Today your ten day countdown starts to the shutdown of Lycos Europe email services, announced in November 2008 and again last month.

What you need to do NOW, if you have not done anything yet:

  • Start by reviewing the extensive list over at Word to the Wise (Approximately 500 domains).
  • Segment these users out of your house file for a special “Update your Profile campaign”
  • Mail your first message to this segment no later then Tuesday February 10th, 2009. This give a few days lead time for people to open their email and update their email with you.
  • Send a follow up email to users that did not open on Friday February the 13th, a final reminder
  • On February 16th, be prepared to suppress/unsubscribe or delete these members from your list.
Ideas for content:
  • Reconnect with your subscribers – remind them why they want your mail in the first place
  • Be Relevant – don’t send your regular email, make this one special and convey the urgency of this switch so they don’t have a service interruption.
  • Use this as a time to clean your file – people that update their addresses with you will be engaged and possibly re-energized within your program.  Ask for updated profile data, times change people change too – maybe your collecting new profile information that can be used to make your program more relevant to them.
  • Offer an alternative if one is available.  If you have RSS now is the time to remind them of this option, they may want your content but intended to leave behind all their old subscriptions and start fresh with a new spam free email account.  Make sure your in their head as someone they want to stay connected with, so your not left behind.
Remember you don’t have to loose everyone, if you plan a head.