Email Unsubscribe Made Easy: Top Tips for Effective Usage

Imagine you own a fashion brand, and you have managed to accumulate a decent mailing list. However, your latest newsletter contained the wrong link, sending your contacts to a 404 error page. This became the reason for a huge number of email unsubscribes. This example showcases that a small mistake can harm your email marketing.

Here you will unravel the secrets to managing email subscriptions. Follow these best practices to reduce mass unsubscribes and increase the efficiency of your email marketing efforts.

For Businesses, What Happens When Users Unsubscribe Email?

An unsubscribed email is always bad news for your email marketing endeavors. When a user unsubscribes from your mailing list, it signifies a loss of direct communication with them. Of course, you should expect occasional unsubscribes as users tend to change interests or outgrow brands. However, a surge in unsubscribes can hint at deeper issues in your strategy that you will need to address as soon as possible.

What Are the Consequences of Mass Unsubscribes for an Organization?

The unsubscribe rate is one of the top email metrics that you should regularly monitor on your analytics. A high unsubscribe rate can have grave consequences for your company, such as reduced reach and increased costs.

In more detail, the consequences of email unsubscribing for a business are the following:

How Many Unsubscribes Are Considered Bulk Unsubscribes?

An email subscriber once in a while is not cause for concern. So, what constitutes a bulk unsubscribe rate? In general, these are the numbers you should keep in mind:

Nevertheless, the truth is that these benchmarks vary depending on your industry. For instance, industries that demand frequent promotions tend to have higher unsubscribe rates compared to other sectors that send more targeted communications. Therefore, learning how to manage email subscriptions might differ according to your industry.

Here are some unsubscribe benchmarks for different sectors:

How to Manage Email Subscriptions and Reduce Unsubscribes?

As you can see, minimizing your unsubscribe email metric has significant benefits for your company. In this section, we are going to explain the best practices for achieving that and reducing the number of users that opt out of your emails.

#1 Optimize Email Content

The thing you should prioritize in your email marketing strategy is optimizing your email content. When a user opens your email, they should get hooked by both the email design and the text included in it.

First of all, ensure that your email is relevant to your brand and offers something of value to your contacts. The content should reflect your users' interests and provide them with relevant information. In addition to this, it should give them something that will benefit them, whether it's a piece of advice, a tutorial, or a coupon code.

At the same time, the optimization of your emails also includes their design. EngageLab has a rich library of premade templates that make sure that your contacts will receive an enticing email. The only thing you need to do is select your template and change it according to your content in the EngageLab intuitive drag-and-drop editor.

#2 Manage Sending Frequency

One of the most frequent reasons why users choose to unsubscribe is that brands keep on bombarding them with emails. For example, some brands schedule daily emails. In these cases, many users will feel frustrated every time they see the same brand on their email notifications tab. When this happens, they will use the best way to unsubscribe from emails, which is the unsubscribe button in each email.

However, there is no right or wrong answer to how often you should reach out to your contacts. If you want to manage email subscriptions efficiently, you need to find which frequency works the best for them. For instance, you can start by sending them emails at a predetermined period and check your analytics to see what brings you fewer unsubscribes. Once you find what works best, make sure to commit to this schedule and remain consistent.

#3 Unsubscribe Links Need to Be Included in Emails

All users know that the best way to unsubscribe from emails is to use the link that exists in every brand email they receive. Therefore, they should be able to find this link in your emails as well. You don't need to worry that including an unsubscribe link will damage your email strategy. On the contrary, choosing to add it is a sign of trust.

You might have already noticed the placement of this unsubscribe link. In every business email, this section is on the footer, as you don't want to place it near a CTA or somewhere near your actual content. The footer is a great place to add your brand's general information, such as your social media profiles, your address, your attributions, and the unsubscribe/manage preferences links.

Some of the best practices to keep in mind are:

• Optimize your footer for mobile devices,
• The link seems clickable,
• Use clear wording that doesn't confuse users.

For example, write "Unsubscribe", "Unsubscribe here" or "Unsubscribe from our emails".

#4 Segmentation of Customer Groups

To reduce the email unsubscribe rate, you need to make sure that your contacts receive what is more relevant to them. The best way to do that is to segment your mailing list into user groups with similar characteristics. This way, you can create highly targeted campaigns that cater to their specific preferences.

In EngageLab, you have the option to easily segment your addresses. Go to Send Related-Address and click the "Create New List" button to create a user segment. Then, whenever you are ready to send an email, you only need to select the list that you wish to approach.

#5 Provide Preference Settings

Another way to reduce the email unsubscribe rate is to let users adjust their preferences. For example, you can include a link on the footer of your email that directs users to their preferences page. There, they can select what type of emails they would like to receive from you. The next step is to add these contacts to different lists so that you only send them the communications they have opted for.

Using this technique will be beneficial to your email strategy as you will be providing an extremely personalized experience. Go to the EngageLab drag-and-drop editor to add the link to your emails.

#6 Data Monitoring and Analysis

Every marketing decision you make should be the result of the data you have at your disposal. Your analytics are the best place to discover what works and what doesn't work for your particular audience. That's why finding a platform that provides you with detailed statistics is so important for the success of your strategies.

EngageLab is one of the best tools for your business because it understands the power of data. It's no wonder that the platform provides you with real-time stats on your campaigns, including open rate, click-through rate, and email unsubscribe rate. So, when you send your campaigns, keep track of how they perform and evaluate the insights you get from the data.

#7 Compliance with Law and Regulations

When you bring your business online, you need to be aware of the laws and regulations that are in effect. If you are targeting a global audience, then you should also become familiar with the laws and regulations of your target region.

For instance, GDPR protects all citizens of the European Union, and the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 protects US citizens. Both regulations demand that businesses include a visible unsubscribe link to their communication. On top of that, they state that unsubscribing should be as easy as subscribing to the mailing list.

EngageLab: The Best Choice for Enterprise Email Management Solutions

All of the above best practices are possible in EngageLab, making it the top email solution for businesses of all sizes. When you create your emails on this platform, you reduce the unsubscribe rate as you can craft a personalized experience for your contacts.

In EngageLab, you don't only manage email subscriptions, but you also develop a full communication strategy that includes SMS, WhatsApp, and push notifications. Sign up for EngageLab for free to start engaging with your audience in multiple channels.

Ready to take your email marketing and business communications to the next level? Create your EngageLab account today to unlock your business's full potential!