The Value of a Subscriber
There’s no limit to the recurring amounts of profit you can generate from successful email campaigns and to the true value of a subscriber to your contact list. Think of your subscribers as the special phone numbers in your little black book, tried and true over the test of time, securely tucked away but easily accessible for you to call upon TRUE relationships. The true value of an email subscriber is manifold, primarily defined by how you scale the notion of “value.”
Many factors go into the definition of value. Of course, when we think of value, we inherently visualize dollar signs and the fiscal aspect of worth, however there are some vital inherent aspects of value as well.
Free Word of Mouth Advertisement
Besides connecting with current customers and attracting new ones, email marketing establishes trust and a certain comfort level between you and your subscribers, which nurtures routine repeat business and referrals. “Regulars” offer free word of mouth advertisement, which means you’re spending less on advertising to new customers. Getting people to talk about you is the best form of organic growth, because it’s reliable and personal based on experience and often times, people are more inclined to go with a recommendation of someone who has experienced something first hand. Routine, systematic emails remind your subscribers of your unique selling points that make you their best option, ultimately transforming first impressions into long-term loyalty. Moreover, email campaigns may be forwarded to friends and shared on social media networks, which is more free advertisement that you don’t have to pay for.
Stats and Response
Email stats provide great insights into the overall response any given campaign stirs, and response in the form of opens, click through and requests to be unsubscribed are extremely valuable to help you improve your revenue per subscriber. You will begin to notice trends, patterns and better able to assess how to tweak future promotions or communications to better meet the needs of specific subscribers in an overall effort to size up a sale. Moreover, subscribers are invited to engage in dialogue, sharing their thoughts and comments on your blog, or emailing back to you directly with questions or suggestions. This is invaluable, because creating a platform or relationships based on open communication is the ultimate foundation to propel lasting repeat business. And it goes without saying that you get all this for free, and you never have to go outside your customer base for expert advice on how to improve your business.
Profit, Profit, Profit
In a previous blog, we discussed how email marketing is an asset, as compared to other social media networks, because email converts into sales at a far higher rate than any of the leading social media platforms. It is not enough to be mislead into thinking success can be defined in terms of the number of Facebook fans or Twitter followers you have, because how many of these contacts are paying customers? How many of these fans or followers are true networking sources for you to secure referrals and champion your business? In one of ThinkTraffic’s April blog, the article states that, “the general rule of thumb is that an email list’s value is $1 / subscriber / month. So an email list increase of 1000 people equals $1000/month or $12,000/year. Not bad for a single guest post, eh?” Definitely, we say. True value is in what converts to a sale and in this case, you want to let the numbers do the talking.