[NEW RESEARCH - GetData]: Why do people subscribe to email newsletters?

Building up a loyal list of email subscribers can be a challenging task, not least because to make your efforts scalable, you have to understand what it is that motivates people to hit the subscribe button.

Key research findings:

• Nearly a quarter of mailing list subscriptions are 'accidental'

• Women are more likely than men to subscribe to get deals and special offers

• Getting access to restricted content is the least likely motivator for mailing list subscriptions

According to GetApp’s latest research, nearly a quarter of people who have signed up to a mailing list have been auto-subscribed, especiallywhen it comes to men. The panel, made up of 500 people between the ages of 25 and 44, chose ‘auto-subscription’ (being subscribed ‘unwillingly’ as the result of sending a support email, downloading a file, etc.) as the main reason for being part of a newsletter mailing list.

Interestingly, when the results are segmented by gender, the outcomes change slightly. For men, who make up 62.8 percent of the panel, ‘auto-subscription’ is still the main reason for being part of a mailing list. For the remaining 37.2 percent of the panel– all women– it’s ‘deals or special offers’ that are the key motivator for hitting the subscribe button.

More details about the research:

Answers to the question: “What’s the most common reason you subscribe to an email newsletter?”

Segment: All panel

Auto-subscribe, I didn’t choose to (24.8%)

For deals or special offers (22.6%)

To get news updates (21.4%)

Interesting articles or content (21%)

To get access to restricted content (7.6%)

Other (2.6%)

Segment: Male respondents

Auto-subscribe, I didn’t choose to (26.8%)

To get news updates (21%)

Interesting articles or content (20.7%)

For deals or special offers (20.1%)

To get access to restricted content (7.6%)

Other (3.8%)

Segment: Female respondents

For deals or special offers (26.9%)

To get news updates (22%)

Interesting articles or content (21.5%)

Auto-subscribe, I didn’t choose to (21.5%)

To get access to restricted content (7.5%)

Other (0.5%)

Demographics: 500 US-based male (62.8%) and female (37.2%) respondents from a panel of internet users between the ages of 25 and 44 with an average inferred annual income between $25 000 and $100k.

This research was conducted as part of GetApp’s independent research program, GetData. The research was carried out to better understand how users react to different email marketing techniques.

If you’re a tech journalist or blogger, and would like custom research doing to use in your articles, please complete this research request form. Alternatively, if you have questions, please get in contact with Sançar at sancar.sahin@getapp.com.