Paid partnerships: Monetising your email list in a different way
In the ecommerce world, when we talk about monetising the contacts list, we often think about selling. We discuss metrics like revenue per email recipient, lifetime value (CLTV) and order frequency amongst many more.
Selling to your brand’s database is not the only way you can monetise a well nourished contact list. Paid partnerships is another great option to do so.
We’re sure you’ve seen brands advertising other companies in their email marketing. And we’re sure a lot of you found it annoying and never clicked on those emails. That’s what happens very often when such paid partnerships are done badly. And by that we mean:
When the offer of a different company comes out of the blue and you, as a customer, feel taken advantage of for signing up to the newsletter
When the company advertised, or the product, is something that has nothing to do with your interests and lifestyle
When the offer/product has nothing to do with the brand you originally signed up to
This happens often and can be very damaging to both brands engaging in such partnership - it makes the customers lose trust in both companies.
If you’re thinking of allowing a different company to advertise to your database via your email newsletter, ensure that:
Your customers know that this might be happening, so it doesn’t come as a surprise
Introduce the brand you’re partnering with and explain why you decided to ‘host’ them in your emails
Ensure the brand is complimentary to the experience you’re providing to your customers, so learning about their offer is of value to your community
A good example of how it’s done very well is English Heritage. They offer the bottom spots in their memberships newsletter to like-minded brands, who offer products or services EH know, their members would love. Have a look at the example below - partnering up with Cotswolds Outdoor introduces an offer on outdoor clothing to members who, by definition, love excursions and spending time outdoors.
