How to Make Your Subscribers Stay in Your List

list-building-happy-subscribersThere are many reasons for having a list. It could be for news disseminating purposes, for your latest posts, for paid information, or most likely for marketing things around people who’re interested enough to sign up.

Whatever the reason is, list collectors agree on the same thing- we all want to keep our subscribers loyal and never leaving.

What Makes Subscribers Abandon Ship?

Before we go about and talk of things to keep your subscribers eager members of your list, let’s first look at the opposite phenomenon of actually pushing them away (ie making them unsubscribe). What is it really that turns of a subscriber?

Well, there could be lots of things. But it all boils down to list makers who are greedy. Greedy in what sense you ask? Greedy for the fact that they’d usually focus what would give them the most returns regardless if their subscribers actually get the value that they have promised.

This is the common pitfall of every list-building out there. Many just don’t deliver (no pun intended) their promises and end up abusing (or worse) spamming people’s emails. A Big no-no.

What Makes a Subscriber Stay?

I’ve once signed up in this local company (let’s call it Company A) list that offers great deals and notices of valuable coupons. I rarely sign up on lists and even if I do, I get very, very wary ready to unsubscribe at a moment’s notice. And to add to that, I rarely stay on a list for more than a month if the emails tends to be too scammy or just want to lure me into useless buys.

Anyway, what happened was, to my surprise, I stayed up into Company A’s list and up to now I’ve been a very eager recipient of their email notifications. Interesting case study. So I asked myself the ‘why’s’ and figured out this will be a useful tip to share.

And here they are:

TIP # 1: Don’t be random about your list! Most bloggers use their list as a catch-all (and I don’t blame them). The danger is, sometimes you really don’t know what to expect or you find it hard to figure if what you’re getting is useful at all. I think it’s always better to be specific what your list is about. Nothing too everything-under-the-sun if you know what I mean. People subscribe to your list for a specific reason, so you better email them the specific thing that they’re after.

TIP #2: Fulfill promises. So you promise you’ll be sending them marketing tips every week? Or give them freebies for subscription? Or provide a 30-day free course that will boost their performance? Well have you done it? If so, good job! If not, act before it’s too late.

TIP #3: Good deals and surprises can make someone’s day. The reason why I stayed in Company A’s list is because I always end up happy whenever I receive a special treat (like a 50% discount on a resto or some bucks off a nice therapeutic center). I may not be using all that I receive but the point is I actually gain something with just a free subscription (this is where I realize the beauty of free).

You can do something special like award a valuable ebook or service to a random subscriber or partner up with a business to offer special privileges or discounts that only people on your list can use via exclusive coupons. You get the point. The thing is, make your list a bit more exciting. Throw in a nice contest once a year with a brand new cool gadget (hint: iPad. Haha).

TIP #4: Right frequency does the trick. There’s a concept of too much and too little. Too much and you end up exhausting your list, too little and people wouldn’t even remember they subscribed in your list to begin with. Moderation is the key. But where do you strike moderate?

As a general rule, there should be at least one email per week. Of course it varies depending to your own model (whether it’s a blog or a business or on how rapid the developments can be in your niche like for technology). I guess you’d have to experiment and figure out for yourself.

The last bit of reminder I have would be very simple. Always think of what your subscribers WANT. The more you give it, the more it comes back to you in the form of loyalty and thus… money will truly be in your list.

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Sean Si

About Sean

is a Filipino motivational speaker and a Leadership Speaker in the Philippines. He is the head honcho and editor-in-chief of SEO Hacker. He does SEO Services for companies in the Philippines and Abroad. Connect with him at Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out his new project, Aquascape Philippines.