Attracting Subscribers to your Email Newsletter

One of the most effective ways to build a database of clients is to offer them the chance to sign up for your newsletter via the homepage (indeed, on EVERY page) of your website.  We've all seen plenty of websites with the words ‘sign up for our free newsletter’ displayed prominently on the page.  The idea is simple: when someone signs up for your newsletter they have already shown a level of interest in your product or service.  By signing up, they agree to you sending them periodic news and offers which may be of interest to them.  

In short, it's a highly effective way of building a database of contacts, many of whom will eventually turn into customers.  NOTE - once they start receiving your emails, they should always be given the option to unsubscribe if they so wish.

So it's important to make it as easy as possible for people to join your mailing list.  Make sure a link is included prominently on every page of the site - in the page header is often the best place for it.  If you're running an ecommerce site, make sure you give purchasers the option to receive your free newsletter (include this question on the same page they give their address details for their order).  If you offer them a 'yes' or 'no' option, set the default as 'yes' - many people will just leave it selected unless they have a strong reason NOT to want your newsletter.  Remember, you're not forcing people to have something they don't want - they can always unsubscribe later on if they wish.

Add your existing customers to your database too, provided you have their permission to do so. 

As we've mentioned in previous articles, it's important to keep the content of your newsletter interesting and worthwhile.  Ecommerce shop owners often include a special offer or discount code in their email communication - this means every time a subscriber receives their email, they are already anticipating the reward that awaits within!  

One of our customers sends out a monthly newsletter highlighting 3 or 4 specific products.  They always get orders as a result of the email although rarely for the featured products:  instead, this regular communication just prompts a return visit to the site whereupon many will simply make an impulse purchase.

So Will People Actually Read My Emails?

An Email Consumer Survey published by US firm Return Path highlighted the elements that most influence consumers to open emails. The winning factors seem to be ‘know and trust the sender’ (56%) and ‘previously opened and thought valuable’ (51%). What does this tell us about email marketing?

Your email marketing campaigns should be based on building a relationship of trust between you and your clients. If a customer or prospect has signed up for your email newsletter they will recognise your company name when they receive the first email and if they enjoy reading the content, will be more likely to open and read future communications – 32% say they only open emails they recognise and would normally read.

Email newsletters should be sent out often enough to keep recipients aware of your presence, but not so often that they get tired of receiving too much information. Once or twice a month is the accepted norm, but checking statistics for click through and ‘open’ rates will give a clearer indication.

• Email is the preferred method of commercial communication by 74% of all online adults. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
• 63 % of mobile email users check the account a minimum of once per day. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
• In 2010, 43% of online population believe that email is 'fun', compared to 55% in 2008. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
• In 2010 30% of total email time was devoted to commerical emails, compared to 17% in 2005. - Merkle "View From the Digital Inbox 2011" (2011)
• Only one percent of 500 surveyed retailers are sending a welcome series to engage new email subscribers. - Listrak "Creating an eCommerce Welcome Series to Increase Subscriber Engagement and Email ROI" (2010)
• 94% of daily email users subscribed to marketing messages - ExactTarget "Subscribers, Fans, and Followers: The Social Profile" (2010)
• 67% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to receive discounts and promotions. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
• 55% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to get a "freebie" in exchange for my email address. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
• Only 14% of US internet users say the motivation behind giving their email address to a company is to interact with the brand. -ExactTarget "Email X-Factor Study" (2010)
• 57% of internet users worldwide said they are more apt to buy a product in a store after getting a marketing email. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)
• In the United States, only 4% of internet users said marketing emails made them decide not to buy a product. - e-Dialog, "Global Perspectives: a Study of Consumer Attitudes to Digital Marketing" (2010)

ABOVE STATISTICS COURTESY OF EMAILSTATCENTER.COM

Next month's article:   Creating an effective email campaign.

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