6 Steps to More Engaged SubscribersTakeaway notes from a DMNews webinar. By Aliza Bornstein, copywriter, Melissa DataIn “The New Email Imperative: Subscriber Engagement” webinar on May 20, Loren McDonald of Silverpop insists email marketing in not dead. However, bad marketing is on life support. In this sense, subscriber engagement becomes imperative.Step 1: Give subscribers a stake in the relationship. If there’s no data, there’s no relevance.Target communications based on age• Under age 26 targeted- age centric subject line- sent to recipients under 26 years- open rates around double average open rate• Mailing for the over 50 crown- targeted discount offer- open rates 75% above average open ratePreference center touch points• At opt-in• Welcome email• Normal email stream• Transactional emails• Web site/transactional process• At opt-outStep 2: Welcome emails—Start the relationship right away.Research by marketing publisher Marketing Sherpa shows mail subscriber interest begins to disintegrate as early as two weeks after the opt-in, as measured by the open rate. Within two months, the open rate typically falls 20% to 25%.Welcome Emails: Goals and purpose• Goals- speed up conversion- minimize list churn- strengthen brand perception- reduce inactivity• Purpose- educate subscriber- reward/incent- instill/reinforce trust- enable immediate “email experience”- provide administrative informationStep 3: Make it human—use personality. Customers want a personal note, not a direct marketing promotion. More than ever, customers want to connect with brands via real people (think Twitter).Step 4: Get them involved. Ratings, popularity, top sellers, most read articles, top 10 albums, top springtime recipes, etc. Social email is the new rival.• Are your messages share-worthy?- are you a trusted source?- tribal interests—what motivates your interest groups?- simplicity of message- ease of sharing- obvious value- timely and relevant contentStep 5: Use the data and create value through additional email streams. Use relevancy based on purchase data.• Cart AbandonmentDiapers.com implemented a cart abandonment reminder campaign. Compared to previous email campaigns they tried, they saw big results after only one month.- 48% lift click through rate- 129% lift in net conversion rate• Break through the clutter with new message streams- triggers- notifications- alerts- reminders- aggregators- updates- closeouts- …and moreStep 6: Don’t let them disengage or walk away.List Churn and Inactives—The Good and Bad News• The Bad News- A typical list will lose 1/3 of its members each year. (Bounces, spam complaints, and unsubscribers account for 2-4% per month).- 25% to 80% of your list is inactive. (Subscriber has not opened or clicked in specific time frame of 6 to 12 months).• The Good News- Churn can be reduced- You control most of your destiny- Some inactives can be reengagedIt’s hard to get people back once they’ve unsubscribed, so ask for feedback on how you’re doing or create a ratings system within a survey. Also, promote alternatives to unsubscribing. Offer email preferences on your unsubscribe page.---Source: DMNews May 20, 2009 webinar (www.dmnews.com). Loren McDonald is the VP of Industry Relations for Silverpop. Reach him at lmcdonald@silverpop.com. Visit National Business Women Enterprise Network
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