Unsubscribe Anxiety? Learn to Let Go and Grow

“I don’t want to burn my list”

It’s a frequent refrain I hear from business owners when I ask if they’d be interested in partnering with one of my clients.?

Their big fear of partnerships is reciprocation. That if a partner promotes their business, they will be expected to promote back, and that might alienate their audience.?

In fact, I’ve met business owners who are so terrified of burning out their list, that they won’t even promote their own offers to their audience.

Yes, you heard that right, they’d rather have no customers than lose a few of their email subscribers.??

I call it the “burnout myth”.?

We tend to be excessively preoccupied with those who press the unsubscribe option.?

But we all too easily ignore the silent majority who are opening and reading our emails, and engaging with our content.?And who will eventually go on to buy from us.

You are always going to lose subscribers…..

People’s priorities change….

Their business changes…..

Their life changes…..

Their interests change….

And if what you have to offer no longer aligns with their priorities and interests….

Surprise, surprise, they unsubscribe!

Even if you have a highly engaged audience, you will typically lose up to a third of your subscribers over the course of the year.?

Which means, you need to grow your list.

So what should you do next?

#1 Don’t buy subscribers

Last week I met a JV partner who bought a large email list. He figured that by using a bought list, he could avoid burning out his main list.?

The thing is, his results sucked, and as a result, so did his reputation with partners. ?

His audience didn’t know him, they had no relationship with him, and unsurprisingly, had no interest in what he had to say.?

For the same reason, I discourage my clients from advertising.?

Cold leads rarely match the quality of leads that you'll get from a partner who knows and trusts you, and who has just recommended you to his engaged audience.

#2 Get partnering, and get over your fear of unsubscribes

You have nothing to fear from reciprocation…..?

….Provided you’re partnering for the right reasons.

If you’re simply agreeing to promote another business, because you want them to promote you back, that’s not good enough, and that’s what leads to list burnout.?

Your partner’s content needs to be something that compliments what you offer…

And, it needs to be something that you can believe in, and that you can confidently get behind.??

So? here’s how to avoid burning out your list….

1. Only partner with businesses you feel comfortable with Don’t rush into signing deals. Ask yourself “Do I feel comfortable personally working with this person? Do I feel comfortable with their style of delivery? Are they a match for my audience? Or will they put my audience off?” - I recommend asking partners to send you a replay of one of their training seminars or their webinars. I also recommend you subscribe to their emails
2. Only partner with businesses that truly complement yours. Is your partner solving a problem your audience actually needs help with or is their offer just incidental? E.g. If you’re teaching your audience how to build their website, a copywriting course is a complement. But a meditation course not so much
3. Before deciding to promote someone’s offer, check what you’re promoting. Recently, a JV partner told me that he offered to promote his friend, and then regretted it. He told me…. “I love what he does, I think he has integrity, so I agreed to promote his webinar, but when I actually saw the content, I wish I hadn’t”. Even if you’ve worked with someone for years, if they’re asking you to promote a new offer, check it out first before saying yes.?

So get over your fear of list burnout.?

I work with several business owners who are sharing partner offers every week…and their lists are growing!

Because if you’re partnering with the right business, and for the right reason, you’re actually helping your audience.

And your audience will appreciate you for it.?