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July 8, 2004 Improve your Response Rates: Get Rid of the 'Deadwood' on your List Sometimes, relationships just don't pan out. I was reminded of this in my recent beach reading, Bergdorf Blondes (very fluffy, but very fun -- especially if you have some familiarity with Manhattan) and in a recent conversation with a client. Bottom line: you've got to know when to cut bait, whether it's with someone you're dating or with a group of names on your e-mail house list. I call them 'deadwood.' People on your e-mail list who just don't respond at all. Maybe they don't even open your e-mails -- or if an open is registered (which is no guarantee they actually looked at your message), there's never any click-through. Although it varies from client-to-client, you can be pretty sure a subscriber is 'deadwood' if you haven't seen any activity (open, click-through, website log-in) in the last six months (assuming you've sent at least three e-mails in this time). For some clients, I use an even shorter timeframe and the stepped A/B/C list approach I'll discuss later. They are many reasons an e-mail may 'go to ground' like this, including:
Another potential cause: appending. It's anecdotal, but I've often found that non-responsive list segments are comprised of names where the e-mail addresses have been appended. Not only is there no permission to send e-mail, there's no expectation of receiving it. Additionally, the e-mail address may not belong to who you think it does or it may not be that person's primary address. By removing the non-responsive names you can instantly increase your open and click-through rates (since both are calculated based on e-mails sent/delivered). If you're paying for the send on a CPM basis, you'll also lower your costs. Sounds like a no brainer, doesn't it? But it can be a difficult concept to come to grips with. Many organizations can't accept having e-mail addresses and not sending to them. For these groups, I recommend sending to non-responsive 'B list' names less frequently than your 'A list' responsive names. If you're currently sending to your whole list weekly, drop your 'B list' names to once a month while keeping up the weekly sends to your 'A list.' If you're sending monthly, keep that up with your 'A list' and shift your 'B list' to quarterly. You may find that some people respond better to less frequent e-mail. Others Concerned about alienating people? Include a note about the change in your e-mail and allow the 'B list' people to request a shift back to the more frequent schedule, if they like. You'll also want to keep tabs on your metrics and shift 'B list' people who are responsive back to your 'A list,' but watch them -- it may be that they respond better to less frequent e-mails, in which case you may want to keep them part of your 'B list' for life. If someone's been on your 'B list' a while and hasn't responded, consider creating a 'C list' that you mail to even less frequently. An in-house e-mail list can be a tremendous asset, if you use it strategically. I've helped my clients increase their response rates and recognize increased returns on their e-mail investment with simple concepts like this. Give it a shot and let me know how it works for you! Best,
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you have to say. Feel free to contact me with any thoughts or feedback about this publisher's note. |
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