Ah, email marketing. One of the most secure (and ahem lucrative) ways to market your products and services to ideal buyers.
Once you collect someone’s email address, you have the opportunity to stay in direct contact with them for as long as that email remains active.
Do you realize how long, on average, that is?
According to the DMA, it could be a minimum direct contact of 10 years.
(Data and Marketing Association)
GRAPHIC: “51% of people have held the same email address for over 10 years.” – DMA
Think about what this could mean for your brand’s success. For a decade, you could connect, nurture, learn from, and sell to everyone who EVER subscribes to your list. (And that’s at the very least.)
Exciting, right? Yes. But just because the average person stays with the same email address for 10+ years doesn’t guarantee they will also stay subscribed to the same brands for 10+ years.
But, there is a chance—and you could be the brand to seize the opportunity.
How To Keep Your Subscriber Retention Rate High
Don’t take advantage of their (virtual) presence. First, they must consent. Then, they have the choice to stay committed to your brand or not. Just like any relationship, both parties must desire to be there and see it going somewhere.
Always prioritize these 5 things and you’ll have higher chances of being in it for the long haul.
1️⃣ Make it count: Every email you send out should bring value to the subscriber and give them direct “next step(s)” to take. Don’t make them guess what you want them to do—tell them!
According to the DMA’s 2023 Consumer Email Tracker, subscribers’ demand for educational and instructional content has significantly increased from 19% in 2021 to 34% in 2023. This highlights the importance of providing valuable information that resonates with your audience and guides them toward meaningful actions.
2️⃣ Make it exclusive: What’s the point of being on your email list if they can get the same tips and updates from your social media content? Incentivize them with exclusive access, discounts, early-bird sales, or straight-up JUICY resources and insight.
3️⃣ Don’t send too many: There needs to be a strategy for your email marketing. In certain promotional periods, you may send more than your normal cadence. That’s okay. You just need to be mindful and strategically map it out so you don’t overwhelm them. (You know what they say about too much of a good thing…)
4️⃣ Focus heavily on the subject line: What we would argue as the most important part of your email campaign, the subject line is their ticket to the rest of the show. You’ve got to make it enticing enough for them to want to come on in and see more.
5️⃣ Don’t abuse it: Sending unethical or spammy emails to your audience—or worse, manually subscribing email addresses without consent—can quickly land you in what we like to call “Spam Jail.” Once your sender reputation is ruined, it’s all downhill from there.
In a digital world where success is often measured by the size of a social media following, we’d rather keep our focus on 100 loyal, engaged subscribers and ensure they remain happy for 10+ years.
It’s a lot like playing chess while those with 1,000+ lukewarm followers (who only see content when the algorithm allows) are stuck playing checkers.
With email marketing, you’re playing the long game—versus the instantly gratifying game. Want support on your email marketing strategy? Book a free 30-minute consultation to start.
Katie Dyal is the founder and editor in chief of The Collective Source, an online media source and full-service copywriting agency. Her motivation stems from her deep-rooted passion for words and incredibly talented team. She aims to build a company culture like no other and assemble an online publication that’s available to anyone who feels led to read it. She is a Christian, aspiring author, and Florida native currently living in southwestern Montana.
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