I did some periodic housekeeping on my personal mailing list recently and I couldn’t help but notice that a high number of people who subscribed to my list early this summer in order to gain access to the login codes for Hot Seminar Series unsubbed just a week or so later. I’ve seen this happen in previous years too.
When you offer something free to build your mailing list you stand to attract a certain number of freebie seekers. It’s considered an acceptable risk.
The hope is that these subscribers stay on your list long enough after claiming the freebie to discover you have a lot of value to share with them. Unfortunately – I could see that a lot of these subscribers didn’t stay very long at all – only long enough to grab the access code.
Before you ask – no, I don’t go nuts with this list. I rarely send more than one email per week, place my focus on providing something of value and if I don’t have anything useful to say I am perfectly happy to be silent.
I sign up on mailing lists for freebies too but I have never signed up for a freebie and unsubbed immediately after. I feel to some extent I owe them the courtesy of my continued attention for a period of time. This is of course only my perception – or perhaps my personal code of ethics? There’s no rule book for this sort of thing, it just seems like a the right thing to do.
What do you think?
What Can I Learn From This?
This ‘grab and go’ trend I discovered around my summer Hot Seminar Series does not seem to extend to the spring, fall and winter and I do run other freebie offers through the year – so the use of freebies in general isn’t flawed.
My list is consistently growing – I have a 28% higher number of subscribers this year than this time last year. Still, if everyone who subbed for the Hot Seminar Series had stuck around imagine how much more it would have grown?
This analysis will definitely shape my strategy around the 2009 Hot Seminar Series. Since it does not lead to significant list growth – it is probably better suited to be a paid access only resource.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m judging the situation too harshly. Some HSS sign ups do stay on my list.
Concentrating on Those Who DO Stay Subscribed
As usual – I prefer not to spend a lot of time thinking about people who aren’t interested in what I have to say. Beyond making decisions about what is and is not working – it’s totally counterproductive to dwell on it! I’d far rather focus my attention on those who ARE interested.
I sent my list members a no-strings attached gift right before Christmas. It was the full version of my brand new product, the 42 Day Launch Incubator Self Study that I am selling to the public for $29. When I sent the access info I shared my feelings about quick unsubscribers and thanked them for their faithfulness and interest in my emails throughout the year.
I got a huge response with lots of warmth and encouragement. These are the WAHMs and future WAHMs who have a genuine interest in resources and opinions I share 
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Leslie Truex is the pajama-clad work-at-home mom dedicated to helping other moms live and work comfortably. She's the author of The Work-At-Home Success Bible and owner of 
Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with 
For email lists, I don’t usually unsubscribe unless they keep sending me stuff that I don’t want to read. (Even that, I’d usually just delete them instead of unsubscribe.) I’ve subscribed to an RSS feed by email to enter a contest, though, as asked by a blogger I know. Eventually I unsubscribed from that because I’d rather get updates in my RSS reader instead.
Kelvin Kaos last blog post..Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009!
I’ve had freebie seekers un-sub immediately. At first, it bothered me – couldn’t they give me their attention for a few newsletters? I did after all put time and energy creating the freebie.
But now, I focus on those that are loyal and have stayed with me.
CaraM – TheHouseholdHelpers last blog post..Target Deal Alerts
I’ve subscribed to some mailing lists after hearing about a freebie or giveaway (that’s the point of offering them, right?! LOL) but I’ve never just immediately unsubscribed. Not only do I think that’s rude, it also doesn’t make any sense. If someone is giving away something that I’m interested in enough to go through signing up for it, I want to hear what else they have to say.
I usually stay subscribed for a couple of months and if I find myself deleting more often than opening and reading, I eventually unsubscribe.
Now RSS feeds by email is another story. I only sign up for those as part of entering contests. I prefer my Feedly reader and since an RSS email provides the same content as what I see in my reader, why do I need more email cluttering up my inbox?
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Guilty as charged. I run a site where I post about freebies, free samples, free stuff in general (http://www.generopolis.com/wpblog)…and if I kept all the subscriptions I signed up for in the course of seeking out and publishing freebies, my inbox would be a steady stream of stuff I have no interest in.
HOWEVER, the way I see it, I’m sending people and traffic to your site and perhaps if you offer them something of value, they will stay on your list. Additionally, I HAVE kept SOME of the things I’ve signed up for (I usually give the site exactly ONE mailout and if it hits home, I stay on for another 2. If both those miss, I’m gone.)
I can’t be alone in this…so I offer the following advise: concentrate on a really special, well crafted email for the first one you send out with high traffic. It’s so important.
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