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subscriber list has become unresponsive

by monster24
21 replies
Hi there,


I have a question for the all the list builder and email gurus out there. I have build my list (6,500) in a high profitable finance niche over the the last 2 years. Double-opt in of course in return for a valuable free ebook. All good so far. I tried hard to maintain the list well and have provided them with many free valuable advice but also of course other affiliated promotions. Well, this has made me some really good income in 2013.

I have noticed that now the response is getting less. It started in October and it's now what I would call more or less a dull list. Really annoying as this was my main source of income. Yes, I have sent a few promotions more than usual and I got a few comments that they didn't like that and some unsubscribed. Fair enough. You can't please anyone. But that the entire list has lost interest in my emails/posts/promotions ...I find that hard to believe. The clickthrough rate is still high ..not as high as it was but people still DO read my mails but do not take action anymore.

What's going on there ? I have I exhausted my list ? Have I hit them to hard ? How can I get them back ? What do you do in those cases ? Anyone with good ideas?

Would be really appreciated.

Best
Tom
#list #subscriber #unresponsive
  • Profile picture of the author ServicesForIM
    When I run into a rut with my list I usually ask them a question of some kind.

    Such as what is your biggest question concerning investments for the coming year.

    I love it when they answer back. I always try to start and maintain conversations with my list.

    It adds a personal touch which definitely helps with sales.

    Kate
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  • Profile picture of the author William2010
    You must understand, that a list, any list, has an expiration term..so if you re not going to add fresh subscribers to your list.. in time it will die.
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    If the email addresses are still working it is possible to revive the list.

    It is not possible to hit a list too hard.

    If they are not taking action you have probably recommended too much stuff that was really bad.

    Solution:

    Find some excellent things that you can recommend and build up trust again.

    Also, I would NOT send out free stuff to a finance related list. Much better:
    2 step approach. Send teaser (short) article and the long version for pay (10 bucks or so).

    Does not matter whether anybody buys in the beginning. But you build a reputation that your stuff is valuable.

    In the long run people WILL buy the long articles.
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    • Profile picture of the author mharry
      Definitely Each List have expiration time.

      What you can do in short term is offer them something free, which offers immense value to your subscriber.

      You need to add fresh subscriber, Ways to add fresh subscriber is by the main method you used to collect list, most of the times this is your squeeze page.

      Secondly you can do add-swap and finally launching your own product your previous contacts can pay off.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    Are you constantly sending them the same stuff over and over again or recommending them dud products?

    They might have lost faith in your recommendations a bit or are bored of seeing the same stuff over and over.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lightlysalted
    It's probably not your fault. People do opt out of lists or stop responding, that's why you need fresh subscribers. Good idea about asking them a question though to re engage with them
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  • Profile picture of the author Raimundas M
    Create a quality free report and send it to your list.

    Resend to unopens.

    If the report was helpful, those who read it will open your next emails.

    I use this strategy to keep my solo ad list responsive and it does work great.
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  • Profile picture of the author AzizA1
    Could be a number of reasons:

    - Too many emails (especially promotional stuff)

    - Most folk are feeling the financial squeeze & simply do not have the money to spend to what they feel isn't a priority.

    Best approach here, is to 'engage' your list. Send them an email saying that they're missed & offer them a free gift or special discount. (It would be a good idea to have this in the subject heading). Something like "We really miss you {first name}. There's a gift from me....."

    Have a contest/quiz to engage your subscribers & make the experience fun for them. Give the winner something special!

    If you still have persistent non-responsive subscribers, then remove them from your list. No need to keep carrying dead wood!

    Az
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  • Profile picture of the author Abrar Tariq
    Do some EMail swaps, obviously over time lists become dry, so add fresh subscribers to your list.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Ask a question and offer a high value 'freebie' like a new tutorial series or information series. Offering high value lists in exchange for them signing up to a new list would help as well. Keep asking for a couple of weeks (send once a week) then start pruning.
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    • Profile picture of the author monster24
      Awesome ! Thanks for all the great tips. Really appreciated. I will see what I can do to rekindle their interest.

      That a list has its expiry date ...well, that's actually what I haven't expected to happen. It took a bit of time and effort to collect all those emails. Oh well, lesson learned. Don't put all your eggs into one basket. Doh ! Thanks again for your help. Cheers !
      Tom
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      • Profile picture of the author mpollak450
        I would take a look at some FB pages, whether in your niche or not, that have a lot of interaction. Try to learn from them what they are saying and doing that is getting responses.
        I would say showing an honest interest in them and ask for feedback and comments on what you send them. You could also find out more of what they want specifically with a survey.
        Sometimes you just need and injection to get you going with stuff that people will respond to.
        Also, take a look at your emails to see what has changed about the content you have been sending out and also notice if what you are sending out is very similar to others in your niche.
        Always good to see what your competition is doing so you can be different.
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  • Profile picture of the author jvjoe
    Ask them questions about what is there most challenging
    in achieving their goal then create a free report out of it
    and send it to them, you will rekindle the trust in them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jtraits
    as i've read above, you need to continuously add more emails to the list. if not, it will "expire" and it will end up as you end up now
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  • Profile picture of the author LimitlessTraffic
    I wouldn't stop building a list to begin with, since the system is up and running already.

    But if you're list does get cold, I suggest sending a survey asking various questions. Get an idea of what products they liked or found helpful and vice versa.
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    • Profile picture of the author brux
      There could happen one of the following situations:

      1. You offer them same products - list has exhausted buying very similar products you offer them
      2. You offer them something much different from their expectations
      3. Your offers don't sound attractive - you need to change your writing style

      I'd offer them something valuable, instead of answering a list of questions - find out how active your list is.

      Attract new members to your list.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        You've had the stock answers - give them a freebie, etc.

        You said they were unresponsive, but are they still opening your emails? If they are not opening emails, all the freebie offers in the world are not going to help.

        Here's a weird idea...

        Give them some credit and just ask them. Ask a curiosity type question ("Has something changed?"). Tell them that you've noticed that interest seems to be dropping off, and you're afraid you're doing something different. No pitch, no freebie, just a chance to offer you an opinion on how you can make the list better for them.

        It's important to not incentivize an answer, or you'll get people answering to get the incentive and those will tell you what they think you want to hear.

        You might be surprised at the response.

        The worst case scenario is that you hear nothing back. Better you should know for sure that the list has tuned you out than to keep hammering away with things that are not working, eh?
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  • Profile picture of the author gcbmark20
    Hi,

    With a list that size you should always be able to find a percentage
    that will stick with you and respond to your emails LONG AFTER
    the honeymoon period is over so to speak.

    I've had people that have been on my list for many months and still
    open my emails.

    I find that sharing stories and of course sharing your personality too
    always goes a long way in terms of keeping others engaged and open
    to reading and of course clicking through on your emails.

    I always try to stay consistent too.

    Keep emailing them and don't allow your list to forget about you.

    Email them everyday if you have to just to re-ignite the fire.

    Hope these help and good luck to you my friend.
    Gavin
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  • Profile picture of the author paulfgran
    A list will go stale if you do not keep replacing the subscribers. You need to have a steady stream of new leads coming in. If you sell a single offer that the subscriber thinks was a ripoff or scam, you lost that customer. They might not unsubscribe, but they will stop trusting your offers. Going back to the 97% of people are to lazy to follow through with everything we offer, that's 97% of customers that you will probably loose per year.

    Now if you are selling a good product, that has a good success rate, then you will have more repeat customers. I would send out some good free content/software/plugins to get their trust back. And I would work on continually building that list.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    Tom,

    I would not even worry too much if they don't respond to your emails and offerings.

    I would continue to add value and promote stuff to them but here's one more very important thing I would do if I were you:

    Get new subscribers to your list every single day. This is one thing I learned over the past 11 years.

    The old saying is still very true...

    Fresh blood (new leads) is the life blood of your business.

    Start to do what you did before when you were building your list and make sure to have new leads coming in.
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