Blogs

By Peter Norton

As I speak to clients and prospects, one of the top questions I’m inevitably asked is what they can do to grow their list. While there are numerous ways to do this, I always like to respond with a question of my own: "Do you have any old email files?"

Almost every company I ask has an old list. And, I am not talking about a few thousand email addresses; many were in the hundreds of thousands to a few million. Not surprisingly, none of them wanted to admit that they had so many potentially good email addresses just sitting there.

Companies list several reasons for having these old files, and the top explanations include:

1. These were there before I started. (My favorite)
2. We did not know what to do with inactive emails, so we put them on one list.
3. They were incomplete. (missing first name or missing zip code)

So, my next question to these clients is simply "Do you have a plan for the list." The two most popular responses to this question are "No, because we don’t think we would be able to do anything with it" and "No, because using it would hurt our reputation."

"Fear not email marketers!" I typically exclaim. A strategic, well-executed re-engagement campaign can turn those dusty old filed into gold. The following example is based on actual results from one of my clients.

Example Re-Engagement Scenario

1. The client had an inactive list of opt-ins that had not responded to an email in over one year.
2. List size= one million.

Example Re-Engagement Strategy

1. Created a mini-series of 4 - 6 emails/surveys sent only to the inactive, opt-in list.
2. Delivered the emails over an IP that was different from those used for main list.
3. The purpose of this program was to recapture a portion of the lost audience.
4. Analyzed results after each mailing and made necessary tweaks for the next email in the series.
5. Provided a powerful incentive (if they did not respond, it’s safe to assume they never would.)

Re-Engagement Results

Here are the results achieved by following the strategy outlined above.

   1 million inactive opt-ins @ 90% delivery = 900,000 delivered
                                        15% open rate = 135,000 opened
                                   10% click through = 13,500 clicked through to offer
                                  5% conversion rate = 675 purchased
   675 purchased @ $100 conversion value = $67,500 total revunue

While these results might seem high, remember, they are the actual results from a past client. For such little effort, they were able to grow their list and create net-new revenue.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you go rushing off and start mailing to your inactive lists. You must be careful and take a methodical approach. However, after properly vetting the opportunity and executing it correctly, the gains can be quite rewarding!