Why Unsubscribes Aren’t Always a Bad Thing

Seeing people unsubscribe from your newsletter list might make you feel like you’re doing something wrong. But actually, a few unsubscribes here and there can be a good thing for your email list. 

It’s good to be mindful of your quantity of unsubscribes, but keep in mind that a healthy unsubscribe rate is relative to the size of your email list and the industry you’re in. 

Instead, focus on keeping track of the type of content you’re sending out, and monitor how it affects your unsubscribes. You’ll find that unsubscribes can actually help you with your email marketing strategy—keep reading to discover how.

Maintain an Engaged Audience

The goal with any email list is to send newsletters to an audience that actively looks forward to and reads your emails. These are subscribers that are fully engaged in what you have to say to them. Anyone who doesn’t fit that criteria shouldn’t be on your list. Your newsletter isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea–and that’s a-okay! 

Imagine giving a presentation to a room of fifty people, and five of them are sitting there on their phones, scrolling through Instagram. Who wants to give a speech to people who aren’t interested in what you’re saying? You wouldn’t want those five distracted people there in the first place. The same goes for your email list. 

Understand that this is a normal and healthy process for your email list growth, and it helps keep your email data updated and relevant. Without people sitting on your list who never open an email, you’ll get a much better sense of what content keeps your audience most engaged. 

It Helps You Create Better Content

Unsubscribes can also be an indicator of what type of content is most valuable for your audience—and what type of content doesn’t work. 

Maybe your unsubscribe rate goes up after you send emails too frequently, or if you’ve sent too many sales emails in a short period of time. This tells you that you might need to dial it back a bit, or provide some more value-based content to keep your subscribers enticed. 

When you pay attention to your unsubscribes and can adjust your content accordingly, you’ll start to produce and send out more quality content. The ones who stick around will become more loyal and dedicated to your brand, which is exactly what you want. 

It Can Save You Money

Many email platforms charge based on the number of subscribers you have. If a large number of the subscribers on your list are unengaged and unlikely to buy from you no matter what content you put out, getting them off your email list might help save some costs. Consider scrubbing your email every six months. E-Commerce businesses can do this through a sunset sequence, and service providers can do this by removing all subscribers who haven’t opened an email in the last six months. 

Plus, a smaller number of highly engaged, likely-to-convert subscribers will help you make more money sooner!

Ways to Reduce Unsubscribes

By now, you’ll understand the value of having unengaged people unsubscribe from your list. But even though unsubscribes aren’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s still a good idea to focus on keeping your audience engaged by delivering high-quality content.

Nurturing your audience over time is the best way to do this. By consistently providing value through your emails, your subscribers will stay for your sales emails or your new launch. Even better—they’ll also consider buying from you because they know you have a ton to offer them. 

All this is to say, while you don’t need to panic about seeing your audience unsubscribe, continually offering valuable content will keep that number to a minimum.

Ready to level-up your email marketing?

Our Comprehensive Email Retainer package is a great way to get support growing and nurturing your email list. With newsletters, email sequences, and freebies to attract new subscribers, we’ll help you optimize your list to keep your audience engaged in your business. Check out the details here.