The silver lining in the unsubscribe cloud
Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on July 24, 2006
Interpreting the statistics that fall out of your email marketing software or service is not always easy.
For example, I was pondering recently on the usefulness of one unloved campaign stat, namely the "unsubscribes" number. That's the number of people who cancelled their subscription following your latest email.
On the surface, unsubscribes are a rather unpleasant thing. Nobody likes rejection.
But it's actually more complicated than that. For example, if people don't like or want your emails, be happy that they made the effort to get off your list.
If they stayed on your list, they'd depress your results through their lack of response and could well end up reporting you as a spammer.
A sudden jump in unsubscribes is also a useful signal. It warns you something might be wrong.
Why the sudden jump? Did you give new sign-ups false expectations that left them disappointed when the email arrived? Is the quality of your content dropping? Did you mess up the new design?
But don't panic. Did you perhaps lose a few more subscribers because of changes that boosted response among those who remained on your list?
Maybe more targeted content better addressed the needs of your target readership and encouraged the hangers-on to leave en masse?
You're not trying to please everybody. You're not trying to build a "big" list. You're trying to build a quality list of those individuals most likely to do what you want them to do (buy, read, click, download, register, whatever).
So unsubscribes need a little bit more careful interpretation.
Now let's throw in some more layers of confusion...
Not all those unsubscribes are motivated by displeasure anyway. People change jobs, interests, and needs. They move on. All of which means they lose interest in your emails, but not through any fault of your own.
Nor should you get too complacent if nobody ever unsubscribes. Many people simply use the delete button, filter rules or "this is spam" icons to rid themselves of unwanted email.
In fact, if they do unsubscribe, isn't it nice that people trust you enough to submit an unsubscribe request? I exchanged emails with Wendy Roth of Lyris Technologies last week and she made this excellent point...
"In a way, unsubs are good things because they show the recipient may still value the relationship or trust you enough to honor the request."
We've trained people not to unsubscribe from spam because it alerts the spammer that your address is active. So getting an unsubscribe might well be considered a sign that you or your company is perceived as credible and trustworthy.
So unwanted and unloved they might be, but there's more to unsubscribes than a simple rejection notice.
For example, I was pondering recently on the usefulness of one unloved campaign stat, namely the "unsubscribes" number. That's the number of people who cancelled their subscription following your latest email.
On the surface, unsubscribes are a rather unpleasant thing. Nobody likes rejection.
But it's actually more complicated than that. For example, if people don't like or want your emails, be happy that they made the effort to get off your list.
If they stayed on your list, they'd depress your results through their lack of response and could well end up reporting you as a spammer.
A sudden jump in unsubscribes is also a useful signal. It warns you something might be wrong.
Why the sudden jump? Did you give new sign-ups false expectations that left them disappointed when the email arrived? Is the quality of your content dropping? Did you mess up the new design?
But don't panic. Did you perhaps lose a few more subscribers because of changes that boosted response among those who remained on your list?
Maybe more targeted content better addressed the needs of your target readership and encouraged the hangers-on to leave en masse?
You're not trying to please everybody. You're not trying to build a "big" list. You're trying to build a quality list of those individuals most likely to do what you want them to do (buy, read, click, download, register, whatever).
So unsubscribes need a little bit more careful interpretation.
Now let's throw in some more layers of confusion...
Not all those unsubscribes are motivated by displeasure anyway. People change jobs, interests, and needs. They move on. All of which means they lose interest in your emails, but not through any fault of your own.
Nor should you get too complacent if nobody ever unsubscribes. Many people simply use the delete button, filter rules or "this is spam" icons to rid themselves of unwanted email.
In fact, if they do unsubscribe, isn't it nice that people trust you enough to submit an unsubscribe request? I exchanged emails with Wendy Roth of Lyris Technologies last week and she made this excellent point...
"In a way, unsubs are good things because they show the recipient may still value the relationship or trust you enough to honor the request."
We've trained people not to unsubscribe from spam because it alerts the spammer that your address is active. So getting an unsubscribe might well be considered a sign that you or your company is perceived as credible and trustworthy.
So unwanted and unloved they might be, but there's more to unsubscribes than a simple rejection notice.
[This post brought to you by Campaigner Email Marketing]
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