Onboarding Fixes: How to Improve Welcome Tactics to Extend Subscriber Lifetime Presented by: Bill Baird Owner Baird Direct Marketing Presented by: Sean Donahue Editor Subscription Site Insider

Part I: Why Onboarding – Quick Overview © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Critical First 30 Days © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Highest open rates + Highest interest in your site ______________________ Best time to engage new users and turn them into long-term subscribers

…Or Even Fewer Typically, new users who do not return within 3-5 days will never return again © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of Good Onboarding? 10%-20% increase in retention © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Onboarding’s Lifetime Value Impact Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Part II: Understanding the Psychology of New Subscribers

Why Do New Members Drop Off? Forgetfulness Don’t understand full benefits Can’t find what they want Don’t know how to use the site Competition © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. EXIT

Actions of Long-Term Subs What tends to keep subscribers around? Write a review Create member profile Participate in message boards Engage with high-value content © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Secret Often NOT the same reason they joined initially! © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Part III: 10 Tactics to Improve Onboarding Campaigns © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

#1. Thank-you Pages

The Welcome Page is Your Top Priority Viewers / New Starts 100% 50% 30% 20% WelcomePage

Okay “OKAY” © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Speeds User to Value? Easy to Understand? Simple and Short? Restates Benefits ?

Better © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. “BETTER”

Best! “BEST” © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

#2. Transactional s

Receipts Your second best contact point Top open rate of lifetime (50%- 100% higher) © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Typical Autoresponder © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Sent by a separate system Check the default: – Can you modify? – What benefits can you add?

#3. Welcome Series

Broad Approach: Education © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Broad Approach: Engagement Highly relevant data triggered by activity to tease subscribers to return …. © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Day 1: Confirmation + Video © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Confirmation + Training Video

Day 3: Live Training Session © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Confirmation + Training Video 3 Live Training Session

Day 4: Calls to Action © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Confirmation + Training Video 3 Live Training Session 4 Action + Us

Day 5: Deadline and Wizard 1 Confirmation + Training Video 3 Live Training Session 4 Action + Us © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Deadline + Help Wizard

Day 27: “Call Us” 1 Confirmation + Training Video 3 Live Training Session 4 Action + Us 5 Deadline + Help Wizard © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. 27 Call Us

#4. Mobile

= Majority of Mobile Time May need to optimize for mobile viewing © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

% of Mobile Users? Check with your ESP Analytics -- Litmus, MailboxIQ, CampaignCog Web analytics for mobile device usage © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Design for Mobile Viewing pixels wide One column, not several Fewer links – one article or action vs. five Even shorter subject lines – characters © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

#5. Telemarketing

Adding a human touch More often used by B2B Typical Strategies: – Site tour – Immediate help – User Survey – Personal connection NOT a typical sales rep © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Phone Center or call rep picture here

Timely calls Tactic #1. Call Immediately © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Tactic #2. Use tracking software to call when members are on the site

B2C Example: Angie’s List In-house call center New subs receive calls to encourage reviews follow-up © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

#6. Direct Mail

Welcome Packages Something tangible makes an impression Deliver long content not suited for website © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Costs and Options Postcards ~$ x 9 or 9 x 12 envelopes ~$1.00 Offset costs via cross- sell/upsell or advertising inserts © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

#7. On-Site Tools/Activities

Video Tours & How-to Explain features/benefits for people who prefer to watch vs. read Complex sites – complete a specific task Welcome from a famous contributor/founder/guru © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

New Member Welcome Screen © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

#8. Private Social Media

Discussion Boards © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Key activity that gets members to stick: Predominantly female user-base Love to interact and communicate Artistic Thread Works = 30 month avg. member lifetime

Encouraging Participation © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. SM Must be Promoted to Engage 1. On-Site and eNewsletter Promotion 2. Confirmation 3. Event-Driven s 4. Login Messaging 5. Member ratings

Private LinkedIn Group © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Twitter Shout-outs Highlight/thank new members: “Ego” appeal Show who’s joining Need a Twitter-friendly niche – e.g., marketers, journalists, consultants, younger subs, etc. © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

#9. Onboarding Segmentation

Source of New Subs Reflect the messaging or channel that attracted the new subscriber: Major affiliates Partner sites Telemarketing © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nature of Acquisition Offer What made them sign up? Discount Bonus free content resource Gift subscription 50% off!

#10. Referral Campaigns

Referral-at-Birth © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Ask for referrals as part of the new sub signup process Automatic address uploaders increase names 8x Referral requests during series

Additional Resources © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. On Demand Training: Referral and Word-of- Mouth Marketing for Subscription Sites

Part IV. Measuring the Impact

Quick Analysis A/B split: Members who’ve seen the campaign vs. those who have not New retention rate vs. retention a few months ago. © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Look for Changes in Key Metrics Fewer cancels? Fewer customer service calls/ s? Better metrics – open rates, CTR Upgrades from free-to-paid, monthly to annual Increased avg. subscriber lifetime © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved.

Live Q&A

Thank You! Bill Baird (203) © 2011 Subscription Site Insider, published by Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. Sean Donahue (401)

Additional Resources Marketing Samples Library Membership/Subscription Site Business Model & Workbook On-Demand Training: How to Raise Renewal Rates