Free Guide! The 8 Key Ingredients for Effective Email Marketing
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I'm Nicole, digital strategist and your business's new biggest fan...
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Today we’re talking about a topic we get asked a lot about: why email unsubscribes are okay. Someone unsubscribing from your email list can seem like a hit to your account… and your ego. If questions like “Does my email content suck?” or “Are my emails boring?” swirl around your head whenever you see someone unsubscribe, keep reading.
[BIG NOTE! The information below is relevant if you’re only seeing a handful of unsubscribes with each email campaign you send. If your unsubscribe rate is higher than 0.2% for every campaign, get in touch with us to help you diagnose the issue!]
Let’s change your mindset about unsubscribes and realize that they’re ultimately helpful to your entire email marketing strategy. When someone takes the action to unsubscribe from your list, there could be a lot of reasons why.
But before you jump to the conclusion that your email content isn’t hitting anymore, consider that it may be your subscriber, not you. Maybe they’re at a different stage in their life and your emails aren’t relevant for them anymore. Or maybe they’ve purchased from you and don’t necessarily want to keep hearing about your products. Maybe they’re consuming your content in other places, like Instagram or reading your blog, and they just need an email break.
Don’t fret—a handle of unsubscribes with each email campaign you send is normal. Let’s get into the reasons why email unsubscribes are okay.
Just because you have a lot of email subscribers doesn’t mean they’re quality subscribers. When we say “quality” subscribers, we mean subscribers who open and click your emails, and ideally take action on your CTA.
Think about this the way you think about your social media followers. The number of followers you have is generally seen as a vanity metric—that is, a high number may look great, but it doesn’t actually paint the true picture of your community’s engagement with your content. The same goes for email marketing. Just because you have a number of subscribers on your list doesn’t necessarily mean they’re engaging with your emails.
When your email audience is engaged with the emails you send them, everything improves. Your email metrics increase in all the right ways, and your subscribers’ actions tell email service providers that you’re a reputable sender. Which leads us to our next point…
When you hit “send” on your email campaign, that’s only telling your email platform to send your campaign. It doesn’t mean your campaign will actually be delivered.
Email service providers (ESPs) like Gmail and Outlook have guardrails in place that protect their users from receiving spam-like emails. If you’re sending email campaigns that have low open and click rates, ESPs see that as a red flag and are less likely to deliver your email directly to a subscriber’s inbox. Your email could land in the Gmail “Promotions” folder (not ideal, but not the worst thing), or it could land in spam (totally unideal).
By someone unsubscribing, they’re technically telling their ESP they’re not interested in receiving their emails. You should absolutely respect their choice and not email them. In fact, most email marketing platforms won’t allow you to email someone who has chosen to unsubscribe.
An unsubscribed user is better than an unengaged user. Think of it this way: if someone’s unsubscribed and you’re no longer sending to them, that means they won’t affect your email marketing efforts at all. But if you’re constantly sending to an unengaged user, their inaction is still contributing to your email marketing reputation and metrics.
And that leads us to our last point: email unsubscribes are okay because they help keep your list clean.
List cleanliness is one of the email marketing tenets we preach at Maribloom. Over time, your list will likely grow with people who are no longer interested, or have abandoned their email address. By removing these subscribers, aka those who aren’t taking action, you’re improving your sender reputation and your email metrics.
How often should you clean your list? This differs for every business, but the general guideline we use is to remove anyone who has not taken action through emails within the past 6 months. (Be sure to do a re-engagement campaign before removing subscribers though, in case they have certain privacy settings that prevent their email opens to be tracked.)
When it comes to your email audience, remember that more doesn’t necessarily mean better. A quality list full of engaged users who LOVE your emails is way better than a massive list of people who don’t open or click your messages. And when you keep sending emails your list loves, you’re not only satisfying them; you’re also satisfying ESPs.
Want to uncover ways to make your audience love your emails? Check out our free guide: The 8 Key Ingredients to Effective Email Marketing!
Nicole is the CEO & founder of Maribloom Digital Studio. When she’s not nerding out over digital strategy, you can find her reading, traveling, doing pilates, or hanging with her husband and corgi.
Hey there! I'm Nicole—founder of Maribloom, digital strategist, and your business's new biggest fan...
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Read more about me
I'm Nicole, digital strategist and your business's new biggest fan...
sign up to receive our digital tips, tricks, and advice
sign up and get our best digital tips, tricks, and advice
THANKS!