Building and nurturing an engaged email list is a key strategy for growing your business. But once you start seeing momentum, the last thing you want is a drop in your subscriber engagement. To help you keep the momentum going, I’m sharing 7 common mistakes to avoid when nurturing your leads.
1. Avoid Overwhelming Your Subscribers with Emails
Staying visible is important, but sending too many emails can push your subscribers away! If you promised a specific frequency when they signed up, for example weekly emails, stick to that. Suddenly increasing the number of emails you send can overwhelm your subscribers and lead to unsubscribes. Put yourself in their shoes: would you want to get daily emails if you were told you’d only hear from them once a week?
2. Stick to What Your Subscribers Opted In For
It’s tempting to promote new products or services, but sending content that’s irrelevant to your subscribers can damage your relationship with them. If someone opted in for updates on a specific product or service, sending them emails about something completely different will lead to spam complaints and hurt your email reputation. If you have something new to offer, send a link to a form or landing page where they can choose to opt in for more information.
3. Be Transparent with Your Audience
Clear communication is crucial for long-term engagement. Be upfront about what subscribers can expect when they join your list, including the frequency of your emails. A vague or misleading call to action (CTA) can lead to confusion and lower engagement. The more transparent you are, the more likely you are to keep subscribers happy and engaged!
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Let Inactive Subscribers Go
You need to regularly clean your list. If subscribers haven’t engaged with your emails in 3 to 6 months, it’s time to remove them. Continuing to send emails to inactive subscribers won’t help your engagement rates. Instead, focus on the engaged audience who is more likely to open, click, and convert. Cleaning your list can lead to better results and help grow your audience as time goes on.
5. Watch Your Traffic Sources
If you’re running ads or buying traffic to boost your site’s visibility, it’s important to keep an eye on where your traffic is coming from. While it can help bring in new eyes, not all traffic is created equal. Purchased traffic can sometimes be stale or low-quality, which may harm your efforts. Organic list-building is the best way to grow a quality, engaged audience.
6. Double-Check Your Campaign and Broadcast Setup
Are you sending out Campaigns and Broadcasts at the same time? Be mindful of your email schedule to avoid subscribers getting multiple emails in a day. You can segment your list so new subscribers receive only the campaign emails, and once they’re finished, they can be moved to a segment where they get your regular broadcast emails. This helps prevent over-sending and keeps your emails relevant.
7. Don’t Lead Subscribers On
When people join your email list, they trust you to deliver on your promises. If you offer a free resource or exclusive content at sign-up, make sure you follow through. Failing to deliver what was promised can hurt your credibility and damage trust with your subscribers. Always provide what you offer to maintain strong, long-term relationships.
Have you tried any lead nurturing techniques that have worked (or didn’t work) for your business? Let us know in the comments below how you’re growing your audience!