BrightWave Marketing's founder lists ten ways to prevent unnecessary email unsubscribes.
Email list growth is a hot topic and presents itself as a tremendous challenge and opportunity for most email marketers. However, many marketers are seeking more expensive and difficult avenues, like list rentals and co-registration programs, when a basic and easy way to implement or manage this opportunity already exists. An email preference center is that place (or should be) on your website that can add subscribers and prevent defectors, while also providing a seamless and CAN-SPAM-compliant method of unsubscribing.
Email preference centers (or Email Subscription Center) are a great model for combining your email sales and marketing goals with your customer needs. JupiterResearch reports that nearly four out of 10 email marketers say list turnover is their greatest challenge. Forrester states that the average company will lose 30 percent of its email subscriber list per year.
With that in mind, companies are too often letting their users (or former ones, I should say) unsubscribe without offering them alternative solutions. Silverpop found in a recent study that 12 percent of companies gave customers the chance to change their preferences in addition to simply opting-out. That means 88 percent of the companies surveyed are letting customers leave their low cost, high touch form of retention without even offering them an alterative!
Email preference centers serve many purposes but primarily offer users a simple, menu style of to opt in and opt out of email newsletters. They can be thought of as your email program's home page. The ingredients of a strong preference center can be found below. And like a good soup, remember to stir and season based on what works and what doesn't.
- Complete description of email offerings: This should include titles of newsletters, descriptions of what they offer and the expected frequency of the email(s). It should include a function where the subscriber's current subscriptions are already marked and made available to view. This is the bread and butter of any Preference Center, so make it clear and concise and don't boggle users down with too much detail or forget to include overviews on what and why they should sign up for other email newsletters.Delivery Preferences. Subscribers should have the ability to choose whether they want to receive HTML or text versions. Use this section also to remind them to add your "From" email address or domain to their personal email whitelist while their interest in your email is at it's highest.
- Sample of each newsletter: Your Preference Center should whet the appetite of prospective subscribers. Give potential subscribers a chance to view a sample newsletter, either through a small popup window or by using a larger roll over window.
- Profile/email address change: Allow subscribers to quickly add or edit their profile, which includes their email address and other profile data you should collect, even if you don't require it for email subscription. This also will allow you to segment your database for better content and advertising opportunities. By allowing additional data to be collected once the user is subscribed, your users give you more profile data (and they will do this the better they trust you and your email offerings).
- Unsubscribe all emails/a la carte: Allow users to change content preferences as their needs change, in addition to just providing unsubscribe fields. For example, if you have been receiving Auto information from a content site but have bought the car, you may want to unsubscribe from the Auto newsletter but not from the Sports & Business newsletters. Ensure that your unsubscribe links and section denote whether the unsubscribe applies to one email or all company emails. One BrightWave Marketing client with some database restrictions included the following note above the unsubscribe link "Please note that when you unsubscribe, you are unsubscribing from all future emails from COMPANY." This helps inform subscribers of the broad consequences of unsubscribing and also helps curbs rash unsubscribes.
- Promotional offerings: By offering a free product or service with your email subscription, you entice customers to opt-in and increase user awareness when you first email them. This can be especially effective when building an email subscription database from scratch. Be savvy about how and what you cross-promote.
- Viral component: Provide your new subscribers a chance to forward your email offer or information about the newsletter they just signed up for to their friends, family and co-workers. Everyone likes to be an early adopter and cutting edge, so make your subscribers feel like they are a vital part of your community by encouraging them to help grow it. Consider rewarding these active new subscribers as well.
- Revenue/partner opportunities: While not a fit for all, the preference center can be a revenue generator. By placing a select partner offer or promotion box during or after new subscriptions, you can offer advertisers additional opportunities and subscribers valuable targeting offers, assuming they are relevant to your website and newsletters. You don't want to clutter your Preference Center with spam like offers or anything that can lessen your brand or detract from your core goals.
- Privacy Policy: ALWAYS have a link to your Privacy Policy where your subscribers are subscribing, adding/editing profile pages, etc. so that the user has the chance to read you strict guidelines (or not) on your personal information and how you handle your email marketing programs from a privacy standpoint.
- Customer service/Contact us: This is just as important as the Privacy Policy, as the contact us functionality is imperative, not just for customer satisfaction, but also to keep you aware of any possible subscription malfunctions or glitches that may not otherwise have been known. We come across many websites and forms that don't work all while the website owner is clueless. Of course, you should test all aspects of your website and email preference center but provide a quick and easy method for subscribers to contact you.
- Subscribe leaving/Last chance/Stay with us offer: As per CAN-SPAM Act, your unsubscribe link must be easy and functional, but that doesn't mean you can't offer your nearly-departed subscribers a carrot for them to stay as a subscriber or opt in for another newsletter or service. If anything, provide a simple form asking why they are unsubscribing before they click and leave you forever.
There are always other variables to consider for Email Subscription Centers including the hot topic of pre-checked boxes, double opt-in and double opt-outs. Give the strategy and implementation as much thought and resources as you would for a site redesign.
Finally, in order for these tips to be utilized properly, be sure to make them easily accessible on your website and in your emails, not just when someone wants to opt out!
For some examples of companies that have clearly defined preference centers, please check these out:
G. Simms Jenkins is founder and principal of BrightWave Marketing, an Atlanta-based email marketing and customer relationship services firm. Read full bio.