3 Sure-Fire Ways To Alienate Your Email Subscribers
I’ve had an email list of opt-in subscribers for a couple of years and I’ve had varying success with promotions to my list.
I’ve had email campaigns where I’ve sent out just 2 or 3 messages promoting certain products and earned up to $2,500 in commissions in less than 72 hours… and I’ve also had email campaigns where I get mass unsubscribes and nasty replies.
One of the main challenges any list owner will face is continuing to offer fresh & interesting content that subscribers will be eager to devour. There is also a need to monetize your list and offer promotions that will result in cash in your pocket while identifying that thin line between “over-promoting” too many offers, and not promoting quite enough.
I’ve outlined three of the fastest ways to alienate your subscribers and while some of them might be a bit obvious, they still need to be considered seriously because many of us, especially those who are experienced list owners, tend to forget that there are REAL people at the computer screens on the other side of every email you send out.
I’ve done a handful of things right, but I’ve also done a LOT of things wrong when it comes to managing email leads. This email focuses on a few of the things I’ve done wrong, to save you the aggravation of experiencing the backlash of these ill-advised practices firsthand.
Here’s my 3 favorite ways to make your subscribers abandon ship and/or ignore your future messages…
1.)Â Use subject lines that are overly outrageous, controversial, deceptive, or attention grabbing, on a regular & consistent basis…Â (subject lines)
Granted, every now and then an edgey subject line is a great way to stand out in the inbox.  But, when you constantly use these types of subject lines you’re going to set off your reader’s “hype” meters in no time. Here’s an idea, try subject lines that actually give some insight to the content of your message and at the same time, describe some sort of benefit the reader will get to experience.
Any sort of deception in a subject line will also cause your subscribers to quickly lose faith in you. One list I subscribe to recently used a subject line that said, “Re: Notification Of Payment Received.” At first, I thought it was a PayPal payment for some sort of affiliate promotion I might have done in the past. You can probably imagine my surprise when I clicked open the email fully expecting to see the standardized PayPal notification explaining I had new funds, and instead, there was an email saying “Imagine if you had hundreds of emails in your inbox everyday with subject lines just like this one…”
Yes, the subject line caused me to click right away. But, the subject line used a very deceptive tactic so you can probably imagine how skeptical I was of every future message from that particular guy.
2.)Â Say you’re going to do something, and then don’t do it…. (broken promises)
Number two on my list of 5 sure-fire ways to alienate your email subscribers is another tactic you should always avoid at all costs. Never tell your subscribers you’re going to do something, and then not do it! It’s a pet peeve…
Example… “Watch out for an email from me in a few days with a cool video on this topic” – and then never send the video. Or worse yet, don’t promise to hook your readers up with something cool that you’re not 100% sure you’ll be able to deliver on.
I think a big reason things like this happen too often is because list owners will sometimes make mention of something nice they plan on doing for their list, when that something greatly relies on a third party being accountable. “In two days watch out for an email from me with more information on how to access this free report.” If you’re planning on promoting a product or giving away something cool that is through a third party make sure you know you’re going to be able to deliver on that promise.
If something comes up and you’re not going to be able to make something happen that you promised, be sure to be up front, clear, and honest about how it all went down.
Simple stuff, really.
3.)Â Mail at an inconsistent frequency… (mail frequency)
This one is easy… don’t mail your list too often! We all know that email is only welcome if it’s something you want to read, and as much as I might like your stuff, I don’t want to be reading it all day every day, especially if it’s all promo & nothing helpful.
Also, on the opposite end of this same spectrum, don’t mail too sporadically which can lead your subscribers to forgeting that they’re on your list, who you are, or what your deal is…
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There are probably 98 more ways, at the very least, to rapidly alienate your subscribers. However, the 3 things mentioned here are the most common mistakes I’ve made and are also the most common mistakes I see every day (I’m on a lot of lists, just spying & taking notes mua haha).
So if you want to cramp your own style, try one of the three things I mentioned here… OR, avoid these 3 costly mistakes at all times and increase the likelihood of building a happy, healthy, well-adjusted, responsive, and profitable list of email subscribers.