How To Engage Your Mailing List & Stop Them From Unsubscribing!
Getting people to sign up to your mailing list is one thing, but encouraging them to engage with your emails or even open them, is a challenge in itself.
If a large percentage of your mailing list aren’t engaging with or opening your emails, we we’ve listed our top tips that will engage your readers from the minute they sign up to prevent them from hitting that unsubscribe button!
1. Offer an instant reward for signing up
Offering an instant reward for signing up will not automatically engage your new subscriber but will entice your future subscribers to hit ‘subscribe’ in the first place! A lot of companies use this technique and believe me, it works! Whether its a discount code or a package of useful information, giving some sort of reward for signing up is a great way to grow your mailing list. Softwares such as Mailchimp will allow you to send out an automatic email to every new subscriber so that a previously composed document hits their inbox as soon as they subscribe!
2. Create killer subject lines
With email marketing, the main aim is to achieve a higher open and click rate. An emails subject line is one of the only thing people have to go off to decide whether or not they want to open your email. Keep in mind that people’s inboxes are full of emails, so a good subject line is key to make sure yours doesn’t go unnoticed! Aim to make it catchy and to the point with a point of interest that will entice the reader to open the email to find out more. Including deals and discounts, addressing the person by their name and conveying a sense of urgency are all great ways of creating catchy subject lines to increase your email opening rates.
3. Make your emails mobile friendly
Around 68% of emails are opened on a mobile device. This means, making sure your email is mobile friendly and looks the same on a mobile as it does on a desktop is crucial! If your email opens or loads slowly, or the layout is confusing or skewed, those opening on mobile will instantly be put off and will most likely click off the email. Figures show that 30% of people will unsubscribe if an email does not render properly. So, If the vast majority of your mailing list are opening your emails on their mobile, not only are they likely to not be reading them but it may result in a lot of them unsubscribing.
4. Know your audience
It’s important you get to know your audience so you can send out content that will interest them and meet their needs. This will make it much easier to create emails that they will WANT to open. If they are interested, they will open the email and your click through and conversion rates will rise considerably. Understanding your audience will also help you to avoid sending out the same old emails that everyone receives and aren’t interested in. Tailor your content so it is unique and relevant to your audience to ensure they remain interested and more importantly, subscribed!
5. Include calls to action
It’s important to remind yourself every now and again that you’re not just sending your newsletters out for the fun of it, you’re doing it for a reason. Whatever that reason is, you need to ensure it’s clear in every newsletter you send. Having a strong call to action which explains to your readers what you want them to do - whether its follow your social media accounts, visit your website or blog or buy a product, will make your newsletters a lot more effective and worth while. The better your call of action, the more followers / traffic to your site or blog / sales you will get!
6. Make your mailing list feel special
A great way to make your mailing list feel valued and therefore less likely to unsubscribe is to provide incentives for them to remain subscribed and read your emails. If you’re providing them with samey samey information that can be found anywhere online or promotional codes they can get in a quick search on Google, they’re not going to be that impressed. Whether its special offers or exclusive tips only for them, make sure they feel special and valued as a subscriber. This will give them a sense ‘FOMO’ if they weren't to receive them which will not only discourage them from unsubscribing but it will give others an incentive to subscribe! Just make sure everyone is aware of what they will be missing out on if they aren't subscribed!
Still confused on how to engage your mailing list? We offer Email Marketing Services at Sassy Digital! Get in touch for more information! - @lucyhitchcock_ @sassydigital