Understanding New Member Psychology
Study main reasons for subscriber drop-off . . . Study typical actions/behavior of long-term subscriber . . . Target actions/content to highlight for newbies during onboarding . . .
Thank-You Page
Include link to view receipt/account info . . . Provide 3-4 links to high-impact content . . . Provide next steps to begin using membership . . . Provide personalized/interactive tools to
let members specify their No . 1 goal/next step . . .
Transactional Email Message/Receipt
Determine if delivery platform allows modification . . . Include links to high-impact content . . . Provide next steps to begin using membership . . .
Email Welcome Series
Onboarding Campaign Optimization Checklist
Establish triggers/data sources for engagement sends . . . Identify content/resources for educational sends . . . Develop personalization strategy . . . Set total number of emails in series . . . Establish send schedule . . .
Mobile
Measure % of emails being viewed on mobile devices . . . Create design template with 480-500px width . . . Develop single-column format for email messages . . . Identify single link/article/CTA for each mobile onboarding send . . . Refine subject-line strategy for shorter character limit . . .
Telemarketing
Analyze outsourced vs . in-house call center options . . . Identify customer-service personnel to conduct calls . . . Create scripts/engagement tactics for outbound calls . . . Implement software/alerts system to trigger outbound calls . . . Create email follow-up message templates and schedule . . .
Direct Mail
Price options – e .g ., postcards vs . larger mailers . . . Create Welcome Package materials . . . Identify cross-sell opportunities to include . . . Develop third-party advertising inserts . . . Determine how to download postal mail addresses/labels . . . Set up fulfillment process . . .
On-Site Tools & Activities
Create site tour or new-user overview video . . . Create shorter, how-to videos for discreet actions . . . Choose high-profile executive/contributor for personalized welcome . . . Choose delivery method
(on site, live webinar, included in welcome email series) . . . Create welcome page for new user logins
with useful links/recommend actions . . .
Private Social Media
Offer member personal profiles . . . Offer contest/bribe for participation . . . Create “editor’s picks” discussion feature . . . Implement member ratings/leaderboard . . . Include discussion board promotions in email . . . On-site promotions . . . Customer-service mentions . . . Create members-only LinkedIn group . . . Create members-only, private, Yahoo Group . . . New member welcome Tweets . . .
Onboarding Campaign Segmentation
Identify new member starts by source/offer . . . Develop onboarding messaging to match acquisition offer . . . Develop onboarding messaging to match demographics/behavior . . . Develop onboarding messaging for affiliate channels . . . Develop onboarding campaign for gift-subscriptions . . . Develop client-branded campaign for large site-license customers . . .
Referral Campaigns
Review ‘Referral Marketing’ on-demand video at Subscription Site Insider . Add “referral-at-birth” step to new-member signup . . . Enable automatic email upload . . . Include referral promotion in onboarding emails . . .
Measurement and Metrics
Flag members who have received onboarding vs . those who haven’t . . . Compare retention pre- and post-onboarding implementation . . . Segment database by specific onboarding campaign . . . Measure impact on customer service calls . . . Measure impact on cancellations . . . Measure impact on email metrics . . . Calculate financial impact of increased retention rate . . . Determine if new user volume supports A/B testing opportunities . . . Study testing resources in the Improve Conversions section
