While it’s nice to have a consistent format for branding purposes, too much consistency can work against you. It’s time to rethink and refresh your campaign. Here are five suggestions I have found that have worked wonders for me.
Are your subject lines all similar? Since many people decide to open an email based on the subject line content, make sure that yours is geared toward the widest audience possible. Are you offering a clear benefit? Mix it up and do something in your subject line that says “this email is different.”
Research shows higher open rates when the name of someone they know is included in the “from line.” If your personnel are well recognized in the field, use it to your advantage. To be safe, include your company name as well.
If you haven’t yet identified the best time of day to send your emails, review your historical records to find out. By avoiding those times when you know your email is likely to get pushed to the bottom of the list (Most studies show Monday is the worst day), you can improve your open rates.
Pull a list of customers and prospects that haven’t opened your emails during a pre-determined time frame – let’s say 12 months. Send them a special offer to try and re-engage them. This might be a coupon or a special report. Send them a second mailing announcing that their subscription will expire and send them a link to confirm they want to stay. Lastly, send a final notice giving them one more chance to stay on the list, and why they should re-subscribe.
While you may feel a resistance to removing contacts, your campaign results will be more accurate and you will lower costs if you are paying a cost per subscriber to reach them. People’s preferences and needs do change over time and it’s OK to let them go.
How often are you sending emails? Are you sending the same offers over and over again or delivering fresh content each time? Consider reducing the frequency, while improving the content to boost your open rates.
Are your emails all sales promotions or are they informative or interesting? It’s OK to promote sales, but it is equally important to build a relationship with customers. If you don’t have a content strategy for your email campaigns, it’s time to work on it. For a fresh perspective consider hiring a content strategist. Cut back on the amount of information included in your emails. Re-work the design and focus on clear calls to action.
Adding new subscribers who are interested and actively engaged in your products and services is one of the best ways to combat list fatigue. Evaluate how and where you are promoting your email subscriptions and take steps to improve. Promote your newsletter content on Facebook, Twitter and your blog, to draw new visitors to your website. Offer an immediate reward for signing up.
With these seven tips, I am confident you can keep email list fatigue at bay. What has worked for you?
