An Effective Unsubscribe Process
From Email Marketing Wiki
Being able to unsubscribe from your e-mail marketing campaign is key to keeping your customers. This shows you customer that you want them to read your e-mails on a voluntary basis and that you understand if they decide to opt out. But sometimes your customers really don’t want to opt out of everything you offer them. By giving them choices when they click the unsubscribe link, you’re letting them know that you understand that sometimes life just takes interesting turns. There are three keys to providing your customers an effective unsubscribe process. Let’s take a look at them.
Make opting out easy
When people opt out of receiving your e-mails it may be such a thing as they simply need to pause reading them for a short period of time. They want to change how they communicate with you and not necessarily leave. However, those who wish to leave your e-mail list should find the process very easy to do. Put your unsubscribe link somewhere very visible in your e-mails and in very plain language that the reader understands. Don’t cover it up with flowery wording. That’s not fair to the reader and, in a sense, not fair to you because you could be setting yourself up for being fingered as a spammer.
Give them opt out alternatives
Since we have established that many people want to change their relationship with your company and not really leave at all, we suggest that you direct them to a combination unsubscribe/change subscription preferences page. Once again, keep the link visible in the e-mail so they can find it. Include things like weekly digests instead of daily mail, options to change their e-mail address, receive an RSS feed or change to text version to accommodate new media. By offering them these choices, you are showing them that you are up to date with new technology and that they are valuable to you. If you publish more than one newsletter, give them to opportunity to unsubscribe from one and subscribe to another all in one place.
Ask for their feedback and comments
By asking for their feedback and comments, you may get some insight as to why they are leaving. Use a check box or drop down list of the most common reasons and also offer them a comment box. Make sure you thank them for their patronage and that you are sorry to see them leave during the easy unsubscribe process. If you make it a pleasant experience, they may come back at a later date.
If you find that the reason most of your customers are leaving is because your content is not the information they are looking for, then it is time to reevaluate your content. It could be that they’ve simply outgrown you, which is one thing you cannot change. If you publish other newsletters, make sure you provide your customers with a way of easily accessing them through the unsubscribe link. That may all the encouragement they need to stick around.
