How to turn unsubscribers into paying customers on auto-pilot!
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How would you like to turn your unsubscribers into paying customers?
I think we all would! I mean, who wouldn’t like to potentially make money from everyone who hits that “unsubscribe” link in your email newsletter?
Popular opinion online is that when someone unsubscribes from our list–great! They weren’t going to buy anyhow. Better to get them off your list.
But what I’ve been testing proves otherwise.
When given a chance to make a purchase after unsubscribing, I’ve won back approximately 1% of my unsubscribers and turned them into paying customers.
I know that sounds like a low percentage, but normal email list conversion rates are 1-3% anyhow, so I think that’s actually pretty impressive considering they were unsubscribing!
I’m still tweaking how my process works, and don’t have my full funnel in place, but here’s the setup I’ve partially created, and will be completing soon:
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Create a custom unsubscribe page
Create a custom unsubscribe confirmation page that you redirect subscribers to when they unsubscribe. Most mailing list providers will let you do this.
I use ConvertKit (highly recommend) and have this set to redirect unsubscribers to my custom page when they unsubscribe from my main mailing list.
Offer a no-brainer product with upgrade
On the unsubscribe confirmation page, offer your unsubscriber a product that they want.
This is a great place to offer a discount, or offer a $7-47 product. Something that’s helpful at a no-brainer price, that leads to a bigger offering.
Example: If you teach marketing, you could offer a $27 mini-course on finding ideal clients. Inside this course, you could offer a free upgrade for an ideal client checklist that your unsubscriber needs to opt back in to receive. Once they do, they’ll be put into your email funnel for your premium marketing course.
Example: If you sell web design, you could offer a $27 workbook on how to write your website content. Inside the workbook you could offer a free upgrade on how to collect and/or take photos for their website. They’ll need to opt back in to your list to get this upgrade. Once they do, you’ll put them into your email funnel for hiring you to design your website.
Prep them for the next step
Notice how in both of the above examples you are offering them something that prepares them for the next step–whether it’s buying a program or service from you. This is very important! You want your unsubscribe offer to start them down the path of your higher offer.
If they keep following the path you’ve laid out, you’ll turn your unsubscribers into paying customers or clients.
Even if they stop after buying your no-brainer offer, you’ll have made money that you wouldn’t have otherwise!
Create a nurture sequence to win them back
Once your unsubs have opted back in to your email list for their free upgrade, you’ll want to send a series of emails that nurtures your re-subscriber and builds back loyalty. Again Convertkit makes it easy to set this up.
This is a great place to give additional relevant freebies that continues to prepare them for your higher-priced offering.
Example: In your funnel to buy your marketing program, you might give them a text template they can post on social media that announces their availability and helps them get new clients (a huge problem for most business owners). If they post this and it works, they will WANT to join your program!
Example: In your web design funnel you might give them a short training on how to update their future website. When they see how easy it is (a huge fear for most business owners) they will WANT to hire you and get their website made!
In your nurture sequence, you’ll also want to include testimonials from past customers/clients, sneak peeks of your program or working with you, and any quick tips you can offer that will let your re-subscribers see results right away.
Complete the transformation from unsubscriber into paying customer/client
Finally, make the sale. With your now warmed-up and nurtured re-subscriber ready to buy, make the offer to buy your program or hire you.
If your nurture sequence worked, you’ll have completed the transformation and will now have a new, loyal, paying customer, from someone who previously unsubscribed from your email list!
Conversion rates
I don’t know what typical conversion rates would be for this, as I haven’t seen many people doing it and that data doesn’t seem to be around (yet!).
Of course, whether your unsubscribers buy your no-brainer product or not will depend on how well it fits their needs. And whether they purchase your bigger offering will of course depend on whether it fits their needs and how well your email nurture sequence/funnel converts.
But once this is set up, you’ll have the potential to turn your unsubcribers into paying customers and clients, and make money off of every single cancellation from your email list. Try it out!
Tl;dr:
Turn your unsubscribers into paying customers. Create a custom unsubscribe page for your unsubscribers and offer them a low-priced product that funnels them into an email nurture sequence that wins back their loyalty and turns them into a paying customer.
