Want to switch email marketing services?
Here’s how…
Last week I shared my favorite email marketing services and broke down the pros and cons of each.
Now you may be wondering how to go about switching from one email marketing service to another.
With some services, like iContact, Constant Contact, and MailChimp, you can simply upload a spreadsheet of your subscribers.
With services like Aweber or 1shoppingcart, that strategy doesn’t work very well.
Why doesn’t that work well?
If you upload a list to Aweber or 1shoppingcart, they automatically send everyone on your list an email asking them to click a link to confirm their subscription. The email and subject line can’t be customized very much and the email will only be sent once.
You are likely to lose most of your list if you use this process.
The good news is that there is another way to approach switching email marketing services.
In today’s article, I will share how to switch email marketing services without losing your whole list in the process.
Here’s my step-by-step email marketing strategy.
1. Create a juicy gift for your list.
You want this to be something different than the free gift you may currently offer on your website. I encourage you to think about re-purposing material you already have – perhaps a handout that clients love, a collection of recipes, or a pantry/shopping list.
2. Create a squeeze page that promotes this free gift.
A squeeze page, also called a landing page or opt-in page, is a page that promotes your free gift and has an opt-in form that asks for name and email.
When you (or your VA or web designer) create this page, you want to use a form created using your NEW email marketing system. This way, when someone enters their name and email address, they will be on your new list in your new system.
Click here to see an example of a simple squeeze page we created for our client, Jen Meister of Simple Clean and Whole, for this exact purpose.
3. Send out an email campaign to your list.
Over the course of a month, send out a series of emails that lets your list know that you are moving services and that they need to enter their name and email in order to continue to receive emails from you.
Make sure to highlight the free gift they will receive when they enter their name and email, and then link to your squeeze page. It helps to give a deadline. While they can always opt-in via your squeeze page, you want to let them know when you are officially switching services so they are motivated to take action.
What can you expect when you switch email marketing services?
I want to set your expectations that you will likely lose about half of your list. While I am sure that feels scary, here’s the thing… The people who stay on your list are the people who are interested in your work and are likely to buy from you in the future.
Think of the process as cleaning your list and removing people who are not ideal clients.
HOT TIP: When determining your juicy free gift, select something that your ideal clients would find valuable. This will help to insure that your new list is filled with people in your niche who want what you have to offer.
Your Action Step: Think about what you can offer as a free gift and share your ideas below, so we can give you feedback. Have questions about the process? Post them below and I will answer them.
Read related articles:
Which email marketing service is best?
5 Mistakes I Don’t Want You To Make (With Your Free Opt-in Gift)
