A Dirty Little Secret

You know how important your mailing list is. You’re (hopefully) adding leads to it on a regular basis, and wow, you never thought you’d have so many prospects! The reports look good, and it’s pretty exciting seeing the list continue to grow. And it’s testament to how good you are at generating leads.

But there’s a dirty little secret about lists that’s generally ignored. It’s the dreaded Non-Responder! Everyone keeps track of Unsubscribes (at least they should since it’s mandated by the CAN-SPAM Act). That’s usually pretty easy, and they should be a small percentage of your list.

However, you need to look at your Non-Responders as well. I define these as people who never really do anything with your email. They don’t click, they don’t respond, but they don’t unsubscribe either. Maybe they open the first message, and never open one again. They’re sort of a black hole.

So what’s the deal? They signed up to get emails from you, right? Why would they suddenly decide to ignore you? It’s enough to hurt a marketer’s feelings, I tell ya!

Often, it’s easier to focus on how many new leads are coming in instead of learning from this segment of your list. And almost all emarketing statistics are about what prospects DO, not what they DON'T.

There are several things you need to consider, but the number one question to ask is "How valuable is my email marketing message?" You might think it’s great, but obviously these people don’t.

I suggest you contact these prospects and find out how you can serve them better. You’ll be amazed at what people will tell you when you just ask. By reaching out to your Non-Responders, you’ll learn how to improve your value, and get the added bonus of re-engaging these prospects with your company.