Unsubscribe Rate – Is it positive or negative? Interestingly, it can be both. On one hand, it assists in purging your list, enhancing its quality. Conversely, witnessing contacts depart can be disheartening, prompting reflection on what could have been done to retain them.
What is Unsubscribe Rate?
The unsubscribe rate indicates the proportion of users who have elected to exit your mailing list following an email campaign. It signifies the count of subscribers opting out of further newsletter receipt.
A heightened unsubscribe rate can detrimentally impact your email deliverability and domain reputation, potentially prompting ISP or email service providers such as Gmail and Yahoo to flag your messages as spam. Monitoring this metric aids in discerning the efficacy of your campaigns.
How to Calculate Unsubscribe Rate?
The unsubscribe rate is determined by dividing the number of unsubscribes by the total number of emails delivered. For instance, if 3000 emails are delivered in your campaign and 20 subscribers opt out, your unsubscribe rate is 0.6%.
A desirable unsubscribe rate typically falls around 0.5%. Nevertheless, this figure can fluctuate based on your industry.
How can you detect when a recipient clicks the unsubscribe button in your email? Email service providers (ESPs) like SendX offer tools to track your unsubscribe rate over different periods or within specific campaigns.
This tracking feature enables audience analysis, allowing you to understand what aspects of your emails resonate with subscribers and what prompts them to unsubscribe. By examining patterns in your unsubscribe rate, you can determine whether factors like email format or irrelevant subject lines contribute to its increase.
Regularly monitoring your unsubscribe rate is not only crucial but imperative as it enables you to adjust and refine your email marketing strategy accordingly.
What is a Good Unsubscribe Rate?
According to a 2020 report by Smartinsights on unsubscribe rates across various industries, the range typically falls between 0.2% to 0.1%.
For benchmarking purposes, consider aiming for an unsubscribe rate around 0.15%. If your rate remains below this threshold, no immediate action may be necessary. However, if you observe a rise in unsubscribes, it’s crucial to conduct an audit of your email marketing efforts. Analyze which types of emails prompt unsubscribes and identify the audience segments most prone to unsubscribing.
Over time, you’ll recognize patterns in unsubscribes and establish your own benchmarks for what constitutes a good or bad unsubscribe rate.
Why is My Unsubscribe Rate so High?
If your unsubscribe rate surpasses 1% (or worse, hits double digits), several factors might be contributing to this high rate:
1. Mismatched Expectations:
When the content you deliver fails to align with the expectations set during signup, subscribers are likely to unsubscribe. For instance, if your signup promises marketing-focused content but your emails predominantly contain sales-related information, recipients may feel misled and opt out.
2. Content Formatting:
Even if your content is relevant, if it’s presented in a format that’s difficult to consume, subscribers may lose interest and unsubscribe. Ensuring that your content is easy to read, digest, and scan through is crucial for retaining subscribers.
3. Lack of Segmentation:
Sending generic emails to your entire subscriber list, without proper segmentation, can lead to unsubscribes. Tailoring your campaigns based on demographics, purchase history, and engagement levels ensures that recipients receive relevant content. For example, sending a sale announcement for women’s products to male subscribers is likely to result in unsubscribes, as it’s not relevant to them.
Ways to Reduce Unsubscribe Rate
Segmenting your email list is crucial for delivering tailored content that resonates with your audience, ultimately reducing unsubscribe rates. Here are some best practices to consider, especially if you have a large email list of 100k or more. For smaller lists, check out our ultimate small business marketing guide for tailored advice.
For instance, if you run an eCommerce store, you can segment your audience based on various factors such as location, gender, average order value ranges, purchase frequency, holiday-buyers, high-return rate customers, and audience sourced from specific channels.
Let’s say you’re launching a new collection in Paris. You can create a segment targeting individuals who meet two criteria: 1) they reside in Paris and 2) they are among your top spenders on your website. By doing so, you can invite them to an exclusive sneak peek or offer special coupons to generate excitement and engagement.
Understanding the goals of your email marketing is equally important. Users remain engaged when provided with valuable and relevant information. Define the objectives of your campaign and craft compelling content that aligns with your readers’ interests and needs.
Follow the art of personalization
Too many emails from the same brand can be annoying at times. Understand what your subscriber needs and send them only that. Check this guide to bulk email blasts
Personalisation means more than just using the first name of the subscriber. It means sending the right emails to the right audience at the right time. So for example, if someone signed for your webinar on ‘how to read faster’, you send them 2-3 emails related to that. You also send reminder emails to attend the webinar. This will not only make them feel special but also engaged. Hence, building trust in your brand leading to lower unsubscription rate.
Remember, unsubscribe is part of the game and you can’t completely avoid it. However, you can track it to analyse the success of your campaigns and make modifications accordingly.