23 April
Rising email Unsubscribe rates? It’s time to Take Action!
People opt out of subscriptions. That’s how it is.
Though unsubscribes are good for your business, it helps you filter the genuine ones. Do you ever wonder you could have saved those unsubscribes?
More unsubscribes can harm your business to a great extent. And on the other hand, capturing new ones requires good money in hand.
What is a good unsubscribe rate?
Unsubscribe rate below 0.5% is considered as a good unsubscribe rate according to Smart Insights. Initially, unsubscribe rates for the newly generated email list are higher.
Before discovering the ways to reduce email subscription rates, it is better to know what is a good unsubscribe rate.
Here is the average overview of all the industries in email marketing 2020 according to Campaign Monitor,
- Average open rate: 18.0%
- Average click-through rate: 2.6%
- Average click-to-open rate: 14.1%
- Average unsubscribe rate: 0.1%
Given the stats, how can you improve the falling subscribers? Here’s how you can!
Reduce Email Unsubscribe Rates with These 10 Proven Practices
It is great to see the unsubscribe rate as low as 0.1%. If you are witnessing high unsubscribe rates, then follow these result-oriented practices:
1. Reduce frequency of sending mails
Is your presence too frequent in the inbox of your targeted audience? This is one of the major reasons for unsubscribes. Nobody likes too much of anything and the same is the thing with your audience.
Even if they subscribed to your newsletter, they don’t like being distracted now and then. Eventually, they unsubscribe. Send your mail at a time when your audience is most likely to read it and send it.
According to smartrmail.com, sending an email once a week is considered ideal. With every mail you send, ensure to deliver value. It can be in the form of great content or personalized offers. Subscribers continue engaging with your brand as soon as they discover something they like.
2. Segment your email list
Unorganized e-mails harm your brand and increase unsubscribe rate. Your email might not be appealing to all of your subscribers due to their varied interests. What do you do when you encounter mail that doesn’t interest you? Don’t read it, right? Your audience also does the same.
Email list segmentation helps you send targeted emails. When subscribers relate to the content you shared, they are likely to engage for more.
According to Mailchimp, segmented emails share 14.3% higher open rates and 9.37 low unsubscribe rates than the unsegmented ones.
You can segment the list based on these parameters:
- New subscribers
- Location
- Interests
- Lead magnet they opted for
- Purchase history
- Amount of purchase
- Birthdays
3. Create content your subscribers don’t want to miss
As I said above, unless you provide value to the subscribers, they will not engage. Your emails should contain content that is unique, educational, and inspirational. It should be something unique, something they won’t find elsewhere.
It would be in your best interest to revise your content strategy if the content doesn't hit the reply link on the email.
You can share realistic stories, blogs that provide value, deals, and promotions that lie in their best interest, etc.
4. Create a dynamic and clear subject line
Subject lines are a major deciding factor for open rate. Clear, short, and valuable subject lines are bound to catch eyeballs. It should be 6-10 words long and contain 14-24 characters.
Most of the subscribers view emails on mobile. Therefore, you should ensure that the subject line created is all-device-optimized.
Be clear, to-the-point while creating subject lines. Instill a curiosity factor that provokes the reader to read further.
Don’t ever use words like- free, discount, and now in the subject line, they have the ability to trigger spam filters. Use numbers, capital letters, special characters, and personalize it with the name of the receiver.
For example, 20 things we’ve been doing wrong while creating marketing campaigns!
5. Reward subscribers by offering discounts
Simply sending emails won’t help until you have something that could trigger the action. We humans always look forward to opportunities. Thus, to keep your subscribers hooked, you can reward them with prizes, giveaways, or by acquainting them with fresh arrivals at a good discount.
This practice not only keeps them loyal to your brand but also makes them feel appreciated and valued.
6. Personalize your emails
According to Experian, “Personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates.” That’s high!
It’s a fact that subscribers wanted to be seen as individuals, not robots. And how can you do that? By sending personalized emails. Personalized mails not only improve open rates but engagement too. Sending the right message to the right people at the right time is what marketing is all about!
You can personalize your emails by-
- Addressing the receiver by name – (Hey John! Hope you are doing well!)
- Segmenting the audience based on interests, behavior!!
- Sending emails personalized to the interests of a particular segment.
- Acquainting them with the deals going on the products they are interested in!
7. Grant them the chance to opt-out
Yes, it’s not savage. It is an ideal practice for improving your subscriber’s list. If your subscriber is no longer interested in receiving updates from you, you should ease up the way for him to unsubscribe.
Be honest with your subscribers and grant them the freedom to unsubscribe if they want to. Utilize an easy to unsubscribe link in the footer. Make sure that it is visible else it could invite the agony of an already frustrated audience.
By ensuring a visible unsubscribe link, you can avoid spam complaints and develop a positive image of your brand. Subscribers that do not want to connect will not do so anyway; it is better to smooth up the opt-out process.
8. Validate your email list
When growing your email list, sooner or later you will encounter a passive subscriber. Thus, interacting with those who are genuinely interested is better than sending mail to the passive ones. Not doing so can affect the reputation. Your emails might land up in the spam folder of the receiver. Yes, it is disheartening.
You can use different tools to validate your email list like Mailer check, blaze verify, bulk email verifier.
9. Ask for subscriber’s feedback
Emails are not just sent for the sake of marketing. If your emails aren’t being reciprocated, then you need to re-think your email strategy. Your subscribers should engage with your messages, your content.
The best way to engage your subscribers is to introduce an interesting and relevant subject they are interested in. Encourage feedback, the feedback need not be product- or service-oriented. For example, you may be having problems getting sales, why not trigger emails asking for their opinion on how to achieve that.
10. Don’t be too salesy
We don’t like being sold to but buy, and that’s a fact!
“But we want sales! And emails are just for that!” I understand!
Consider it this way, would you like to get your email flood-up with sales messages?
You will get infuriated and irritated. The same is the case with subscribers. Instead of pitching sales content, focus on educating, entertaining, and motivating your subscribers. Balance the art of pitching the sales and connecting with your subscribers in their skin. It will help you nurture credibility and sales in the long run.
Email marketing is one of the best marketing techniques that ensure a good return on investment. By going through these, I am ensured that you will build up a good and credible email list.
After all! It is all about getting your readers excited to open and read your emails! Contact Click Nurture to know how we can help you with email marketing set-up.
