Here Today, Bored Tomorrow

You've done a great job of cultivating your email list—and your subscribers have rewarded your efforts with extraordinary loyalty. So far, so good. But Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports says such best-case scenarios come with their own unique set of pitfalls:

• Becoming complacent. When you don't have to put out many fires, you might get lazy about fire prevention. "Loyal subscribers may be more forgiving of the occasional dip in quality," says Brownlow. "But they have their limits, too. You don't want to risk falling below the extinction threshold."
• Becoming myopic. As a list ages, the proportion of new subscribers will begin to shrink. And if you cater to an established audience of enthusiastic recipients, you might fail to notice that newer subscribers aren't nearly as enamored of your content—or nearly as loyal.
• Becoming cliquish. "A related problem," notes Brownlow, "is to assume subscribers are all very familiar with you and your emails. This can lead to clique-speak, using jargon or an insider style that long-term subscribers can relate to, but leaves newcomers confused or excluded." Some also make the mistake of assuming all readers are well-versed in their complete newsletter archive; oblique references to past material won't mean anything to a new subscriber, however.

"Loyalty, like permission, is not permanent," Brownlow concludes. "It depends on continuing to deliver the value that turned them loyal in the first place." Good thought to keep in mind.

Conclusion: Don't rest on those laurels. If you've built a loyal email list, congratulations! Just remember the loyalty you see today may vanish if you neglect your subscribers—old or new.