Why Your Email Unsubscribe Page Needs Your Attention Right Now

Your email unsubscribe page is that one web page where you actually don’t want to score high on page views. But by implementing a couple of small changes, you can turn this dreadful corner of your website into a positive experience for both you and your (un)subscribers.

Why do people unsubscribe?

First things first: you don’t tackle a problem without looking at the root cause first. Marketingsherpa conducted a research study last year to better understand consumers’ email preferences. When looking at why people unsubscribe from an email list, the results weren’t really surprising.

The top reasons customers unsubscribe from an email list is receiving too many emails in general (26%), receiving content that is not relevant to them (21%) and receiving too many emails from a company specifically (19%).

Now the first reason would take a global miracle to tackle the problem (it’s right there after world peace), but the other two are much easier to fix.

Good marketing is all about talking and listening to the right people. Nobody wants to be bombarded with emails they don’t care about. You have to get to know your subscribers’ wants and needs before they click that unsubscribe button.

Making sure you get explicit consent is a key factor here. A double optin leads to better long-term results than a single opt-in. It’s also cost efficient: by connecting only to people who have expressed interest in your product or service, you can lower your marketing costs significantly. And you have the opportunity to build a long-term, authentic relationship with the right people.

If, despite all your bonding efforts and awesome email campaigns, someone still clicks the unsubscribe button, can you change their mind? The answer is yes.

Make your unsubscribe page part of your marketing strategy

There are a few things you can do with your unsubscribe page to not only change people’s minds about saying goodbye to your well thought out email campaigns, but also to get more insight into your consumers’ preferences.

List all your email types

First of all, your unsubscribe page should have an overview of all of the different types of (marketing) emails you send with options to directly SUBscribe to them. Sure your contact might not want your weekly email newsletter but maybe they’re interested in your blog updates or promotional offers?

Try to limit the options though. I once found 83(!) email types on a company’s unsubscribe page. Needless to say, they did not leave a good impression.

Snooze or lose

The main reason people unsubscribe from email lists is that they receive too many communications. So your customer might still want to hear from you … just a little less.

Do they want to receive daily, weekly, or monthly updates? Or maybe snooze your emails for one month? (Remember that one time you went on vacation and came back with 1500 emails in your inbox?)

The idea is to get to know your subscribers’ communication preferences. For example, JCrew, an American retailer, specifically asks what type of content you’re interested in on their unsubscribe page. This is also a great way for them to use list segmentation for even more personalized communications.

Rewrite your copy

Add a personal touch to the copy on your unsubscribe page to keep it authentic. After all, you just want to optimize your communication to your subscribers’ needs. We spend a lot of times defining our sales pitch, but this could be equally as important. Email campaigns are a great way to spread your message. So the more people you reach, the more chance of conversion.

This goodbye-message from Hubspot nails the brief. It has a good sense of humor and highlights the main features of Hubspot in a very subtle way.

There is always social media

If things go south, and people want to completely opt out of your email list, you can still try to connect with them through other channels.

Although your Facebook or Instagram pages aren’t part of your owned media, they still a great way to communicate with your prospects and consumers. So don’t forget to add your social media channels to your unsubscribe page and make it easy for customers to follow you there instead.

Learn from your unsubscribe page

Don’t be shy to ask why people they unsubscribe. The answers may provide you with some good insights in your communication strategy and could help to optimize your emailing campaigns.

Also, don’t forget to add your unsubscribe data to all your different cloud apps. Your CRM and marketing automation platform need to be on the same page! There is no easier way to get people angry than to send them another email when they just unsubscribe from your list. A third-party app like PieSync provides a two-way sync between your preferred apps to make sure you’re always working with the most accurate information.