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Are You OK With Breaking Up?

Mar 12 2009

This seems to be an ongoing conversation that many email marketers have each day. Now you will read that so many are okay with cleaning up their lists in order to have better performing email campaigns. But then on the flip side so many of them are nervous to break up with subscribers do to inactivity, poor conversion and even bounces in some cases.

Well welcome to the couch. I will let you know that it is ok. You will be fine. Your campaigns will perform better. You will not be fired.

But is there a better way to approach this as no one really (no matter what they say) is comfortable with the cleansing of a subscriber list. Sure there is. Here is how I might suggest you approach it.

First: Build your Campaign. Focus on two segments to test. I would push you to the win back campaign to get them reengaged. While taking the other approach of letting them know clearly that they can manage their profile or preferences (if you have a preference center) to find things that are more relevant to them. Maybe they only want to hear form you less and you have been pounding them outside of their engagement cycle.

Second: Segment your lists. Build your lists based on performance attributes that you deem to be the make up of someone to break up with. Maybe it is not read (try a different subject line here). Or it could be a read but no click. Your call as they are your lists. You know best, not me.

Third: Test. Test. Test. Try some different approaches to engage with these people. Try text only emails. Try to save the relationship.

Fourth: You have the results, but still don’t want to delete them from your life. Fine. Segment those people out into a seperate list and work on reengaging them on key times, sales, launches, etc. Get them when you are hot.

It is alot like dating. Think about it that way. You win some, you lose some. But those that love you might come back later.

Do you have any good ways you have done this to share?


Published in Behavioral Marketing, Best Practices, Deliverability, ISP Relations, Lead Capture, eMail Marketing Optimization

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3 Responses

  1. 1
    John Caldwell says:
    March 12th, 2009 at 10:05 am

    It’s okay to let go, even when it’s not your choice.

    If you had 500,000 email records and 10% spurn your affections; when you can learn to let go of that 10% your 20% conversion rate magically increases to 22.5%

    Do a little exercise. Trim some fat of spending time and money on dates that aren’t interested any more (and don’t be a stalker) while toning the muscle of your conversion rates, and you may end up in a good relationship with management….


  2. 2
    Matt says:
    March 12th, 2009 at 10:36 am

    A properly updated opt-in list will give you phenomenal ROI’s, also the cost of sending email is still extremely low.


  3. 3
    Ryan Ireland says:
    March 12th, 2009 at 11:06 am

    I think the list trimming argument needs a lot of clarity on behalf of anyone posting–one distinction that I don’t see much of is the discussion around metrics.

    Obviously, cutting inactives will boost open and click rates. That’s math, not marketing. But how’s your TOTAL PROFIT looking? I wish people would address that more often.

    It took me two years before I even considered cutting my leads list because of the lack of distinction. Then I sat down and really looked at my prospects and found a segment that, as a group, was genuinely unprofitable–the mailing cost to convert them was MORE than their LTV as a customer.

    Yes, after cutting them my rates went up–but what I really care about is that my Total Gross Profit actually went up slightly.