Winning Winback: How SparkToro prioritizes feature requests, builds relationships, and shares killer pasta recipes with a combo feedback-retention-winback email ft. Rand Fishkin
09/18/24 • 30 min
When your audience only needs your software inconsistently, how do you distinguish between disappointment or product misalignment – and natural lifecycle usage? If you’re Rand Fishkin, you send an all-rounder email that collects product feedback, updates churned customers, and improves the world’s home Italian cuisine – all at the same time.
About our guest
Rand Fishkin is cofounder and CEO of SparkToro, makers of fine audience research software, and indie game developer Snackbar Studio. He’s dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing through his writing, videos, speaking, and his book, Lost and Founder. When Rand’s not working, he’s usually cooking a fancy meal for the love of his life, author Geraldine DeRuiter.
Ideas you don’t want to miss
(08:42) How SparkToro tag teams their email communications – and how each sender flavors their emails with unique perspectives
(11:50) The unique lifecycle of the SparkToro customer – and the even more unique response and encouragement of the SparkToro team and communications
(19:11) How feeding bias into the email copy actually improves responses and gives the team better feedback
(19:57) How they keep this email updated, without maxing out the team
(21:31:) Why you shouldn’t use cream in your pasta – and what you should do instead
(22:33) The simple filter that helps the team deprioritize the requests that won’t serve their core customers
(27:01) The changes Rand wants to make to this email (and every other email he sends)
Links from this episode
Take a look at the emails we’re talking about today
Discover the websites, blogs, podcasts, social accounts, and publications that reach your audience with SparkToro
Plan more effective campaigns with my Promo and Launches Playbook or with my Campaign Ideation Masterclass
Free consult when you sign up to ConvertKit using this affiliate link. Terms and conditions here.
Connect with Rand on LinkedIn
Follow Nikki on LinkedIn
Get Nikki's email musings at nikkielbaz.com/subscribe
Let me know what you thought about the episode by emailing [email protected]
Subscribe to Email Swipes and never miss another episode
Or find on your favorite podcast player
When your audience only needs your software inconsistently, how do you distinguish between disappointment or product misalignment – and natural lifecycle usage? If you’re Rand Fishkin, you send an all-rounder email that collects product feedback, updates churned customers, and improves the world’s home Italian cuisine – all at the same time.
About our guest
Rand Fishkin is cofounder and CEO of SparkToro, makers of fine audience research software, and indie game developer Snackbar Studio. He’s dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing through his writing, videos, speaking, and his book, Lost and Founder. When Rand’s not working, he’s usually cooking a fancy meal for the love of his life, author Geraldine DeRuiter.
Ideas you don’t want to miss
(08:42) How SparkToro tag teams their email communications – and how each sender flavors their emails with unique perspectives
(11:50) The unique lifecycle of the SparkToro customer – and the even more unique response and encouragement of the SparkToro team and communications
(19:11) How feeding bias into the email copy actually improves responses and gives the team better feedback
(19:57) How they keep this email updated, without maxing out the team
(21:31:) Why you shouldn’t use cream in your pasta – and what you should do instead
(22:33) The simple filter that helps the team deprioritize the requests that won’t serve their core customers
(27:01) The changes Rand wants to make to this email (and every other email he sends)
Links from this episode
Take a look at the emails we’re talking about today
Discover the websites, blogs, podcasts, social accounts, and publications that reach your audience with SparkToro
Plan more effective campaigns with my Promo and Launches Playbook or with my Campaign Ideation Masterclass
Free consult when you sign up to ConvertKit using this affiliate link. Terms and conditions here.
Connect with Rand on LinkedIn
Follow Nikki on LinkedIn
Get Nikki's email musings at nikkielbaz.com/subscribe
Let me know what you thought about the episode by emailing [email protected]
Subscribe to Email Swipes and never miss another episode
Or find on your favorite podcast player
Previous Episode
Breaking Best Practices: Takeaways from Cold Connections
Let’s dive into the strategies and methods used in the PodMatch cold pitch, featured in Episode 28.
Ideas you don’t want to miss
(04:50) Takeaway 1: Look at cold pitching as a sprint, not as a project
(05:06) Takeaway #2: The more research you have, the stronger your hypotheses are going to be
(05:55) Takeaway #3: Give yourself the time to let the full process happen, without pressure
(06:08) Takeaway #4: Be quick with cold (but not in the way you think)
(07:12) Takeaway #5.1: Don’t be scared to follow up
(07:41) Takeaway #5.2: Find that balance of following best practices
(10:32) Takeaway #6: Responses is where you’re going to feel that human relationship-ness of email, for better or for worse
(11:44) Takeaway #7: Again, find your space within best practices – and use this to know if you’re breaking them safely.
Links from this episode
Take a look at the email we featured in Ep. 28
Swipe all the interesting bits on the Podmatch website
Plan more effective emails with my Ecomm Playbooks or SaaS Success Pack
Follow Nikki on LinkedIn
Get Nikki's email musings at nikkielbaz.com/subscribe
Let me know what you thought about the episode by emailing [email protected]
Subscribe to Email Swipes and never miss another episode
Or find on your favorite podcast player
Next Episode
Relationships at scale: Takeaways from Winning Winback
Let’s dive into the strategies and methods used in the SparkToro feedback-slash-winback email, featured in Episode 30.
Ideas you don’t want to miss
(03:54) Takeaway 1: 1:1-style personal emails don’t have to be (or usually shouldn’t be) all or nothing
(04:48) Takeaway #2: Flex those humility muscles before asking for customer feedback
(05:55) Takeaway #3: Use email content to take shared values further
(08:00) Takeaway #4: Learn (and use) your customers’ lifecycle
(08:49) Takeaway #5: Use choice to increase relevance when you don’t have the right data
(09:17) Takeaway #6: Don’t blindly follow your competition
(10:02) Takeaway #7: Understand screen fatigue and cut whatever you can
Links from this episode
Take a look at the emails we featured in Ep. 30
Plan more effective emails with my Ecomm Playbooks or SaaS Success Pack
Follow Nikki on LinkedIn
Get Nikki's email musings at nikkielbaz.com/subscribe
Let me know what you thought about the episode by emailing [email protected]
Subscribe to Email Swipes and never miss another episode
Or find on your favorite podcast player
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