How would you kick-start a sleeping list?

Hi William,

There are many reasons why a list would go cold or as you call it - switch off.

First we need to know why the list has gone cold. One way to find out is by conducting a survey or asking them directly. To conduct a survey I use surveymonkey.com.

The first email subject line would be something like: I need your help.

After that segment your list and separate those who opened your email but didn't answer and those who answered to your survey. (Get those who answered to your survey on to a list called responsive or whatever name you choose).

* Send another email, but this time only to those who didn't open or answered to your survey questions. Subject line: I am sorry if I failed you... Then go on explaining that the reason you're conducting this survey is to avoid sending them information that may not be of their interest. (It may sound like acting from a position of weakness but there is a lot of power behind this approch!)

Follow the same segmentation process.

* Next send another email subject line: Re: Thanks for your feedback!
Then go on telling them how much you value their impute...blablabla and as token of appreciation you have prepared a special gift for them (give them something of real value!).

* Now to those who never opened your email. Send them another email informing them that they'll be removed from your list. Then explain why (be creative here). Then thank them for having been on your list.
You don't want people clogging up your list!

These are only the basics. In general those who don't open your emails for 6 month should be removed from your list. You know your list better than I do. So be creative in your approach.

Just to add.
In order not to lose the attention of those who are responsive to your emails, you may need to review your entire sales funnel.

Good luck.

You have to offer something of great value for free. Not some old PLR product either.

How about a using a joint venture? "We have just joined forces with Super Affiliate Guy and he has this mind blowing program. Free Info Here >"

Hey William,

I would suggest that you already know the list has gone cold, otherwise you wouldn't be asking how to wake it up here.

If that's the case you might want to save the survey tactic until you've already woken them up. I say that because a survey IS pretty powerful, why waste it on a bunch of people who aren't opening your mail?

Here's what I would do.

Day 1 - Send an HTML email (formatted to look like plain text, no pictures etc) with a subject something along the lines of "I just posted a awesome new video on my blog".

Then the body copy would be something like...

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Hey,

I just posted a really cool video on my blog. It goes over everything you need to know about (insert some subject they're interested in). Check it out.

Also I'd really like to hear what you have to say about it so please feel free to post your comments after you see it.

Thanks,
Your First Name

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This is assuming you have a blog in place. The same thing will work if you send them to a static page on your site, but you really want to send them to your site to consume the content.

Also be sure to turn on click tracking in your email management system. Also DO NOT pitch anything. The stuff you send has to be 100% valuable content.

Day 2 - Segment the list and resend the same email to everyone who did NOT open the email you sent on Day 1. You can either use the same subject line or change it slightly to test response.

Day 3 - Send great content piece number 2 to the entire list. Same email strategy, catchy subject with short body copy that sends them back to your blog.

Day 4 - Same as day 2. Segment and send to everybody who hasn't clicked yet.

Day 5 - Send great content piece number 3 to entire list. Same drill.

Day 6 - Again same as day 2.

Day 7 - Here's where you send out your "Can I get a little help?" email. Body copy something like...

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Hey,

I've been getting a ton of replies to the content I've been sending out and I want to start by saying "Your Welcome"!

It's been a pleasure and I know you'd do the same for me if our positions were reversed.

Anyway, I could use a little help with something. See I'd really like to know what kinds of stuff you'd like me to send you. That's why I've set up a quick survey here.

You'd be doing me a big favor if you'd take a couple minutes to fill it out. That way I can get to know you better and find out what kinds of content you want.

Also I've arranged a nice surprise for everybody that's willing to help me out with this!

Thanks in advance,

Your First Name.

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When they click the links in your email they go to your survey page where you can get some valuable info, I'd try to keep it short enough to complete in just a couple minutes.

Then tell them that when they submit their answers they'll be redirected to a page where they can get their "nice surprise". In case you haven't guessed, the surprise is something that makes you money. Maybe a free 7 day trial to your product, maybe a nice discount, whatever get creative but make them a offer that leads to you getting paid.

Day 8 - You segment again and resend the "I need your help" email to everyone who hasn't opened it yet.

Now, there's obviously a little more detail to it than this. There's no way I could explain it fully here, but this should give you a good starting point.

The whole thing is a reciprocity play. See you keep sending them good stuff over and over without giving them a chance to do anything for you in return. Then you give them that chance by "helping you out" with your survey.

I didn't invent this strategy, lots of people having been using it in one variation or another for a long time. But trust me it works and it's something you can repeat over and over with slightly different content pieces and offers. Over time you'll find you can "wake up" quite a lot of your previously sleeping list this way.

Hope that helps,

Tony.

@Tony - excellent advise I appreciate your post thanks!

Tony, that's an excellent strategy and would like to thank you very, very much

I've seen Frank Kern talking about running a 4 day sale or something. You might look that up. ... Not a lot to it really if I remember right -- just run a sale for 4 days and keep in contact every day.

I'd begin by looking at WHO the list members are and why
they joined the list in the first place.

Are you meeting the expectation that you set in order
to get them to join the list?

Next, I'd ask how things have changed in that market.
Maybe people in that niche no long care about the
original topic of the list... if that's so, what's in vogue
now?

Also, are you actually giving them something that they
value, or is what you providing them yesterday's
rehashed, inaccurate, insulting content.

Finally, are you engaging your list members?

Is you personality, or SOME personality shining through
in your communications with list members.They need to
get a feel for who they are hearing from in order to bond
with and respond to you.

Willie

Email them.

It's that simple and basic.

How do you start talking to people you haven't talked to in a long time?

Show up. Talk.

How hard is that?

Interesting thread as I just started the process of bringing back to life a list I haven't mailed to in years.

It has a lot of potential, so I am starting slow. It's in the money-saving niche, so I sent a very short and friendly email tonight with a link back to my blog with a free source of coupons. So far, so good -- a good amount of opens with surprisingly few unsubs. I think I will slowly work up to longer emails and adding in some affiliate offers here and there.

Thanks guys, really appreciate all of your advice - I've started mailing out over the last few days and by employing some techniques here and some learned from another fellow marketer the open and click rates are up and complaints down.

I think the main reason the list went cold is purely down to techniques I was being tought on a program I won't mention which employed strategies I wasn't comfortable with at all...

Since leaving that program I've turned things around and the future looks much, much brighter, thanks all