Lost A Subscriber? Maybe That’s A Good Thing!

Lost yet another subscriber of late? Welcome to the club! 

Losing subscribers by the day is not a good sign. However, the idea that a healthy email program puts a stop to unsubscribes, and therefore any unsubscribe is cause for panic, can be misleading. In today’s post, our subject matter expert reveals why and how. 

As far as email unsubscribes are concerned, our advice to you is no different than what we’ve relayed to our brand and agency clientele.

If you’re losing sleep over lost subscribers, you need to hear us out. 

Why losing subscribers can be a good thing

How to react to email unsubscribes?

Why do people unsubscribe anyway?

Why losing subscribers can be a good thing

There are four reasons why unsubscribes are healthy. Let us consider them one by one in some detail. 

1. It enforces the ‘tribe’

All things being equal, any unsubscribe signals disinterest. Someone was no longer interested in receiving your emails.

The odd one is out. Your tribe is stronger, shapelier. 

From now onwards, you only communicate with those who want to hear from you. Outside marketing, that may not be the description of a perfect world. But, in the age of permission-based marketing, honoring such behavior is humanly as well as legally sound. So it’s as perfect as it can get.  

You’ve also got to realize that email is just one channel. 

The lost subscriber may still engage with your brand outside email. A lost subscriber isn’t a lost cause for your brand. 

2. It trims the fat

Sending emails out to the least engaged subscribers is a pure waste of email marketing resources.

That’s a no-brainer, but for perspective, let’s consider a scenario. 

Let’s say you have 10,000 subscribers on your list, out of which 2,000 don’t engage with your emails. If your ESP costs $5o a month for the entire list, you’re spending $10 on the disengaged segment. That’s money down the toilet. Suppose your team takes 2 hours to create and send a campaign, and the team cost is $30 per hour. It translates to $12 for every email sent to your disengaged subscribers.  

All that wasted time and dime could’ve gone into strategizing and in fact, upgrading your ESP to access advanced features.

Thus, unsubscribes straighten up your email marketing budget. 

3. It improves deliverability

When there are fewer people on your list who’d object to emails from you, there are fewer instances of your emails being junked. 

But why would anyone object to receiving emails from you?

There could be multiple reasons, some for which you are responsible, and others for which you’re not directly accountable. 

For example, loss of brand trust. If you’ve been bombarding someone with irrelevant shiny offers, it’s a deal-breaker. If you are trying to hide the unsubscribe link, it reflects poorly on your brand. But on the other hand, people for no particular reason might lose interest in your brand. Or when someone signs up to your email list in order to receive the signup discount on a first-time purchase—you can’t do a lot to convince them to stay put on your contact list. 

In fact, you might also see a few loyal customers unsubscribe. Worst comes to worst, someone files a complaint. 

There have been instances when excessive spam complaints have led ISPs to block senders, resulting in a blanket ban on the relationship with your entire list, not just those who wanted to exit. 

“So in summary, unsubscribes help deliverability because they reduce the likelihood of a complaint coming in, improving a sender’s reputation (assuming you’re a legitimately good sender, bad senders it won’t move the needle much.),” asserts Jennifer Lantz. 

4. It improves open rates

But do open rates still matter? 

Granted that it is becoming increasingly hard to track actual opens, it remains a vital metric for many brands. Patrick Lappin at Beehiv likes to put it this way, “If your accountant can tell you the number of dollars in your bank account but is hazy on the number of cents, are they still worth listening to? They are.” 

Coming to the matter at hand, when there are more engaged people on your list, the open rate goes up in proportion to the number of unsubscribes. A good open rate is a positive sign to the ISPs. It shows that people are engaging with your emails.

How to react to email unsubscribes?

Broadly speaking, brands react to unsubscribes in two ways:

1. They panic: As already stressed, a foolproof, zero-unsubscriber email program is not possible.
   
2. They take it for granted: Such an attitude is equally, if not more, concerning. Apathy toward user behavior is dangerous. 

As far as the latter reaction goes, it’s helpful to see what Mark Morin, email automation expert, has to say: 

“I think most of us email marketers understand that unsubscribing is generally a healthy process. It allows us to purge the deadwood from our database. A little like a controlled-burn forest fire, cleaning out the underbrush to prevent large scale wildfires. This may be true, at least in part, but I can’t help wondering how much of this is normal and how much is self-inflicted, caused by careless targeting, poor timing and ill-conceived campaigns.”

So then, neglecting why there are unsubscribes in the first place, the “set-it-and-forget-it” mindset misses the chance to refine email strategies or better understand audience preferences. Deadwood can be brought back to life, if only you made the effort to care. 

Why do people unsubscribe anyway?

There are several reasons why one might choose to unsubscribe from an email list. Here are some of the most common factors:

• Excessive Email: Receiving too many emails can overwhelm subscribers. If the frequency is too high or doesn’t match their expectations, they may unsubscribe to declutter their inbox.
  
• Irrelevant Content: If the emails no longer align with the subscriber’s interests or needs, they might decide to unsubscribe. This can occur if the content isn’t relevant to their current goals or lifestyle.
  
• Poor Quality of Emails: If the emails are poorly designed, difficult to read, or filled with errors, subscribers may lose trust and opt to unsubscribe.
  
• Unclear Value Proposition: If the emails don’t effectively communicate the benefits to the subscriber, or if they seem to lack value, they may choose to unsubscribe.
  
• Changes in Subscriber’s Needs: Subscribers may have initially signed up for specific reasons (like a promotion or event) but may find the emails irrelevant as their needs evolve over time.
  
• Repetitive or Outdated Offers: If your emails keep promoting the same content or offers repeatedly, it can lead to subscriber fatigue.

Wrapping Up! 

Losing subscribers can actually be seen as a beneficial opportunity instead of a setback. It allows you to refine your email list, ensuring that only those who are engaged and genuinely interested remain, which ultimately enhances email deliverability, engagement, and return on investment. By managing unsubscribes strategically, brands can prevent sending irrelevant content to disinterested users, lower spam complaints, and improve their overall email marketing strategies. 

Additionally, understanding why people unsubscribe offers valuable insights into the preferences and needs of your audience, enabling more personalized and effective communication in the future. Viewing unsubscribes as a sign of a healthier, more engaged list can pave the way for long-term marketing success.

Need help with email marketing on your preferred ESP? We are experts in over 50 of them. Irrespective of which platform you prefer, you’ll get the benefit of our six-tier email marketing framework (see below). So, get on a no-obligation call with us!