-in process for subscribing people
- Let ’em know this is voluntary
- Use a CTA
- Be human
Starting from the top what is your goal?
Are you gonna turn yourself into an email ninja with one email? Neglect your list again?
Plan baby, have a plan.
What is your Action Plan for After you ‘Engage Your Neglected List’ email?
Now is a very good time to review your baseline email marketing strategy.
The best situation (I hate the phrase ‘best practice’) is to condition people to take action from your emails.
We are creatures of habit and routine. Hitting the snooze button, coffee with a paper, lunch with friends, Netflix and chill.
You get the idea. Habits and routine.
Get your readers into the habit of doing something. Not manipulating people, get people into a habit of doing something:
- Clicking on a link
- Clicking a button
- Answering a question
- Opening your email on a Tuesday
- Reading your sale email at the end of the month
- A snippet of your blog post then click to eat the full version
Habits and routine. Get people to taking an action.
Effective email marketing is getting people in the habit of always doing something. Click, read more, share, reply.
Start with small actions, be consistent, then work your way to larger requests.
7 Methods to Reengage a Neglected Email List
The email marketing inbox is the place to build trust and nurture relationships. List building is about pulling people into your sphere of influence.
Yes, you want sales, but, hitting a neglected list with your ‘special offer’ will work some of the time and will alienate always you.
The goal of this re-engagement campaign is to get subscribers to click, reply, be happy to see you and eager to listen. Not to buy from you.
Here are the 7 ways to reengage a neglected email list and find out who’s still interested.
1) ‘Confirm Your Subscription’ Method to Revive a Neglected Email List
Reconfirm the email subscription is choice #1. “Please confirm your you want to receive a message from me (be on this list)“.
The Reconfirm is the most ethical method to revive a neglected email list.
The Reconfirm method is endorsed by all in the email marketing business.
Reconfirm method is the best in the business, top of the pile, the mega clear-out. The let us see who is left standing approach to re-engagement.
The reconfirm method is the most unforgiving as we do not give people a second chance to consider.
MailChimp the email list building powerhouse 😉 of email marketing services says the reconfirm method is the best way to clean up an old inactive list.
The process is simple, quick and effective. Simply send a message with an appropriately worded apology and ask people to opt-in to your list again. With the subject line “Please Renew Your Subscription” the button redirect to the double opt-in on your website.
Why your website?
- Reacquaint people with your website, branding, your service/products and your awesome sauce.
- To get people used to clicking on links in your email
The Good — Washes your list the most of all methods. You get the most unsubscribes and the fewest subscribers.
The Bad — What is left is the highest quality people who are ready and willing to engage with you.
2) The Honest Apology Method to Revive a Neglected Email List
Make the first e-mail an apology and explain what you’ve been doing for the last couple of months – the short version.
“We’re updating our database (true) and want to know if you still want to receive our (insert your name) Newsletter. Click on the link if you still want to receive emails from us”.
To ensure maximum delivery use plain text for this email. Plain text has a much better chance of getting through spam filters than graphics, images and loads of links. Also, consider giving something of value with a redirect to a landing page to download.
Tactic 3-7 should all begin with an apology. Each different approach on what content your email should contain.
3) Actionable Email Series Method
The message of this campaign is ‘Learn this’, ‘Get this outcome’, ‘Solve this part of your problem’.
This campaign is being helpful and “actionable” (easy to implement) in series of emails. Still, a re-engagement process and still begin with the apology email.
Build a series of emails messages describing how to solve your main users’ problem as it relates to your core offering. The goal is to remind people why they signed up with you in the first instance.
5-7 series of emails each packed full of actionable information.
4) Update Your Account Method to Revive a Neglected Email List
Ask people to update their email information.
This tactic gives the people an opportunity to enter a new email address, customize their delivery, and sign up for social media updates.
Again begin with the apology.
5) A Video series for Email Marketing
Videos are hot, hot and hotter (if you follow fads).
Don’t jump just to jump. Instead, your goal for a video (series) is reintroducing yourself to your subscribers. Using video to accelerate the know you, like you, and trust you.
6) List of Articles
Begin with an apology, and then introduce yourself with a list of articles you’ve published in the last while. As always the articles have to relate to your niche.
7) Contest time Method of Email List Building
Run a contest – the premise of this re-engagement tactic is people want free stuff. I don’t agree with just giving away for the sake of giving away. In some niches, content as a re-engagement tactic would work.
A giveaway does condition people to expect free from you. Not always good when you want to get paid in the future. As always your mileage may vary.
8) Offer your Amazing Offer Method of Email Marketing
Well yes!, but, actually No. Don’t. Do. This.
One of the ground rules we established at the beginning was not to sell something as your re-engagement tactic. However, I am mentioning this tactic, because if I ignore mentioning then I am ignoring.
The ‘here is my special offer’ offer is one grey shade away from spam.
The premise of re-engaging a neglected list is to kick start a dialogue and build a relationship. So when trust is gained you can then ask for the sale.
Most people on your list have forgotten you and forgotten why they signed or downloaded your super special lead magnet in the first place. Asking for sales is not the approach for list building or reviving a neglected list of prospects.
I would not use this tactic.
Now What? I’ve sent My Re-Engage Email
What is next?
Continue your list building strategy. Segment people. If you choose the *Door #1* approach and method then your email list is good to proceed with your ‘normal’ email marketing routine.
Depending on many factors – you may have lost 40% or 60% of your list. Yes, that is painful. And is the medicine for not keeping in regular contact?
The people remaining on your list are highly engaged and want your emails. Nothing could be finer.
Approach no. 2-7 has an extra step to reengage the ‘dormant’ people on your list. Besides sending a second ‘hello are your still there’ message.
These ‘dormant’ subscribers become a Facebook custom audience.
Put your ‘dormant’ Subscriber Into A Facebook Custom Audience
‘Dormant’ subscribers have not opened your email, but, have not unsubscribed either. So they
- are fair game for targeting, and
- probably need a bit of a reminder, on Facebook, that you still exist.
A reminder in the form of a Facebook Advert will be the reminder they need.
Sneer if you like or applaud with your ‘a ha moment’.
Setting up a custom audience on Facebook will match between 30-60% of your email list with Facebook users.
Build an intelligent and sympathetic campaign to reengage. Do not follow my example on the right! Make your creativity and wording similar enough to your email campaign so it cannot be missed. The goal is re-engagement not selling ‘Hey, Remember me?”
Method 7, 8 and A Bonus (that is 9) Ways To Engage A Neglected Email List
These are the first steps in the process of reengaging a neglected list. Naturally, you can send a second email and re-mail your non-responders.
‘What to do next’ flows from your email marketing strategy.
Subscribe to my list and I’ll answer how to do that in your Inbox!
What is Email Marketing List Building?
List building is getting people onto your email ‘list’ so you can sell them products and services at a later time
Why do I need to build a list of people who’ve not purchased from me?
Now, we’re asking the right questions. List building is a funny method to get sales. Simply, people are not ready to pay you for products and services – at this time. But, people are interested enough in you that they will invite you into their inbox.
After getting a sale list building is the second more powerful action you can perform to grow your business.
KEY ANSWER HERE! How long does it between people Opt-in to your list until you get sales?
How long is a string? No, not really. Allow me to answer this question from a research focus direction.
Dean Jackson said this: Email marketers normally put people through a 30-90 day gauntlets/series funnel to maximize sales.
The email service provider did a survey and found that 50% of people who requested info, by email, about shoes, fridges, faucets etc., bought within 18 months. The other 50% did not buy.
Read that again. Of that 50% that did buy, 15% purchased within 90 days. The remaining 85% purchase between 90 days and 18 months!
When Doing List Building how do I get People on My List?
Beg, borrow, steal, scrape.
No, don’t. Just don’t! These are black hats and in some areas illegal.
List building is one of the three legs of your marketing. Website/SEO, Email Marketing and Social media.
How to list build? Offer a bribe!
So the traditional *sign up to my newsletter* is the equivalent to please let me span you.
An ethical bribe is the best. examples are checklist, cheatsheet, pdf, video series, email series, the first chapter of a book, the first lesson in a course, discount and coupon codes, content upgrades.
Ok, I got Opt-ins to my List Building, Now what do I say?
This Email marketing is the killer relationship post cover, in-depth, how to build relationships for 2021.
Photo by Kristina Tripkovic
Thanks, it’s been a while since I sent a campaign. I think I need to re-engage. I will certainly follow these great tips. I will remember not to be expectant of anything and yes, I will be as human as humanly possible!
Thanks for the great tips as usual Urban.
Carol,
Thanks for stopping by.
Is it a time to sign a pack together? 🙂
I’m the first to admit marketing is not easy. Many, many ball to juggle at the same time, email being one.
Again thanks for dropping by and commenting.