How To: Drive Revenue with Suppressed Email Contacts

Most marketers and brands love the idea of having a large email list.

It makes us feel good to see the numbers grow. But what doesn’t feel so great is when people start unsubscribing. It’s kind (insert dramatic sound effect) of like your 9th grade break-up each time it happens.

People unsubscribe from emails for a wide variety of reasons, and when that happens, it’s easy to assume you’ve lost that customer and that they won’t be seeing your new products or offerings any longer.

If that’s where you leave things, you’re flat out missing out. Below, I’ll share how you can drive revenue with suppressed email contacts.

Don’t Do This

One thing I’ve seen people do is delete suppressed email addresses from whatever email marketing system they’re using.

That is an all around bad idea.

When you click the magic delete button, you’re losing tons of valuable data that’s associated with each profile.

Even though you can no longer email the contact, don’t take away your ability to use the data to your advantage.

Sync Your Suppressed Contacts

The other reason you don’t want to delete your suppressed contacts is because you can use those lists/segments to sync with things such as Facebook Audiences.

If you aren’t hearing the “cha ching’ sound in your head just yet, keep reading.

By creating Facebook Audiences on these suppressed contacts, you’re going to be able to remarket new products, special offers and whatever else your heart desires, to this group of people.

Previously, simply based on email, they were a lost cause. But now they are once again prospects. And pretty darn warm ones at that.

But They Unsubscribed So They Won’t Buy Again

You might initially assume that people that unsubscribe from email don’t want to purchase again. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Let’s let some data back up that statement. Click the image below to enlarge it.

What you’re seeing are two ads that are targeting existing customers and non customers that have unsubscribed from emails.

Given that the headings were clipped from the screen shot I’ll call out the highlights:

• 78 purchases from these two groups in the last 30 days.
• ROAS was 3.75 and 3.43.

If we were ONLY relying on email, these 78 purchases would probably not have happened. In addition, given that the customers went back through the purchase process, they had the opportunity to sign back up for emails.

Now you know how to drive revenue with suppressed email contacts. Have fun!