All I Want for Christmas is… Email Subscribers

Look forward to some nicely packaged tips that will help you obtain addresses.

Santa would love to gift-wrap lots of new email addresses and put them under your Christmas tree. But he also has to stick to certain guidelines for you to continue doing successful email marketing. Still, he’s not coming empty-handed. He’s carrying some valuable tips for you in his red sack to make sure you get even more successful in winning new subscribers in the future.

Especially during the holiday season, it’s essential for businesses, bloggers and NPOs to successfully reach their subscribers with relevant content and offers. An optimal place for generating new and quality email addresses is your own website. Generate newsletter subscriptions, before users start leaving your website again.

Santa has therefore put together a collection of useful tips to help you win new email subscribers for a successful communication. Look forward to some nicely packaged tips that will help you obtain addresses.


Tip 1: Keep an Eye on Guidelines When Collecting Addresses

Whether you are a blogger, marketer or NPO, you must obtain your email addresses in accordance with the GDPR. This means you need at least Single Opt-In (a simple newsletter subscription) for your newsletter. We recommend to always use Double Opt-In – just in case. This means your new email subscriber confirms their subscription to your newsletter twice. Because two times are better than one? No, it prevents a third person from registering for the newsletter with another person’s email address without their knowledge and thus causing them spam.

Regardless of how and where you get new email addresses, you’ll always have to give proof of how you got them. A business card with a verbal request to receive your newsletter with the coolest Christmas offers, tastiest Christmas recipes or latest news about your charity projects will be difficult to prove. Also, no one will believe you that Santa brought you these email addresses.


Tip 2: Become a Subscriber Whisperer

Email marketing is an excellent and efficient communication tool to engage, inform or inspire your target group for your organization, blog posts or products. Especially on occasions like the holiday season and New Year’s. But in order to reach them in a targeted way or to win them for your newsletter, it is important that you understand your users. Ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Why should a user sign up for my newsletter and what do they expect from my emails?
  2. What benefits does the subscriber have when they receive my emails? Is it the inspiring recipes, special news, cost savings or the compilation of important tips on current topics, etc.?
  3. Do I take work off the hands of my subscribers? For example, when I do research on certain topics for them, provide them with the latest news, or compile trends, tips & tricks for them.
  4. What do subscribers expect on an occasion like Christmas and how early do they need news, instructions, recipes, offers, etc.?
  5. How can I use tagging for sending my subscribers personalized and relevant news or exclusive ofers (for subscribers only)?

Answer these questions and you will become a subscriber whisperer over time.


Tip 3: Communicate the Benefits of Your Emails to Potential Subscribers

Can users already know from your signup form or link what content they can expect? Clearly point out the benefits users get when subscribing to your newsletter. Whoever signs up for your emails should look forward to receiving them, or at the latest when your email arrives in their inboxes. For example, create an incentive by promising your subscribers exclusive offers – for newsletter recipients only. That could be things like holiday offers, festive recipes or tips for a perfect Christmas Eve. Or you send each new subscriber a Holiday Discount Coupon.

Beauty blogger Caroline Hirons clearly communicates what subscribers can expect from her newsletter:

 

(Source: https://www.carolinehirons.com/)

When signing up for Nina Campbell’s newsletter, subscribers don’t only learn what they get when signing up, they also get a discount code – a strong incentive to boost your mailing list.

 

(Source: https://shop.ninacampbell.com/#)


Tip 4: Keep the Sign-Up Process Simple

Your signup form is a huge factor for potential subscribers whether they sign up or not. That’s why your signup process should be as simple, clear and transparent as possible. Benefits and a simple signup process make sure potential subscribers hit the “Subscribe“ button. And before you know it, you have another subscriber on your list.

Now the only thing missing is the subscription confirmation – Double-Opt-In. Then you’re always on the safe side.


Tip 5: Keep the Unsubscribe Rate Low

One of the main reasons for unsubscribes is the sending frequency. The second reason is irrelevant content subscribers are just not interested in. Some people also only subscribe to get an exclusive offer, but it’s still important to try to keep your subscribers on your mailing list.

  1. Ask your subscribers why they want to quit receiving your newsletter. Provide a multiple choice with predesigned answers or offer a field for their own text. Feedback can help you optimize your content.
  2. Be personal and show that you’re sad your subscriber has decided to unsubscribe from your emails and say goodbye to you. Maybe they are thinking about staying after all.
  3. If it is due to frequency that the subscriber wants to unsubscribe, give them the opportunity to take a break from your emails or to reduce the sending frequency.

Don’t condone unsubscribes – get creative. If you’ve already put so much effort into winning them, then try to keep them from leaving.

During the holiday season, you could have a little Santa say “Ho-Ho-Hope to see you soon!“ … because he’s sad the he no longer can deliver emails to your subscribers’ inboxes. You will see that a human, humorous reaction to an unsubscribe will certainly be better received than simply accepting an unsubscribe without any comment.

Become an Address Winner!

Even if the email subscription process seems like a tedious matter at first, you’ll see that there are lots of ways to get your message and products to your users. Get creative and try to put yourself into your users’ shoes. You’ll see – it’s worth it.


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