Email List Growth: A Costly Tale

TL;DR

Failed email referral program highlights costly growth mistakes.

Transcript

• It was a brand new year, and we came up with a crazy aggressive goal to grow our email subscribers. Now for us, the email marketing channel is the most important channel that we have in the entire company. To help achieve the goal, we decided we were gonna try something that we've never ever done before. We were gonna build an email referral prog... Read More

Key Insights

• The company faced a significant decline in email subscribers, dropping by nearly 50% from early to late 2020, prompting a need for innovative strategies.
• An aggressive goal was set to achieve 1 million email subscribers by 2024, driving the company to explore new methods for growth.
• The inspiration for a referral program came from The Hustle's model, which offered incentives for referrals, leading to the search for a suitable technical stack.
• A significant investment was made in a new technology, requiring custom integration with the company's existing email platform, which was a complex and time-consuming process.
• A comprehensive resource guide was developed, featuring 67 tools used by the company, as an incentive for subscribers to refer friends.
• Despite a well-crafted email campaign and clear instructions, only 186 referrals were initially made, highlighting the challenge of engagement.
• The referral program was integrated into regular newsletters, but the total referrals reached only 366, with just 43 people earning the incentive.
• The experience underscored the importance of testing new strategies and recognizing that what works for others may not yield the same results for your business.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the company's goal for email subscriber growth?

The company set an aggressive goal to grow its email subscriber base to 1 million by the year 2024. This goal was part of a broader strategy to address a significant decline in email subscribers and to motivate the team to explore innovative methods for growth.

Q: What inspired the company to try a referral program?

The inspiration for the referral program came from The Hustle's model, which offered incentives for subscribers to refer friends. After The Hustle was acquired by HubSpot, the company saw this as a successful strategy and decided to implement a similar approach to boost their email subscriber numbers.

Q: What challenges did the company face with the new technology?

The company faced challenges with the new technology as it required custom integration with their existing email platform. This integration process was complex and time-consuming, as the technology did not initially support their platform, necessitating a significant investment of time and resources to make it work.

Q: What was the incentive offered to subscribers for referrals?

The incentive offered to subscribers for referrals was an 80-page resource guide titled '67 Tools that Power Social Media Examiner.' This guide included tools, equipment, and software used by the company, and was designed to be a valuable and exclusive resource for those who successfully referred friends.

Q: How did the company communicate the referral program to subscribers?

The company communicated the referral program to subscribers through a well-crafted email campaign. The email clearly explained the steps needed to earn the exclusive resource guide. Additionally, the program was integrated into regular newsletters, with instructions and referral links provided to encourage participation.

Q: What were the results of the referral program?

The results of the referral program were disappointing. Despite the initial email being opened by nearly 65,000 people, only 186 referrals were made initially. Over time, with continued promotion in newsletters, the total number of referrals reached 366, with just 43 people earning the incentive.

Q: What lesson did the company learn from this experience?

The company learned that just because a strategy works for another business does not guarantee it will work for them. The experience underscored the importance of testing new strategies carefully and being aware of the potential costs, both in terms of time and resources, before fully committing to them.

Q: What is the company's future plan for email subscriber growth?

The company is still actively seeking new ways to grow its email subscriber base. They have learned from the referral program experience and are likely to be more cautious in adopting new strategies. They are open to suggestions and ideas, indicating a willingness to explore other innovative approaches to achieve their growth goals.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The company set an ambitious goal to grow its email subscriber base to 1 million by 2024, prompting the exploration of new strategies, including a referral program inspired by The Hustle.

• Despite significant investment in technology and a comprehensive resource guide as an incentive, the referral program yielded disappointing results, with only 366 total referrals.

• The experience highlighted the importance of careful evaluation before adopting new strategies and reinforced the lesson that successful tactics for one business may not work for another.