{"id":1639,"date":"2020-02-09T22:38:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T22:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getanewsletter.com\/en\/blog\/how-to-reduce-newsletter-unsubscribe-rates\/"},"modified":"2024-04-11T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T16:49:51","slug":"how-to-reduce-newsletter-unsubscribe-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/blog\/how-to-reduce-newsletter-unsubscribe-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Reduce Newsletter Unsubscribe Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Everybody wants to reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates. It&#8217;s cheaper and more efficient to keep your existing customers or leads than to win new ones. That&#8217;s just common sense. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One classic study found that improving customer retention by 5% over a period of years <a href=\"https:\/\/hbswk.hbs.edu\/archive\/the-economics-of-e-loyalty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increased profits by somewhere between 25% and 95%<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what is a &#8220;good&#8221; unsubscribe rate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, multiple studies put the all-sector average at around <strong><u>0.52%<\/u><\/strong> per email campaign, although that varies by sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/Unsubs_c3ffa6025ffcaa5f57b1d26375c3e37c_800.png\" alt=\"Reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates: Averages by sector\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: signupto.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re a long way from that 0.52% figure or your sector average then you are throwing leads &#8211; and money &#8211; away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news, a poor unsubscribe rate is easy to fix because the reasons why people unsubscribe are pretty simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You&#8217;re boring them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You&#8217;re annoying them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They don&#8217;t trust you<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They don&#8217;t see value in what you&#8217;re providing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In this blog, we&#8217;ll talk you through <u>15<\/u> simple, proven tactics to reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#8cnb\">Set subscribers&#8217; expectations and stick to them<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#dglcl\">Keep the frequency of messages under control<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#32ni\">Write compelling content for the right audiences<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#971ku\">Avoid spammy headlines<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#cpf3b\">Personalize your content<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#cdupr\">Vary the types of material you send out<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#57eqd\">Use both single- and double-opt-in methods<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#3sara\">Send exclusive special offers to subscribers<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#f4g21\">Avoid highlighting the word &#8220;unsubscribe&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#a4d4k\">Provide a prominent change of address link<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#cc2n5\">Follow-up requests to unsubscribe<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#81j79\">Offer alternatives to email communication<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#14oat\">Make sure emails load quickly and render properly<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#4bglh\">Optimize for different devices<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#fgm93\">Weed out disengaged lurkers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"8cnb\">1. Set subscribers&#8217; expectations and stick to them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you sign up as a new subscriber, make sure you set clear expectations about what you&#8217;re going to email them and when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every email you send runs the risk of catching a subscriber when they are in a bad mood or busy or otherwise unreceptive. This causes a lot of &#8220;irritated&#8221; unsubscribes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you set clear expectations about your email schedule and then stick to it, subscribers will be less likely to react badly to unwanted content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"dglcl\">2. Keep the frequency of messages under control<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The biggest reason for unsubscribes that people cite is getting <strong><u>TOO MANY<\/u><\/strong> emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One survey of retailers&#8217; subscribers found that 53% believe they receive too many messages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Another found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightwave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/082416_BWM_Millennials.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">47.1% of millennials unsubscribe from any list that sends too many messages<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When somebody initially signs up, it&#8217;s ok to send them frequent emails to cement recognition by exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But unless you have time-limited offers or breaking news to share, it&#8217;s best to stick to emailing no more than once or twice a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than that and the annoying unsubscribes you will get will probably outweigh the value of extra engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"32ni\">3. Write compelling content for the right audiences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/4953204-4x3-340x255_66088b13a312b1f28d91d9737a80f293_800.jpg\" alt=\"Reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates by knowing your audience\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: abc.net.au<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates is to provide <a href=\"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/marketing-guides\/how-to-succeed-with-your-email-marketing\/write-engaging-emails\/\">interesting and well-written<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s easier to be interesting and relevant the more narrow and closely-targeted your subscriber base is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So always try to <strong><u>SEGMENT<\/u><\/strong> your audience by interests and provide a range of tailored newsletters rather than just one. You can do this by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Using a <a href=\"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/features\/signup-forms\/\">signup form<\/a> that asks people what they want to receive content about<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Segment your audience by geographical location via their IP addresses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tracking logged-in users&#8217; on-site and off-site behavior to build up a more detailed profile of what will engage them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The smaller and more focused your audience, the more accurately your content can service their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"971ku\">4. Avoid spammy headlines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most email systems filter out emails from sender IPs and domains with bad reputations that include <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/blog\/tabid\/6307\/bid\/30684\/the-ultimate-list-of-email-spam-trigger-words.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;spam words&#8221;<\/a> in the subject line or body text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you get through to the inbox, there are still hurdles to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Write a dull subject line and no one will open your messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But write an overly-dramatic subject line that tricks people into opening an email that doesn&#8217;t live up to its billing and you can expect a high unsubscribe rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So <strong><u>avoid<\/u><\/strong> the temptation to do any of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Write subject lines in all capital letters<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Try to fool readers by starting with &#8220;Re.&#8221; or &#8220;Following up on our call&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use spam trigger words like &#8220;free&#8221;, &#8220;now&#8221;, &#8220;Viagra&#8221; etc<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your subject line should be clear and honest as well as engaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cpf3b\">5. Personalize your content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened than those without.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unsubscribe rates are correspondingly lower for personalized email campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use the subscriber&#8217;s name in the subject line and the opening of the email.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/features\/email-personalization\/\">Personalize content<\/a> to their interests (such as <strong>recent purchases<\/strong> or <strong>browsing history<\/strong>) wherever you can.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cdupr\">6. Vary the types of material you send out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t get stuck in a rut. Vary the type of content you send out to keep readers interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Don&#8217;t send the same special offer out again and again. It&#8217;s ok to repeat yourself every so often, but if you&#8217;re not getting a response it&#8217;s usually safer to assume your subscribers are not interested.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mix things up with the occasional video, text-only email, quiz, survey, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading for more tips on how to reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"57eqd\">7. Use both single- and double-opt-in methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside &#8220;too many emails&#8221; the other big reason why people unsubscribe is that they didn&#8217;t realize they were signing up to receive emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/single-opt-in-vs-double-opt-in-oulined-4_2bc17631e69fdaabc7a428b54dec69be_800.png\" alt=\"Reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates with double-opt ins\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: moosend.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You can avoid getting these &#8220;false sign-ups&#8221; on your list by using a <strong><u>DOUBLE-OPT-IN<\/u><\/strong> system. That is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A new subscriber completes a web form and submits their email address.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They immediately receive a message asking them to confirm their address, their preferences, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only if they respond to this are they added to the list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Double opt-in gives you a more engaged audience who are less likely to unsubscribe <strong><u>BUT<\/u><\/strong> you&#8217;ll get fewer subscribers overall than if you use a one-step Single-Opt-In form. With Double-Opt-In, around 20% of people who fill in the first form never complete the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So in choosing a sign-up method, you need to decide between a larger, less engaged audience and a smaller, more engaged one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3sara\">8. Send exclusive special offers to subscribers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/c2x_81fae880737dee2ff4f7036da1124206_800.jpg\" alt=\"Reduce newsletter unsibscribe rates with special offers\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: www.milled.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Give your subscribers a reason to stay on your list by providing valuable offers and exclusive benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates by making it clear you lose these benefits when you leave!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"f4g21\">9. Avoid highlighting the word &#8220;unsubscribe&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In most jurisdictions, it is a <a href=\"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/blog\/email-marketing-regulations-email-laws-you-should-follow\/\">legal requirement to include an unsubscribe link<\/a> in your emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while it&#8217;s not advisable to make it difficult to unsubscribe, you can be creative&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People are primed to look for the word &#8220;unsubscribe&#8221; in emails. So give them that option, but using different words &#8211; like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/Neil-Patel-Email-Footer-1_7bc926e91a5ee05c1e536c36fca20da2_800.png\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: neilpatel.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, many newsletters present the unsubscribe link in a less prominent color than the rest of the copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a4d4k\">10. Provide a prominent change of address link<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People change their email addresses from time to time, for example when they change jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Give your subscribers the option to change their details to avoid losing them when this happens!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cc2n5\">11. Follow-up requests to unsubscribe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/1_ddSHtfbclMneHaSBKNJt7A_a0ee3c93cddbafb8b9b71a88d51763cf_800.png\" alt=\"Re engage unsubscribers with a targeted campaign\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: www.medium.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When somebody does unsubscribe, it&#8217;s permissible to send a confirmation email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you should use that email to try and win them back!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Salesforce found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/products\/marketing-cloud\/best-practices\/how-to-reengage-your-email-subscribers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">63% of marketers find the return on re-engagement emails to be &#8220;very effective&#8221;<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Studies have found that it is five times cheaper to win back an old subscriber than to win a new one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"81j79\">12. Offer alternatives to email communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people may unsubscribe because they don&#8217;t want to get emails from you &#8211; not because they don&#8217;t want to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, make sure your emails include the option to be contacted via social media or SMS instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may lose email subscribers, but you needn&#8217;t lose those leads entirely!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Final tips on how to reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates coming up&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"14oat\">13. Make sure emails load quickly and render properly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/Loading_053241688b894415ba6312f5d0853f7f_800.jpeg\" alt=\"Reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates with fast load times\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: medium.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Load speed is a key factor in SEO and User Experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For web pages, Google says that an extra one second added to load time cuts conversion by 12%. Research by Akamai put this at closer to 70%!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2018, Google found that 53% of people immediately bounce away from pages that take more than 3 seconds to load.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The same goes for emails. People will unsubscribe from emails that make them wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compress or simply leave out large images and multimedia files that will slow load times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And <strong><u>check the rendering<\/u><\/strong>! Your messages will look completely different in different email clients and badly rendered emails also drive unsubscribes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Microsoft Outlook doesn&#8217;t preload graphics in emails at all and it accounts for around 8% of all email users worldwide. Provide a text-only alternative or use clear Alt Tags to describe your images for users who won&#8217;t see them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4bglh\">14. Optimize for different devices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>47% of emails are read on mobile devices. 26.9% use desktop clients, while 26.1% use webmail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You need to cater to all of them and make your emails responsive to the device type. There is nothing worse than trying to read a horizontally-aligned desktop message on a tiny, vertical mobile screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With mobile being so important, you must pay particular attention to the <strong>CHARACTER LIMIT<\/strong> for email subject lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most mobile email apps will cut off a subject line after between 40 and 50 characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"fgm93\">15. Weed out disengaged lurkers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_17332\/lurker_f687975fe30d128a640301b8b42feb56_800.png\" alt=\"Do you need disengaged lurkers?\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: queerty.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Our final tip is to <strong><u>think differently<\/u><\/strong> about your unsubscribe rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How valuable are &#8220;subscribers&#8221; who never engage with your messages?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let them go. Unsubscribe from them yourself or message them asking if they want to keep hearing from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your KPIs will give you much more valuable information about performance if your list is kept clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow this exclusive Get a Newsletter guide and you&#8217;ll reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates dramatically!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everybody wants to reduce newsletter unsubscribe rates.  It&#8217;s cheaper and more efficient to keep your existing customers or leads than to win new ones. That&#8217;s just common sense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,88],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1639","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-email-marketing","8":"category-newsletters","9":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getanewsletter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}