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If you're stepping up your email marketing game and planning to send a variety of emails, you might worry about overwhelming your subscribers. An email preferences centre can be your secret weapon here!

One of the best aspects of email marketing is the ability to tailor the experience for each subscriber. It's all about sending the right messages to the right people at the right time. An email preferences centre puts this customisation into the hands of your subscribers, letting them choose what types of emails they want to receive.

You’ve probably seen email preferences centres in action at the bottom of emails near the unsubscribe button, labelled something like "Manage my preferences." The idea is to offer an alternative to unsubscribing, but my philosophy is to give subscribers this choice long before they even think about leaving.

Email preferences centres are not just about marketing messages. Many of you use email to communicate with clients, customers, members, or students. The concern is that these important emails get lost among general updates. For example, a customer might not want your weekly tips but still needs to know when they can access their next coaching call or a new update to their purchase.

An email preferences centre empowers subscribers to make these choices. It ensures they get the information they want without being bombarded by unwanted emails. Most email marketing software comes with a built-in preferences centre, but I recommend creating your own version. It’s easier than you think and offers more flexibility!

By setting up an email preferences centre, you're not just managing email frequency but enhancing the overall experience for your subscribers. This not only keeps them engaged but also builds trust and loyalty.

Before diving into the creation of an email preferences centre, it's crucial to decide what you want it to achieve. There are three main approaches to consider:

Approach 1 – Choosing the Exact Emails They Will Receive

This approach involves specifying the types of content you regularly send and allowing your subscribers to select which emails they want to receive. This method helps subscribers tailor their inbox to their interests and needs.

Examples include:

• Important transactional information
• Member or student updates
• Weekly tips, insights, or articles
• Product releases
• Sales and promotions
• Podcast or blog updates
• Event reminders
• Specific automations

Some even offer the option of a "Monthly Wrap" email, summarising key updates.

Approach 2 - Choosing the Content They Receive

This approach focuses on gathering more context about what content is most relevant to your subscribers. It helps you segment your audience based on their preferences and interests.

Examples include:

• Category (e.g., ecommerce, services, digital creators)
• Stage (e.g., beginner, intermediate, advanced)
• Date-specific info (e.g., child's age, wedding date)
• Topics of interest

This is covered in greater detail in my Super Segmenting course.

Approach 3 - A Combo!

You might want to combine the above approaches, offering different preferences centres for various lists or groups.

For example, I have a general preferences centre but also a specific one for Email Experience members. EE members receive reminders for coaching calls, tech checks, and copy critiques, plus general updates. With many emails sent monthly, offering choices helps manage their preferences effectively.

When & Where to Offer Choices

Make it obvious that subscribers can choose their email preferences. This reduces anxiety and increases trust...

Ideal Places to Add a Preferences Link

• Footer, next to unsubscribe
• Top of your emails
• As a P.S.
• Welcome email
• Onboarding sequence
• Transition email between welcome and regular updates

Consider a Secondary Form

For those who choose to unsubscribe, consider creating a secondary form. This form can be used to offer them a chance to resubscribe to specific types of emails. For example, when someone unsubscribes, their confirmation page can display a message like, "Sorry to see you go. You have been unsubscribed from all emails. However, if there are specific emails you'd still like to receive, you can resubscribe and select your preferences here."

This approach provides an opportunity to retain subscribers who may only want to reduce the frequency or type of emails they receive, rather than opting out entirely. It shows that you value their preferences and are willing to accommodate their needs, potentially turning a lost subscriber into a more engaged one.

How to Create a DIY Preferences Centre

Creating your own email preferences centre allows you to customise the experience for your subscribers. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Create Custom Fields

Start by setting up custom fields in your email marketing software. These fields will capture your subscribers’ preferences.

• Multi-select Checkboxes: Use multi-select checkboxes for options where subscribers can choose multiple preferences, such as types of emails they want to receive (e.g., newsletters, promotions, updates).
• Drop-down Menus: For scenarios where only one option should be selected, like preferred frequency of emails, use a drop-down menu.
• Unsubscribe Option: Always include an "unsubscribe from all" option to give subscribers a clear exit if they want to stop all communications.
• Customer Research Fields: Add optional fields like “Is there anything else you want me to know?” to gather additional feedback. These insights can be invaluable for tailoring your content and improving your strategy.

2. Build Your Form

Once your custom fields are set up, build the form that your subscribers will use to select their preferences.

• Use Built-in Form Builders: Most email marketing platforms have built-in form builders. Using these ensures seamless integration and proper functioning of all features, including resubscribe options and location tracking.
• Mandatory Fields: Make the email address and preferences fields mandatory. This ensures you capture the necessary information while allowing flexibility in other areas.
• Embedding Options: You can direct subscribers to this form via a link in your emails or embed it on a dedicated page on your website. Having both options increases accessibility and convenience for your audience.

Want an example? You can see mine here.

3. Create an Automation

Automation streamlines the process of sorting subscribers based on their preferences.

• Trigger on Form Submission: Set the automation to trigger when the form is submitted.
• Conditional Splits: Use conditional splits to route subscribers based on their answers. For example, a question might ask, “Does this field contain [specific preference]?” If yes, add the contact to the relevant list, group, or tag. If no, move to the next question.
• Merging Paths: After each conditional split, merge the paths to continue the automation. This ensures you cover all preferences.
• Special Scenarios: Consider scenarios where subscribers shouldn’t be added to certain lists. For example, if a non-member selects preferences for member-exclusive content, they should not be added to that list.
• Unsubscribe Handling: If you have an "unsubscribe from all" option, this should be the final step in your automation to ensure subscribers who want out are removed from all lists.

4. Add the Link to Your Emails

Promote your email preferences centre by adding links in your emails.

• Conversational Text: Use friendly, conversational text to encourage subscribers to manage their preferences. For example, “Not interested in our weekly tips? Click here to manage your preferences and choose what you want to receive.”
• Direct Link or Embedded Form: Provide a direct link to the form or embed it on a page on your site. This flexibility caters to different user behaviours.
• Prefilled Links: Pro tip: Add parameters to the link so that subscribers’ email addresses are prefilled when they access the form. This makes it even easier for them to update their preferences.

5. Mass Update Existing Subscribers

Ensure your existing subscribers are also sorted according to their preferences.

• Using Tags: If your system uses tags to control email segmentation, mass add the appropriate tags to your existing subscribers. This helps maintain consistency across your database.
• Creating Segments: Create the necessary segments or groups based on the tags or preferences. This organisation makes it easier to manage your lists and ensures targeted communications moving forward.

Hopefully, I’ve sparked your interest in the concept of an email preferences centre…

While it may seem like an advanced strategy, its value becomes clear if you're sending various types of emails to different groups of subscribers. It’s a powerful way to manage your communications and put the control in your subscribers' hands!

If you're only sending a few emails, say one a week to a single group, this might feel like a lot of extra effort. However, for those sending multiple types of emails or dealing with diverse subscriber groups, an email preferences centre is essential for maintaining order and enhancing the subscriber experience.

For more tips and strategies on segmenting your subscribers, gathering information beyond forms, and setting up an email preferences centre, check out my course, Super Segmenting. You'll discover automation hacks to streamline the process of moving subscribers into relevant groups and gain access to a library of tech tutorials tailored to your specific email software.

What you learn here will benefit both your campaigns and automations, ensuring your emails speak directly to each subscriber’s needs, giving them the choice they deserve!

Learn more at yaelkeon.com/segment.