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Project 365: Day 57 - The Day I Sent 90 EmailsWe often forget that even in the online world that first impressions count. Think of the times that you’ve clicked on a link and gone to a horrible website where the colors and blinking graphics burn your retinas, yikes! What can you do but click away fast!
The same thing happens if you join an e-list hoping to get some really great information and all you get is five emails a day that appear kind of spammy. What do you do? Delete, and unsubscribe. Click, Click, Click. That fast, and that permanent.

If you do not want to be in the spam folder or the recycle bin of your subscribers then remember that first impressions count. Your subscribers are judging you from the first time they land on your website, until they get their first welcome email to your e-list, and beyond. You have to look at everything that you do from the user’s or client’s perspective instead of as the creator whose baby is being judged.
If you aren’t able to look at your welcome email from new eyes, ask someone else to do it who has not seen it, and ask for honest to goodness feedback. Better a friend or paid collaborator hurt your feelings than have people subscribe, then unsubscribe that fast. (or not subscribe at all) Believe me, it happens. The best way to avoid these issues is to test.
Unsubscribe rates — If you are getting a lot of un-subscribes after your welcome email, take a look at it and consider rewriting the welcome letter. You can ask people why they unsubscribed by creating a redirect from the unsubscribe successful page so that you can get a few responses about why.
Open rates — You should be checking open rates on your welcome email, plus any email that you send to your list.  The reason is that if one opens then they unsubscribe immediately, the reason might have something to do with the email itself, but if they just unsubscribe and never open anything it could be something else. Maybe your subject lines, maybe something else.
There is, of course an alternative way to look at this problem of un-subscribes after receipt of welcome email. Your welcome email can be a way to weed through people who really aren’t interested in your information or products but are only after freebies. Did you offer a freebie to this subscriber? If you’re trying to draw people into your list and soft sell to them your products and information, you don’t want them turned off right away by your welcome email. Read it out loud, have a friend read it. Pay someone to judge it if you have to.
Testing is fundamental to ensuring that your websites, welcome emails, ad copy, sales copy and all your content is functioning properly. Third party feedback can be essential in helping you improve your offerings. You can include a survey to people who unsubscribe and ask them why, or you can get professional feedback.
Creative Commons License photo credit: Cara Photography