WHY EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBES ARE A GOOD THING
Well, it finally happened.
Someone unsubscribed from our email newsletter.
And even though we’ve been through this with clients before, it still stung a little when it happened to us!
It never feels good when you see that someone has unsubscribed. They have to consciously take multiple steps - they have to hit the unsubscribe button, wait for a new window to open, confirm their request, and hit unsubscribe one more time. They put in work to never hear from you again.
And this is the kind of spiraling we try to prevent with our clients! Because really, an unsubscribe most often has little (or nothing) to do with you and your business personally. They aren’t trying to remove you from their lives. They are trying to remove emails from their inbox.
Sometimes they just can’t handle one more notification or they are trying to save money by limiting their exposure to advertising. Sometimes people just sign up for a coupon code. Maybe your email is landing in their spam folder. Whatever the case, it’s usually not about you.
And actually, email unsubscribes can be a really good thing! Here’s why:
It could reduce costs. If you’re using an email marketing platform that charges you based on your number of subscribers, unsubscribes will keep you from paying to send emails to people who are not engaging with your business.
They’re healthy for your sender reputation. Unengaged contacts being removed from your list maintains your digital reputation, avoids deliverability issues, and improves efficiency.
Unsubscribes keep your list clean. Removing subscribers who are not interested long term in your emails ensures your marketing efforts reach people who are actually looking forward to engaging with your business. You also often get the immediate boost of seeing your email open and click rates go up.
They can save you from spam complaints. The email ecosystem judges spam complaints very, very harshly. The last thing you want is a spam complaint. They are recorded and taken seriously by email platforms. When people take the time to unsubscribe themselves, it’s read as neutral by email platforms, and has no negative effect on deliverability and your digital reputation.
Sometimes, the unsubscribes are about you. Maybe you didn’t segment your email list properly - you’re using generic email messaging instead of getting specific, your messages lack personalization, your strategy isn’t keeping up with your customer’s evolving needs, or you’ve somehow else lost that personal connection with your audience. Perhaps you’re sending emails too frequently, or not frequently enough.
A high unsubscribe rate can be a catalyst for positive change. If you see a big drop in subscribers, that’s your cue to improve your content, seek out better ways to engage your audience, and just improve your email marketing strategy in general.
Try viewing unsubscribes as an opportunity. They are a chance to get to know your audience better, perfect your strategy, and deepen relationships with the people who actually care about your business.
