Part 2: Deadweight
(This post is the second in a series on email newsletter best practices. To read Part 1, click here.)
How come I have a big email subscriber list but not many active emails?
A recent article from Direct Marketing News discussed some common email list building myths. One myth in particular – that “bigger is better” — is pervasive in all areas of society. We’re here to debunk that myth for email subscriber lists.
In the world of email marketing service providers, we see two basic packages offered to potential clients. The first package charges clients based on the number of emails they send each month. The second charges a monthly flat fee based on the number of subscribers in the list.
Each package type has its strengths, and we aren’t here to tell you which type works best for your brand or your budget. However, no matter which service provider or tool you choose, make sure you use it to the fullest.
So, while a big list can be useful, plenty of factors can make it better for brands to have a small list instead:
- Your big list is full of dead or undeliverable email addresses.
- Your big list has mostly deliverable email addresses, but your emails don’t get opened.
- Your service provider charges by your email subscription numbers.
If your email service provider charges you for the number of subscribers in your email list, make sure every person in your list is actively engaging with your newsletter. Spending money to send unsuccessful messages to disinterested people does not help your brand – or your budget.
Your service provider should give you access to reports that can show undeliverable email addresses in your subscriber list and why your emails bounce from specific addresses. We recommend cleaning up your email list based on these reports. Be certain to remove these email addresses from your list; only flagging them as undeliverable means they can still show up in campaign reports.
How can I get more people to open my emails?
If your email service provider charges you for the number of emails you send, you don’t have to shrink your email list. However, you don’t want to waste money sending emails to valid, but inactive addresses either. You want to send the most relevant, meaningful messages to get the best bang for your buck.
Most email subscriber lists have some inactive email addresses in them. What separates the successful email marketer from the not-so-successful one is that a successful marketer analyzes and experiments to recapture lost readers.
Some service providers will send clients an analytics report for every email sent that details who opened what. For example, IMN sends Warm Call Reports® to clients to help them figure out what content in their email newsletter is successful and what drags down their open and click-through rates.
If you have inactive email addresses, try experimenting with different types of content to re-engage them. If certain content seems a big hit with everyone except a few inactive addresses, drop the people who don’t bite to make room for new potential readers. If certain content is never opened, consider removing it from your emails.
Conclusion
By now, your email subscriber list should be smaller but feel fuller because the email addresses you have are more likely to be actively engaged with your newsletter.
How do your emails look? Are they filled with images that turn into small boxes with a red “x” once sent? Is the color scheme glaring? You don’t need a design or art degree to create sophisticated newsletters, and in our next post, we’ll show you why.
What tips and tricks do you use to see email newsletter success? Share your newsletter secrets with us on Facebook or Twitter, hashtag #betteremail.
