A reader emails in with a (common) challenge:
"I recently took part in a giveaway to grow my newsletter, and just received the .csv file with 500+ email addresses. How can I safely add these subscribers to my newsletter?"
If you want to rile up a bunch of newsletter operators, just ask for their opinion on giveaways and sweepstakes.
For some, they're a nightmare: An easy way to add thousands of worthless subscribers (who won't open, won't buy, and will tank your deliverability overnight).
For others, they're a godsend: An affordable, repeatable way to drive thousands of purchase-qualified, engaged new readers.
So who's right?
The truth is... they both are.
I've seen (and helped) hundreds of top newsletters run giveaways and sweepstakes. From brands like 1440 to creators like Tim Ferriss.
The ones who had a prize that attracted their target audience got great results. The ones who used a prize that didn't attract their target audience? ... awful results.
It's that simple.
But how to run a successful giveaway is a playbook for another day.
Today, we're talking about what do with the new subscribers once your giveaway is over.
How can you onboard them in a way that avoids damaging your deliverability, and leads to high-quality, engaged subscribers?
Easy — follow this 5-step playbook 👇
→ Step 1
Get access to the list of subscribers as soon as possible after the giveaway closes.
The longer you wait to email them, the less likely they are to become engaged readers.
(bonus tip: I recommend newsletter operators offer to host or coordinate the giveaway themselves. This way, you don't even need to wait until the giveaway is finished to email participants)
→ Step 2
Once you have the email addresses, run them through a verification tool like ZeroBounce (no affiliation).
It's common for giveaways and sweepstakes to result in participants adding "fake" email addresses (which would bounce and could cause you deliverability issues).
Verification screens out most of these emails before they're added to your list.
→ Step 3
Send your new subscribers a welcome email.
Use my example welcome email as a template to build your own →
This first email is the one your new subscribers are most likely to report as spam.
If a high % of your emails unsubscribe or receive a spam complaint on any given day, Gmail (and others) will "punish" you by sending your future emails straight to the promotions (or junk) folders rather than the inbox. 😱
To avoid this, you should always send welcome emails to new "giveaway" subscribers on the same day as your "regular" newsletter goes out to existing subscribers.
From there, you can go straight into regular newsletter sends or — if you don't send a daily newsletter — try a full sequence of welcome emails priming your new subscriber to become an engaged reader.
Newsletter operators who run regular giveaways — especially ones where the subscriber quality is questionable — will often email these subscribers from a completely different ESP account and domain to avoid negative consequences.
For most operators, this shouldn't be necessary (and is probably a sign you need to find better giveaway partners).
→ Step 4
Even with a well-run giveaway and an amazing welcome sequence, the unavoidable reality is that many of your new subscribers will become "zombies"... never opening, clicking or reading your newsletter.
Zombie subscribers can hurt your deliverability (and cost you money in ESP fees).
Send a "breakup email" to any new subscribers who haven't engaged with your emails after 14-28 days.
The email we use at SparkLoop works well, and is similar to the ones used by The Hustle, Morning Brew, and other top newsletters:
Adapt it for your own voice and audience style.
→ Step 5
2-3 days after sending your breakup email, you should go into your ESP and bulk unsubscribe anyone who still hasn't engaged with your newsletter.
It hurts the first time, but you'll thank me later.
Finally, take a moment to report on the "real" performance of your giveaway:
- how many engaged subscribers did you receive?
- how much revenue have they driven?
- how does that compare to how much you paid per subscriber?
That's all!
Next: Grab the "perfect" newsletter landing page templates
In testing, the results were amazing: 1.5-2x higher conversion rates than the "old" pages they were replacing.
That's 1.5-2x faster newsletter growth, with zero extra work!
You can:
- clone these templates
- adapt the wording and styling to fit your brand, and
- have a high-converting newsletter landing page up and running in 30min or less.
Grab them and the free guide below 👇
