Welcome to The Retention Newsie by The Email Marketers.

Every week we bring you the best case studies, strategies, and tips around keeping more customers, turning them into raving fans, and increasing revenue.

Up this week:

• 💄Glossier’s Genius Email Marketing

• 💻 Unlocking the Potential of Exit Surveys

• 📊 Post-Purchase Email Strategies, Evolving Loyalty Programs & More!

Reading time: 4.5 minutes

Glossier's Glow: How Email Marketing Fuels Their Cult Following

Glossier, the beauty brand that's taken the world by storm, has mastered the art of email marketing to cultivate a fiercely loyal customer base.

From the start, Glossier's approach has been customer-centric and community-driven. Their email marketing strategy is no exception, focusing on authentic connection, user-generated content (UGC), and fostering a sense of belonging.

Glossier prominently features user-generated content and customer reviews in their email campaigns. They highlight community members sharing their favorite products and shades, making customers feel seen and appreciated.

Glossier's email designs are clean, product-focused, and consistent with their minimalist aesthetic. They communicate product value propositions, often paired with textural imagery. Knowing their audience's dedication to the Glossier lifestyle, they provide step-by-step routines featuring their products that are easy for customers to adopt.

When highlighting product collections, Glossier uses clean macro photography of color swatches that pop against a white background. The swatches are accompanied by snappy color names and a simple copy breaking down each color profile.

Every community-focused email campaign features their tagline, "You Look Good," reinforcing their brand ethos of celebrating natural, unfiltered beauty. Glossier's community-building efforts extend beyond email. They are famous for co-creating products with their superfans, sourcing detailed input on everything from formulas to packaging.

Glossier also has a rep program that uses loyal customers as brand ambassadors. Reps share their routines and favorite products, offering referral discounts, allowing Glossier to expand their reach while still controlling its brand image.

Perhaps most impressively, Glossier features its customers in national ad campaigns, bringing their "Make the Consumer Feel Seen" mantra to life. Glossier has grown from a beauty blog to a $1.2 billion business in just 8 years, largely thanks to their passionate community.

By making email marketing a key touchpoint for customer connection and skillfully integrating it with their broader community-building strategies, Glossier has cultivated a uniquely devoted following.

Their approach proves that when it comes to retention, making your customers feel valued, represented, and included isn't just good brand-building - it's good business.

How Exit Surveys Reduce Unsubscribers

Losing subscribers can be frustrating, especially when you don't know why they are leaving. But what if there was a simple way to gather insights and reduce your unsubscribe rate?

Enter the optional exit survey: a powerful tool for understanding your audience and refining your email strategy. Here's how it works and why it's crucial for your retention efforts:

According to a 2009 Epsilon study, the top reasons people unsubscribe are:

• Content was irrelevant: 64%

• Received too frequently: 60%

• Thought address was being shared/sold: 40%

• Didn't recall signing up: 33%

• Privacy concerns: 33%

Understanding these common pain points is the first step in addressing them.

When a subscriber clicks "unsubscribe," redirect them to a confirmation page with an optional survey. Include options for the most common reasons and an open-ended "other" field for additional feedback. Keep it short and simple—they're already on their way out, so make it easy for them to provide insights without feeling pressured.

Regularly review to identify patterns and areas for improvement. The feedback you gather is invaluable for optimizing your email marketing and boosting retention.

Your confirmation page is also an opportunity to salvage the relationship. Offer options to resubscribe, update preferences, or take a break rather than permanently unsubscribe. This gives subscribers more control and may prevent some from leaving altogether.

Keep a close eye on your unsubscribe rate—if it exceeds 0.5%, it's time to take action.

Analyze your exit survey responses, assess your email content and frequency, and make adjustments as needed.

Exit surveys are a powerful tool for understanding why subscribers leave and how you can keep them engaged. Don't let unsubscribes remain a mystery—implement an exit survey today and start turning insights into action.

• Verneri Brander shares a valuable post-purchase email strategy.

• This 3-step onboarding email flow turns users into lifelong customers

• Vox explores how loyalty programs are evolving to encourage repeat business.

• Reframing sign-up choices increased client subscriptions by 19%.

• Apple's support for RCS messaging will allow marketers to reach a larger audience.

We help 8-& 9-figure e-commerce brands increase revenue and build strong customer relationships through retention marketing: Email, SMS, direct mail, subscriptions, memberships, loyalty programs, and more.