Show Them the Love and Watch Your Subscriber List Grow

When it comes to building a list of customers and prospects to engage with via email – quality not quantity is the key.

An active, engaged database of subscribers will help improve your deliverability by reinforcing your reputation as a trusted source among ISPs (Internet Service Providers); ensure your campaigns perform well; and provide you with a list of high-value prospects to nurture.

So how can you attract this goldmine to your database? No surprises here: it all comes back to the “you gotta give to get” rule. Provide something of value to your target audience (whether that is in the form of great, relevant content or an offer), and you can expect to receive value – in the form of quality subscribers – in return.

A recent survey of 1,100 marketers by MarketingSherpa found that asking customers to “sign up during purchase” is the most effective way to acquire quality subscriber leads. As I mentioned in a previous blog, some US companies are even arming their sales staff with iPads to make point-of-purchase email capture super-easy.

Mobile capture also ranks highly (it was fourth equal in the MarketingSherpa results) and our clients are currently enjoying success with using TXT to invite people to “Text in your email address” as part of an offer-based campaign. It’s a great way to utilise the TXT medium, which is at its best when used for short messages or prompts while people are out and about. You can then follow up with a more detailed message through the richer medium of an email.

Another effective driver is friend-get-friend promotions. These provide subscribers with an incentive or offer of value to them and any friends who they pass the offer on to, and who then also sign up. (We’re currently working on an exciting new development which will assist you with this.)

Of course, it’s worth ensuring you promote any subscription drives at every available opportunity: if you have a regular newsletter make sure you highlight it on your website (perhaps showcase a previous issue, along with the benefits of joining – freebies, exclusive offers, breaking news), and on your company Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

And remember to provide a great welcome as soon as a new subscriber does engage – an automated on-boarding programme can ensure new customers and prospects have a great experience, without requiring any additional resources at your end.

There are no short cuts – you must earn your subscribers’ attention through listening to them, and providing content that’s timely, relevant and of value. In return, you’ll have an army of advocates and fans keen to hear from you, purchase from you/enlist your service(s), and who are happy to advocate on your behalf.