The Simplified Guide To Reduce Unsubscribes In 2021

Your email marketing ROI is skyrocketing, you are getting record-breaking engagement, but there’s something that’s bothering you- a slowly depleting subscriber base. Sustaining your success is an even tougher feat, and when it comes to email marketing, it turns into a real struggle. As an email marketing specialist, I often find fellow marketers discussing the perils of losing too many subscribers due to not putting in any preemptive measures. The average churn rate for email lists is around 25-30% which means that you might end up losing most of your subscribers in a couple of years. 

Though it may sound uncommon, it is a fairly common scenario to be consumed by the listed building and marketing activities without paying heed to reduce the unsubscription rate. Worried about your plummeting email subscriber count? You are at the right place. Today, I will share a few insider tips that seasoned email marketing specialists like me leverage for innumerable clients. Follow this mini-guide to reduce your email unsubscribers in 2021:

Use Double Opt-In Forms

Before you turn too analytical and coin new strategies, it is necessary that you start using double opt-ins if you aren’t already using them. This way, you can ensure that only the genuinely interested people who want to hear from you join the mailing list. They would be less likely to feel uninterested since people are generally hesitant about sharing email addresses and other information. As the quality of leads is pretty good, you’ll also benefit in all other aspects such as open rates, conversion rates, and the feedback you receive. 

Try To Reduce/Increase Email Sending Frequency And Check Send Times

One of the common reasons for being unsubscribed is not taking ideal send times and frequency into account. If you are sending too many emails regularly, you might overwhelm your subscribers. On the other hand, sending an email after months can lead to your recipients forgetting that they ever subscribed to you. It would be best if you follow your industry benchmarks. The same applies to send times, so make sure you have optimized the send times for the timezone of your recipients. 

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Check Your Automation Workflows

Being relevant is the key to high engagement in email marketing, and automation plays a crucial role in the process. Audit the segmentation and personalization criteria in the automation workflows regularly as being irrelevant is one of the major causes behind unsubscribing. This allows sending HTMl emails that are both expected by the recipients and useful to them. Sending unsolicited messages can dent your image. Also, make sure that your email copy and images are in line with the local culture of your subscribers. For instance, black signifies death and mourning in the Western culture, while it’s perceived as wrong etiquette to wear black apparel on such occasions in Asian countries. 

Ask The Recipients Upfront 

If you feel that your unsubscribe rate isn’t going down despite persistent efforts, you should ask your subscribers upfront whether they are facing any issues. Don’t take this as an exit formality for your outgoing subscribers. Getting a review from all your existing subscribers is a great way to recalibrate your strategy and make efforts in the right direction. You can send such emails to your most disengaged subscribers to get a first-hand understanding of what makes you lose your hard-earned subscribers. 

Allow The Subscribers To Control Send Times And Frequency

The next logical step is to allow your subscriber base to throttle the send times and frequency. This way, you can take the guesswork completely out of the equation and find out what works the best for your email list subscribers. In most cases, allowing the subscriber to choose how they want to receive messages works like a charm. Send an email that enables your disengaged subscribers to do so, and you will witness a nice boost to your overall email metrics.

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Analyze The Trends Associated With Unsubscribing 

Lastly, I would recommend you analyze the email metrics to study any correlation with your unsubscribe rate. It will help you trace the problems like sending an offensive email copy or leaving your mailing list right after joining it. In the latter case, the reason can be not sending the freebie that made your subscribers join the mailing list in the first place. Studying such trends can be a great way to track any abnormality in your email marketing game and rectify it instantly. Based on the results, you can also explore the factors that worked in your favor.

Wrap Up

Toward the end, I would like to point out that reducing the email list unsubscribe rate is a cumulative result of implementing best practices. Follow the tips mentioned below and try to up your email game but don’t consider unsubscription as negative altogether. If you’re struggling with dormant leads for long, it’s better to help them opt out as they would only disturb your ongoing efforts. I hope this article clears the fog on reducing email unsubscribers and helps your email marketing endeavors in 2021.