Subscription management
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Previous topic: Newsletter management and delivery
Next topic: Unsubscribing
Although this report focuses on retaining and enthusing subscribers, conveying professionalism begins before these subscribers have even signed on the virtual dotted line.
The elements of a "professional" sign-up system are:
1. An easy way of communicating the wish to subscribe
Unless you're a small or private publication, your subscription process should be automated. All but the newest email users expect this (remember, we're trying to meet expectations here). This means quite simply either:
- a web-based form (of the "enter your email address here and press the submit button" type), or
- an email-based approach, where the would-be subscriber sends an email to a subscription address.
You can also offer both alternatives, each acting as the back-up option if the other fails to work properly.
If you ask would-be subscribers to send an email to a subscription address, then make sure they understand what they have to write (if anything) in their email. Make it clear which words have to appear, and where. For help on website sign-up forms, read 10 tips for better sign-up forms.
2. A clear and accurate indication of what to expect once subscribed
You should indicate what your newsletter contains (its content) and how often it's delivered (daily, weekly, etc.) Good "sales copy" to encourage subscriptions is important, of course, but be careful not to oversell and under deliver. A disappointed subscriber is not an enthusiastic subscriber.
There is a basic principle at stake here, one relevant to many aspects of newsletter management. You do not want subscribers who have been tricked or misled, whether deliberately or by accident, into subscribing or staying subscribed to a newsletter.
Ignoring the ethics for the moment, such activities simply work against what you're trying to achieve with your newsletter.
The success of your newsletter is not measured in terms of total subscriber numbers, but in the number of enthused and active subscribers. Tricking or misleading subscribers does not create enthusiasm, influence or impact. See the box under unsubscribing for more discussion on this point.
3. An indication of what you're going to do with the email address
Make it clear what you're (not) going to do with submitted email addresses. Include either a simple statement affirming your respect for the (potential) subscriber's privacy:
e.g. "Your privacy is safe"
...and/or one or two lines of explicit text on the sign-up or confirmation pages:
e.g. "We will never pass on your email address to a third party in any way or form"
In either case, always provide a link to a more extensive privacy declaration or policy elsewhere. Make this policy easy for prospective subscribers to find of their own accord, too, for example by placing it at the bottom of every page at your website.
Whatever legalese you're obliged to put in your policy, add a paragraph or two explaining it in simple words your (potential) subscribers can understand.
Clear statements on privacy reassure the prospective subscriber, and demonstrate that you take a responsible approach to list and subscriber management.
4. Confirmation message(s)
Ensure that a subscriber receives confirmation that their subscription request was successful. If an address is submitted via a web form, then ensure a confirmation and thank you page appear. Also send a confirmation message by email.
5. Alternative contact information
However simple the subscription process may appear to you, there will be people who are unable to make use of it. Perhaps their browser doesn't support web forms, or their email is not configured properly, or your system has broken down.
Provide alternative contact information where people can send a manual subscription request or can inform you if your system appears to have failed.
6. Demographic data
If you collect demographic data at sign-up, such as names, zip codes, etc., then make sure you ask for the minimum you need. Don't collect data just for the sake of it, collect it because you'll use it.
You might also explain why this additional data is required, and demonstrate the benefits to the subscriber of volunteering the information, if this isn't obvious. This shows your respect for the subscriber's time and privacy.
Need more email marketing guidance? Try the email newsletter.