.png)
A couple of days ago I sent an email ripping into this "bait-and-switch" tactic:
Offer customers a discount for opting in for emails, but after they submit the email, suddenly telling them they need to ALSO opt in for SMS to "activate the discount."
I called this devious trickery that not only lowers your opt in conversion rate, but even worse, makes potential customers distrust you - the worst way to start a relationship.
A couple of people unsubscribed from that email. One runs an ecom agency, and the others were ecom store owners.
Was I too sharp, too blunt?
I don't think so.
It was an honest assessment, from both the POV of myself as a consumer who refuses to sign up for SMS (unless I were perhaps offered something VERY valuable), and as a marketer who values building trust and relationships with customers over quick wins that erode trust.
But perhaps these people DO use that bait and switch trick. And they felt insulted by my email.
After all, isn't the most important thing to be able to say, "I got X amount of new SMS subscribers?"
SMS is extraordinary. Open rates above 95%.
But... most people subscribe to only 2 or 3 brands via SMS, which tells you everything about how many people you're scaring away if you force them to opt in for SMS in order to get the discount code. And about how many who DO opt-in will opt-out the moment they get the discount code.
People are discerning about who they allow into SMS.
And that discernment should be respected. Not maneuvered around.
The wiser brands keep an eye on the bigger picture. They capture the email. Deliver the promise. Let trust take root. Then, and only then, will they extend the next invitation.
Without any trickery.
How you welcome someone matters. It sets the tone for everything that follows.
Make that first moment of contact worthy of the trust someone is extending when they type their email into your little box and press submit.
If you want to embrace your subscribers with a hearty welcome that sets the tone for a long and profitable relationship: chavyhelfgott.com/email-revenue-starter-engine
Chavy