Can't explain the drop in email sales — can you help?

by 8 replies
10
For several years I've been doing very well in a non-IM niche offering free content and engaging in successful list building.

This niche is evergreen and not related to making money in any way. It's a passionate hobby that knows no seasonal boundaries and sales via email were very consistent for a long time.

My follow-up sequence offers a mix of free content as well as product offerings, and we also offered a special package deal once a month to all subscribers. That monthly special typically would run about 4-5 days with a deadline.

Here's the thing: While those monthly special offers still do very well, the daily sales from the follow-up autoresponder sequence have fallen off dramatically.

Not just a little bit, but a lot. And I can't quite figure out why.

The follow-up sequence has 26 messages, spaced out every other day. A typical message would be fairly rich in good, useable tips, followed by a product offering for those who wanted to take the content to the next level. Before you tell me the sequence is the problem, keep in mind it worked fabulously well for a long time (about 2 years) until a gradual but steady decline in the last 6-8 months.

Has anyone else noticed this sort of drop in their own autoresponder campaigns, too? Any advice on troubleshooting? Thanks for any insights.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #drop #email #explain #sales
  • It's weird how some posts on WF get tons of comments and outreach while some that offer help or need help go without as much as 1 comment. Still baffles me to this day...

    anyways, I have a good idea what it is and I created the video below for people to share with their lists that explains just what to do.

    Gmail recently changed it to where gmail AUTOMATICALLY separates PROMOTIONAL type emails and places them in the promotions inbox. Some people who aren't email savvy will never even notice what has happened.

    It's pretty good at filtering too. Just another move by Google to crush internet marketers.

    This video shows how to move emails to inbox
    New Gmail Inbox Categories - How To Move Promotion Emails To Inbox - YouTube
    This one shows how to disable them altogether.
    How To Disable New Gmail Inbox Categories
    You're welcome to share them with your list...

    I'm going to inbox you because I have a question..
    • [1] reply
    • Dennisknows, thanks for this, but I have already addressed the whole Gmail issue with my subscribers.

      I should have put that in my initial post, sorry. Any time one of my new subscribers opts in, the next confirmation landing page they see informs them about this change, and it shows them how to fix that inbox problem.

      They also receive instructions in their first email how to make that switch, too.

      Thanks again for the help and I'll be happy to answer any questions in here or elsewhere.
      • [1] reply
  • If you listen to all the parrots out there they will tell you, the promotion box doesn't hurt that much. It does and I am working on ways to remove the limitations on it.

    It will be out late October or early November and will bypass the promotion inbox.
  • If daily emails are still making sales but the follow up messages aren't I would think there is some issue with connecting to your "new" subscribers....

    Since the "daily sales emails" are still doing okay - that leads me to believe the core group of buyers is STILL buying - but the new folks are either not getting your emails or they are no longer relevant to them...

    Also, you mentioned you have covered the gmail issue with your subscribers, but are you also doing this with new subscribers? Or was this just a "one off" email?

    Also, it could be something as simple as a misspelling or wrongly placed period or missing hyperlink in a few of the emails when you copied the messages to your own hosted autoresponder.

    Good luck.

    Cheers,
    Coby
Join the discussion

Next Topics on Trending Feed

  • 10

    Can't explain the drop in email sales -- can you help?

    For several years I've been doing very well in a non-IM niche offering free content and engaging in successful list building. This niche is evergreen and not related to making money in any way. It's a passionate hobby that knows no seasonal boundaries and sales via email were very consistent for a long time.