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How to approach my list of 5,000+ email subscribers that opted-in 5 years ago that I never emailed.

by csa_dummy
12 replies
I have an opt-in form in my website of email subscribers to my newsletter list. My website has been running for 5 years already, and we have grew it to about 5,000+ subscribers. To date, I have just kept on growing the email list and never sent a single email/newsletter out to the subscribers.

The email subscriber lists are just saved into my database on my webserver, not on an auto-responder email marketing service such as Aweber.

Right now, I want to get into email marketing and get in touch with these 5,000+ people that signed up my email list.

I signed up for Aweber earlier today, but the problem is that before I can successfully import the entire list to Aweber, they have to be sent a subscription confirmation to the "subscribers" to confirm their subscription before getting successfully added.

My concern is that many of these people signed up up to 5 years ago, and many may have forgotten my company or forgotten signing up to my email newsletter.

I wanted to send an email to my 5,000+ subscribers, but the email confirmation makes it an extra step, and will definitely lower down my email subscriber list.

The simple thing to do to send an email to 5,000+ subscribers is to send an email blast by using my standard email client (Google Apps), and sending emails via BCC to a bunch of people. At least that way, everyone gets the email promotion without any further confirmation of subscription.

Is Aweber the right tool for my situation, or is there a better tool that could solve my problem of sending a newsletter or promotion to my list of 5,000+ people that subscribed within the past 5 years?
#ago #approach #email #emailed #list #optedin #subscribers #years
  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    Try Imnica, they are very affordable and if you have the IP address for this list you can import them w/o them having to re-confirm.

    But with a 5 year old list, a lot of emails will probably not be good so you will get lots of bounces and probably some spam complaints as well.

    Good Luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
    Import and take the plunge, hope for the best. At this point I'd personally just assume the list is useless, better not to expect anything--you might be surprised though. Go for it!
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  • Profile picture of the author bobsilber
    Is your list from a single or double opt-in?
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  • Profile picture of the author mandark
    If you have the emails and information on your web server, you can write a quick PHP script to send them each an email without the help of AWeber or similar. I would make this email a "Hello, long time no talk!" email which reminds them who you are, and lets them know that you are ready to provide them with some useful stuff. At the end of that email, mention that you are switching over to AWeber, and that they should expect an email from them to confirm the subscription. You could also promise a free gift (ebook or something) to everyone who stays on the list after the AWeber switch.

    This will:
    1. Remind them who you are.
    2. Warn them that the other email is coming, so they know it is from you and not think it is spam.
    3. Let them know that you are ready to start providing them value.

    If you need help writing the PHP script, PM me.. or you can replace that part by just sending an email to them directly (copy-pasting their emails in to the 'bcc' part and sending a mass email from your address).
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  • Profile picture of the author Richelo Killian
    Don't import these with Imnica Mail. You will get a very high bounce rate, as well as spam complaint rate, which will just get your account banned.

    If you are serious about re-engaging with them, you will need to run a mailing script like php-list on a host which ALLOWS a lot of emails to be sent.

    You need to carefully craft a re-engagement campaign which will then lead them to signup to your list on a AR service like Imnica Mail.

    Trust me when I tell you that your bounces and your spam complaints WILL be through the roof. All reputable AR companies will ban you if you import this list and mail them.
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    Kind Regards
    Richelo Killian
    Email Deliverability Consulting
    Free Email Marketing Tutorial

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    • Profile picture of the author BenoitT
      Import it to Aweber and don't spam people that don't want to receive e-mail from you. That's it.
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      Benoit Tremblay

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    • Profile picture of the author Coby
      Originally Posted by Richelo Killian View Post

      Don't import these with Imnica Mail. You will get a very high bounce rate, as well as spam complaint rate, which will just get your account banned.

      If you are serious about re-engaging with them, you will need to run a mailing script like php-list on a host which ALLOWS a lot of emails to be sent.

      You need to carefully craft a re-engagement campaign which will then lead them to signup to your list on a AR service like Imnica Mail.

      Trust me when I tell you that your bounces and your spam complaints WILL be through the roof. All reputable AR companies will ban you if you import this list and mail them.
      Okay, this sounds like the better option... Thanks for clearing it up Richelo
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  • Profile picture of the author tom johnson
    used a SquierelMail 1.4 if you have your own website sometimes it comes with different email servers you can choose from, so with squierelmail you can just copy the list of email to the contact list ,an send each user the message or ad that you want to send it an so it don't end up in there junk folder try to used less web links or pictures, depending on the users email providers such as yahoo,hotmail or gmail sometime the email you send them can end up in there junk folder

    buy try out SquierelMale
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  • Profile picture of the author adana
    Banned
    what is good about SquirelMail?
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  • Profile picture of the author RogerBell
    I would go with aweber and contact their support, explaining your situation.
    You also put your hosting account at risk, and depending on the registrar your domain as well.
    You might try a new domain and hosting for the first mailing, consider that a throw away, just in case spam complaints pile up. $10 for the domain and $10 or less for one month is cheap insurance. 5000 emails will guarantee some spam complaints
    Mention your old site but do not provide a link in the initial mailing... That could get you banned/canceled etc. After the double opt in you're good to go.
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  • Profile picture of the author ValentinJed
    Richelo is right. You need to create a nice campaign for that. Create some killer free content, send them to your list using some custom script and make them subscribe to your Aweber list for more content.
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    • Profile picture of the author milkyway
      Just a thought... Depending on the topic of your website, it might not even be worth trying to re-activate the list.

      E.g. if you had a website about pregnancy info, the changes are VERY high that the people on your list would no longer be interested in your topic...

      So, before you craft a reactivation campaign and spend a lot of time and effort on this, consider whether it'll be worth it. And no matter what you do, don't forget to build up a new list with a reputable list service right now, starting today.

      Regine
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