The two metrics everyone talks about are list building and conversions. Opens don’t get discussed much any more, everyone knows that number’s unreliable. But there’s one metric that matters more than either, and almost no one talks about it. Drum roll. Retention. Here’s why. Say your list churns 5% of subscribers a month. Cut that to 2.5%, and a year from now you’re carrying nearly twice as many active subscribers as if you’d left it alone. Now boost your sign-ups by that same amount instead. You get more names on the list, but if they churn at the same rate, you’re just refilling a leaky bucket faster. Retention compounds. Sign-ups don’t. And the subscribers who stick around are your best source of new ones. They refer people. They reply. They buy. Like all of us, you want subscribers who open your emails, reply to some of them, buy your products, and stay on your list for years. You’ll still have to earn the sign-up. Solve one problem for them, or run them through a quiz that lands on a useful conclusion. Whatever it is, it needs to be worth more to them than their email address is to you. Then your first email needs to be a quality filter, not the soppy “thanks for subscribing” note that’s about 90% of what lands in people’s inboxes. It should take a stance and ask for a response. Something like this: One thing most people get wrong about email: they optimise for open rates. Open rates are a vanity metric, revenue per subscriber is the number that matters. Over the next four emails, I’m going to show you the three levers that move that number. Hit reply and tell me: what’s your current open rate? I read every response. If a new subscriber doesn’t reply within 48 hours, they’re not a good fit for your list. Flag them for re-engagement or removal in 30 days. Most autoresponders charge per subscriber, so clearing the decks fast saves you money. And in my experience, subscribers who don’t respond fast rarely respond at all. A responsive list of 500 beats a non-responsive list of 5,000, every time. There’s one way I know to build a list like that: fewer people, every one of them worth having. You’ll find it laid out here: https://go.wm-tips.com/sr-list. Regards, |
