Minimize Unsubscribes from Advertiser E-Mail Blasts

Your list is the lifeblood of your email efforts. By utilizing careful planning and best practices, you can keep you list healthy. You can generate a lot of revenue through sponsored e-mail blasts and advertising-driven e-newsletters. However, you need to take care with how you create email blasts to prevent a subscriber revolt.

The first step is to maintain two lists, one for editorial and one for sales. State this clearly when the user signs up. For example, "By subscribing to the above e-newsletter, the publisher may periodically send you offers that are related to the topics covered in our magazine. Your email will be protected by our observance of a dual list sending system allowing you to remove yourself from sales offers at any time and still receive our editorial e-newsletter." Use your ESP technology to offer the e-news readers the ability to be removed from sales email and not editorial.

Make sure all offers sent to your list are in line with the topic of your publication. If you stray too far from what is acceptable to readers you will cause immense damage to your list. I’ve seen publications hit with removal rates of 7% from a single sponsored email blast with irrelevant ad content. You will lose a few people from any stand-alone email blast for a sponsor, so charge a premium for these. Also, avoid words like "special offer" or "free" in the subject line to avoid being targeted as spam.

Start off the email with a clear statement that declares why they are getting the offer and state how often you will or will not send these types of offers. If they unsubscribe, see if your ESP has a re-direct page that lets them update their subscriptions (editorial e-newsletter and special offers) instead of automatically unsubscribing from everything.

Finally, keep all offers to text. Graphical emails have a higher unsubscribe rate in almost all offers I have seen. Try a logo and text or a picture and text rather than a large image.

The BIG POINT...if the offer is in line with the core topics you deliver in editorial you will be ok. You will get un-subscribes, but you can minimize the effect on your total list.

Ryan  By Ryan Dohrn, CEO, Brain Swell Media