5 Ways You Can Reduce Email Opt-outs From Your Email List

We all know building up an email list is not easy. It takes time and effort to do so and that is why when we get a notification that someone has unsubscribed from our list, it can be pretty disappointing. While it is impossible to know why people unsubscribe and to even prevent such opt-outs, it is possible to make it less likely that your subscribers will opt out. Although there are black-hat methods to do this, like hiding the unsubscribe button or adding friction by requiring subscribers to contact support to be removed from the list, these are unethical ways of going about the challenge. In this post, we show you five (ethical) ways of retaining your subscribers.

Highlight the re-subscribe option

Not everyone that unsubscribes from your list did so intentionally. In some cases, it could be that someone who received an email forward hit the unsubscribe button or in another instance, a subscriber may think they want to opt out only to change their mind later. In such cases, you want to ensure it is easy for the person to re-subscribe with no pain. Do not make them have to go to your website and re-subscribe. You will lose them this way. Instead, add a re-subscribe button to the exit email you send them or something similarly easy.

Offer email preference management

If you are like me, you want to have control over the number of emails you receive from a business. While you may not be interested in sales and marketing emails, you may be interested in industry news or new product features. Offering your subscribers the power to filter the type and quantity of emails they receive from you may avert opt-outs. In some cases, you can also offer the option to opt out for a certain period or to only receive emails related to topics you are interested in. The options for filtering are limitless, and you should pass on this benefit to your subscribers.

Stay in touch often

You have probably received such emails: you subscribed to a service then they went silent for one year and then out of the blue they email you. Sometimes you will not even remember subscribing to the service. When this happens, opt-outs tend to be high. To avoid this, stay in touch often. This will help you stay relevant to your audience and minimize opt-outs that happen because your email list has forgotten who you are.

Deliver value to their inboxes

Every person that subscribes to your email list does so because they received some value from you. Whether it was an e-book or access to a webinar or podcast, they opted in because of value. To keep them opted in, you must continue delivering value. That means you must not inundate them with sales emails and garbage. Instead, take time to create and curate high-quality content to send on to them. This does not mean you do not sell to them. What it does mean is that you balance out your sales emails with non-sales emails in a way that keeps your audience engaged yet firmly within your conversion funnel.

Make your email subject lines appealing

If you peek into your email spam folder, you will notice a trend in the subject lines. They are often impersonal, from some business entity, and are always asking for something, mostly related to money. Spam filters and people abhor such emails. To make it into the inbox and get people to open your emails, focus on being personal, conversational and engaging. Add a person’s name to the from field, add merge tags to add your subscribers’ names to individual emails, and communicate clearly what the email is about in the subject line to avoid click bait, which is something else subscribers hate.

Conclusion

People unsubscribe from email lists when they feel they are no longer benefiting from your content. They also unsubscribe if you break the trust you have with them by not delivering what you promised. You can remedy these things by following the pointers laid out above.