An opt-in email list is a key asset for growing your business, as subscribers are inviting you to engage them with relevant and interesting content. This ultimately results in an improved customer relationship, more sales, and word-of-mouth growth.
Every business, small or big, wants to have a growing, successful mailing list, because it is an indicator of the general prosperity of the business. Therefore, when people start to unsubscribe, it can be more than a little worrying. Reports and analytics will only tell you how many people are unsubscribing, not why they are unsubscribing. Below is a list of the major reasons why people unsubscribe from mailing lists:
Reason 1: Too Many Emails
Research shows that most people that unsubscribe say they were ‘receiving too many emails’., This reaction can be the product of the following aspects:
- Not communicating how often a subscriber will receive emails
- Sending emails more frequently than you originally promised
- Believing your subscribers want to hear from you more frequently than they actually do
Based on Autopilot’s 2015 study, involving 327 companies from over 10 industries, companies who send marketing communications to customers at least every 2 to 4 weeks generate twice as many leads as those who contact customers every 4 to 12 weeks.
Reason 2: It Looks like Spam
Emails that look like they could be spam get filtered by email providers or do not get opened because they look suspicious. To avoid your emails from being passed over, focus on the email subject line. This is the first thing your subscriber will read, and will determine whether or not they open that email. Do not use trigger words in your subject lines, such as cheap, credit, gimmick, obligation, or incredible deal.
Reason 3: Irrelevant Content
Relevant content is timely, personalized and useful to the customer. The business and marketing strategies we create and implement at Fusion Results focus on sending the right content to the right person, at the right time, on the right channel. These strategies grow your business, increase sales conversions and optimize your business’s assets. Irrelevant content has the opposite effect in that readers will unsubscribe, because the content isn’t for them, and will forget all about your business.
Reason 4: Nonconsensual Subscribing
Many people will unsubscribe from something once they realize they never signed up for it in the first place. And can you really blame them? Rather ask readers to ‘opt-in’ to receive email communications from you. Not only is this a best practice, but it will help you fly under the spam radar.
Reason 5: Not Tailoring Your Emails
Your emails need to be tailored to subscriber preferences such as formatting, language, desktop or mobile viewing, and the email should contain the type of communication they signed up for, such as a newsletter. When your subscribers are not receiving the correct communication because their details were added to additional mailing lists, they will unsubscribe. To avoid any miscommunication between you and your subscribers, set up an “Email Preference Center” so your readers can choose when, how, and what they want to receive from you.
Reason 6: Too Much or Too Little Content
No one is going to read a 5 000 word email, nor will they be interested in an email that consists of one sentence. However, the most important thing to consider when determining the length of your email, is the quality of the content. If your content is valuable, subscribers will read every word and want more. Focus on creating emails that inform, educate, and inspire but are still clear, concise, and scannable.