When you’ve invested time and effort in building your list you are, understandably, keen to maintain it. People who unsubscribe can be seen as a personal affront!
However, there’s a better way to look at it – people who unsubscribe are not your audience. They’re saying
I’m not interested in this
I’m too busy to be bothered
This isn’t the kind of content I was hoping for
If they’re not interested, they’re just reducing your open rates!
It’s better to have people on your list who are engaged, interested and welcome your emails.
How to reduce unsubscribes
Build a better list! In other words, try to ensure that people who subscribe to your list are genuinely interested in what you are offering.
When someone signs up to your list they’re doing it for a reason. Whether that’s because they want your free download or because they’ve found your sign up box on your website, people don’t part with their contact information without a good reason.
If they want your download, effectively they are raising their hand and saying ‘I want this kind of information’. That means that your lead magnet (free download) must be highly focused on the kind of people you want to attract and engage with.
If they’ve found your website and have voluntarily signed up for your marketing that means they want to receive the kind of information you’re offering.
So a highly targeted free download is essential and your website needs to be crystal clear about what you do and how you help people. This means that people are only on your list because they have self-identified themselves as interested.
How to keep your list engaged
Your email campaigns and newsletters need to consistently be reader-focused and deliver value.
If you’ve got a promotion then the key headlines (subject lines and headers) need to focus on the benefits for the recipients.
Not what it is – but what it does … to solve their problems.
The value is not in the cost, but in the results.
Don’t just sell at people, offer them useful information that costs nothing. This will build reciprocity and result in people who may not be ready to make a purchase today, coming back to you later.
Give people tips, advice, useful links, invite them to a private group on Facebook or LinkedIn where you deliver more value, give them access to video information, special offers and opportunities only available to your list – it’s all going to create a warm, fuzzy feeling when they think of you! An email campaign doesn’t have to be just a sales pitch.
