I had a client proudly tell me the other day that she has *never* had an unsubscribe. Not a single one.

I pulled various versions of this face:

Because here’s the thing: she’s focusing on the wrong metrics. 

She had no idea of her performance against email marketing metrics that actually matter. You know, stuff like her CTR (click through rate), conversions, or ROI. 

As for unsubscribes? They aren’t the end of the world. It’s totally normal to part ways with some subscribers. That’s just the nature of email marketing. Sure, we should track them and be strategic about how we keep our subscribers active (more on that in a second), but getting comfortable with unsubscribes is just another thing us business-owning peeps have to do.

Here’s why unsubscribes don’t suck

A better chance of your emails landing in the inbox

Cleaning out your list from people who no longer want to hear from you means that your open rates will improve and so will your deliverability. That’s very good news when it comes to keeping your emails out of the junk/promo tab and in the inbox (where they’ll be seen, and opened, and loved, and acted on).

You’re not paying for hangers-on

The more people you have on your list, the more you pay your ESP. Personally, I’m not cool with paying to carry dead weight. So when someone says “Bye, Felicia” to my email list, I say “Bye, I wish you well!” And I mean it. No hard feelings.

You’re getting closer to the email marketing holy grail (aka a list of BUYERS)

If you’re spending energy fretting about unsubscribes, then you’re not focusing on conversions. Big mistake.The glorious humans on your list are not your pen pals; they’re your prospects. So, your goal is to maximise conversions by maintaining a list of active buyers who *want* to hear andbuy from you.

How to keep your subscribers happy (and increase conversions)

Consent, baby

I’m not talking about GDPR compliant opt-ins or unsubscribe buttons in every email. I’m talking about helping them find the exit at certain junctures in their relationship with you. Whenever my clients are in the middle of a live launch, we include an opt-out at the top of every email so that uninterested subscribers can be removed from the launch list (they’ll stay on the main list, but won’t be bombarded with an offer they have no interest in). Sometimes, we’ll even send out an advance opt-out. This is just to let them know that we’re gearing up for a launch and we’ve got a whole stack of emails coming their way, unless they want to be removed from that launch.

Attract the right people

Make sure you’re filling your list with the right people in the first place. Is your lead magnet hyper-targeted? Are you speaking the language of your ideal client on your website and opt-in forms? Because if you’re not getting the right traffic to your site and opting-in to your list, then you’ll see a higher level of unsubscribes.

Roll out the welcome mat

The average open rate of a welcome email is an impressive 58%. But a single welcome email isn’t going to cut it if you truly want to build a lasting connection with your list. Use the welcome series as an opportunity to nurture, to deepen the trust, and to encourage subscribers to stay awhile. The more they get into the habit of opening emails from you, the more likely they are to become a loyal, paying customer.

Segment like a champ

Marketers know that segmenting email marketing lists is a big deal when it comes to improving list relationship and trust, CTR and open rates. Segmentation can be as simple or complex as you want to make it – and the more sophisticated you get with email marketing, the more nuanced your segmentation will be. But to begin with, you need to know that the whole point of segmentation is to provide relevant content to your email recipients. There are endless creative ways you can segment your email list from geography and industry, to content topic and buyer behaviour. The more information you collect about your email recipients, the better you can slice and dice your list, and tailor your emails to have them hitting the right notes, with the right people.

Cleanse your list

A healthy email list trumps a large one any day. Remove your inactive subscribers (90 days of unopens is a good rule of thumb), or anyone who is unreachable (eg incorrect email address).

Re-engage and win them back

Find the subscribers who have the lowest engagement and win them back with a re-engagement campaign. You can try offering them an incentive or discount. Or, simply drop in to show them some love and remind them you’re still around (and why that should matter to them.)

The best practice email marketing takeaway

As long as you’re consistently delivering value and staying on top of your list hygiene, don’t sweat it about a few unsubscribes. You can do so much more with a small email list of active subscribers than you ever can with a large list of passive subscribers.

And if you’re secretly still freaking out about your shrinking email list, book a 15 minute 1-1 Clarity Call with me.