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How to Create an Email List that People Actually WANT to Stay Subscribed To

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Email List

Everyone knows that email lists are an essential extension to a blog. They can give you a new medium to communicate with your readers, a way to share content that you only want a select group of people to see, or a way to share your affiliate links so that you can hopefully make some money.

Bloggers everywhere are constantly stressing about how important it is to start working on your list right when you start your blog or website, but it’s not as simple as that. Just because you can manage to bring in a few email subscribers with your fancy opt-ins doesn’t mean that they are going to stick around for long. If you don’t do things properly, that UN-subscribe button might be used more than you actually want.

Here are a few tips that you should be following to make sure that your email subscribers actually want to stay subscribed:

Drop most of the affiliate links:

I’ve signed up to mailing lists that have spammed me over and over, weeks on end, trying to get me to purchase some new product. I bet that if you drop all of your affiliate links on your mailing list for about 4 months and then put up one affiliate link to a product that you seriously, seriously, seriously recommend, you will make many more sales.

I would much more trust buying a product through an affiliate link by someone that genuinely was trying to offer something of quality and is not just something new every week with the sole intention of making money from it.

Work on a cycle:

People become obsessed with simply spamming things such as new blog posts, affiliate links, and tips, all through people’s email. If I get more than 1 email from a mailing list a week, I WILL unsubscribe to it. Make sure to work on a cycle, only show your new blog posts in an email at a certain time; and do the same for your tips and affiliate links.

Provide regular tips:

Email lists that don’t offer anything of value and are only there to promote affiliate links will not last long in someone’s email inbox. Make sure to continue providing regular content that people do actually want.

Interview your subscribers:

This is a great way to keep subscribers coming back for more. If you set up a policy where you will regularly interview your subscribers and give them the opportunity to be featured on your email list, then they will want to keep on subscribing in the hope that they will also be featured.

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{ 28 Responses }

  1. Jyothis Thaliath says:
    Hey Peter, Nice article there! I'm impressed by the way you brought up your own methods for email-marketing, and I'm pretty sure they would work :) I am embaressed to say that I don't yet have a mailing list. While more than 90% of the world’s communication is done through email and that is the single fact that makes email list a major inventory in internet marketing. Ours being a product based firm, there is nothing else we should depend on when we want to promote their new product. Will look forward to read some more from you on the same series :)
  2. Prince says:
    Really I'm very much impressed by your way of explanation for upgrading our blogs in all concerns. I'm not a commentator but simply a blogger and want to get knowledge found from any place. Thanks for nice sharing........!
  3. Mani Viswanathan says:
    The last point you made is pretty unique. Never gave a thought to it. Will consider it when I start creating my ebooks.
  4. Tinh says:
    Yes yes yes :-) I unsubscribed to most of mailing lists just because they spammed me a lot even I unsubscribed to them, they still spam me. That is too bad. Thanks and I hope I would stay subscribed to many other who follow these guides
  5. Steve says:
    I do post to my lists more than one time a week, but never (unless I screw up somehow) more than 3x a week. OF those times though I try to have mostly pure informational content. Changing the style of the content and the way it is delievered to not make even that boring. It seems to me it is obvious when someone JUST wants your money and when someone will (of course) like your affiliate purchases but is also trying to deliver a good amount of independent quality content along with it.
  6. Robert Dempsey says:
    I keep my blog broadcasts and my autoresponder as separate lists, as someone that signed up to get my ebook and e-course don't necessarily want what's on my blog, and I never told them they were going to get that. I tend to unsubscribe to email lists that automatically add me to the blog broadcast when that's not what I wanted. Also having these two set up like this helps with some initial segmentation. I highly agree on the affiliate links. I used to subscribe to all sorts of IM people but unsubscribed to most because of the continuous sales pitches and complete lack of content. No content is the best way to piss people off.
  7. Mike says:
    In fact, you can't avoid people to unsubscribe to your mailing list because at some point, they think you're annoying and then, just unsubscribe to clean their mailbox a bit. The point in keeping the number of unsubscribers low is offer some value in your email. For instance, I really appreciate it when someone offer me a great tool to solve my problems and I would be happy to check out the affiliate links. Some people tend to copy the pre-made autoresponders but it won't work in most of cases.
  8. Lennart Heleander says:
    Hi Peter, Comparing an email with ads (direct advertising) letter you receive in your postbox every day. Some do you read, others do you not. Why?? A good email letter that I want must to be easily to read, quality products, interesting subject, not a lot of flash ads and maximum of two times a month.
  9. tushar says:
    i like the point about interviewing peter.. the subscribers will sure love if you interview them..this will give them a feeling of importance and they will spread the word of mouth..
  10. Darren Scott Monroe says:
    Hey PEter great suggestions. In fact Iam stepping up to offer something different. But you said "I’ve signed up to mailing lists that have spammed me over and over, weeks on end, trying to get me to purchase some new product. " Slight correction sir. Spam is defined as receiving a unwanted email without permission. If you willingly signup to the list it is not spam. It may be an unwanted email but you certainly from what I have read gave them permission. Unless they somehow did the black hat stuff of pulling your email and auto adding it in that case your right. But again i agree with your affiliate link assessment. And I would add during that long duration of emails just have your affiliate links below your signature.
  11. Vijayraj Reddy says:
    subscribers should be provided with more tips and discount coupons, rather than only affiliate reviews and products...
  12. Hung Hong says:
    Thanks Peter J for this tips. In some cases, we can stay subscribed to list that email us frequently when we need to know more new products launch from owner.
  13. Nasrul Hanis says:
    I'm not using mailing list for promoting purpose so I prefer to see this from the perspective of the subscriber. The first thing that you have to consider is HOW you get the subscribers to be in your list. I met a lot of tricky ways (where I got 'trapped' into the list) and if this is the first impression that you give to the subscribers, I'm pretty sure that most of them will unsubscribe through your very first email. Btw I agree with your points above - yeah, you need to build connection and trust from your subscribers and only recommend products which are truly from your heart. Get trust from your subscribers and you win.
  14. Khalid Hosein says:
    Hi Peter - nice article, but I have to disagree with the 'once per week' mail rule. I've now read and heard (multiple times) the recommendation that more often than that works. 2-3 times per week in fact assuming it's quality content you're sending out, especially in the beginning of the relationship building phase, so that your reader gets to know you. In case you're wondering about who has recommended this: successful marketers with large mailing lists who have done a lot of research into this very question. Folks like Jeremy Schoemaker, Jonathan Volk, Frank Kern, etc. Cheers!
  15. Brad Fitz says:
    Nice post Peter. I had a newsletter list of about 10,000 subscribers. It was a free cartoons and jokes email newsletter and worked my tail off with it and I made next to zero income from it. They say the money is in the list but I think if I'm going to build a list again it will be from proven buyers who have purchased something from my website. Freebie-type lists are a waste of time I think... unless you have a bazillion subscribers.
    • Brad Fitz says:
      I guess I must be a spammer, eh Pete?
  16. Extreme John says:
    This tips come in handy at the right time, we are in our tanning season and I need to get the most bang for my buck when it comes to my email list. Thank you as always.
  17. TJ McDowell says:
    It may just be me, but I can't actually think of an email list I'm subscribed to that I actually look forward to getting. It could be because I've hit information overload reading so many blogs...not sure.
  18. Dennis Edell says:
    Please expand if you could on the 4-month affiliate link advice...I'm sure you're not saying one every -months makes good business sense, no?
  19. Fran Aslam From Onlinewriter says:
    Hi Peter: I agree with you that list building might look easy upfront, it is not easy to create a list has that converts into buyer. There are some very effective psychological and emotional attraction factors involved in it that everyone doe snot even know. Once you get to know that clue just rinse and repeat. Strategies that you have mentioned, can work effectively. Fran A
  20. A. Tatum Jr says:
    Good ideas. You must establish real world relationships with online people. I think too often people think that real world business doesn't apply online.
  21. TrafficColeman says:
    You must not push links in people faces..they will only just turn their backs on you..just that simple.. "Black Seo Guy "Signing Off"
  22. Ben says:
    You are right, BUT sometimes you want certain people to unsubscribe, or at least their unsubscription must not be a big thing for you. That's just the nature of this business. Some people will never buy your products or affiliate offers and the main purpose of the list is to make you money. These people won't make you money anyway, why do you need them in your list?
  23. Sathish says:
    Wonderful article, Peter. I am yet to start my email marketing campaign but I have already took a decision on how to move on when I have a email list with me. I will also follow your tips. Thanks for sharing an useful article. Sathish
  24. Andreas says:
    Reduce the number of affiliate programs mailed to your list, increase the number of quality resources you mail to your list that may address problems of your users, send during the week and not on weekends for a better response rate.
  25. Moosa Hemani says:
    NIce article all i have to disagree is the last point that is Interview your subscriber... i an sure this will increase your subscribers but why would reader be interested in reading something about your subscriber.... i think its the bad idea as there are chances that you loose your blog credibility ....
    • Peter J says:
      If you can find subscribers that have an amazing success story to share, sure other subscribers will read it if it offers value to them.