Why Do Readers Unsubscribe? And How to Avoid It

Search for the term “average unsubscribe rate” on Google and you’ll get almost 25 million different answers. And while most email marketing firms would agree that the ideal unsubscribe rate is 0%, it’s a little more realistic to shoot for anything less than 20%.

This, of course, opens the door to the question: ‘Why do readers unsubscribe and how can you avoid it?’

In this article, we’ll look at what unsubscribes are, why subscribers leave, and how you can reduce your unsubscribe rate.

What Is An Unsubscribe?

So, what is an unsubscribe anyway? First, let’s distinguish what it means to subscribe in the first place. When you send out a mass marketing email, which is a single email to a list of multiple contacts, those contacts must have opted in to receive emails from you. This isn’t just good business practice, it’s actually the law.

When users opt in, or sign up to be on your email list, that’s called a subscribe. The individual email account owner is telling your email marketing software: “I agree to receive your email communications.”

On the other hand, when users unsubscribe they are telling your email marketing software: “I no longer want to receive your email communications.” This is typically handled through an unsubscribe button (which you must include in all marketing emails) and an unsubscribe form.

Your email software then automatically removes the unsubscriber from your email list, so there’s no need to manually update a giant spreadsheet every time someone subscribes or unsubscribes. Giving your contacts the option to unsubscribe from your mass email communication is also required by law.

How Is ‘Unsubscribe Rate’ Calculated?

Your unsubscribe rate is calculated by dividing the number of users who unsubscribe by the total subscribers. So, if you had two people unsubscribe from a list of 100 contacts, your unsubscribe rate would be 2%.

Here’s that formula:

(Unsubscribes / Total Subscribers) * 100 = Unsubscribe Rate

Now that we know what an unsubscribe is, let’s talk about why readers unsubscribe.

Why Do Readers Unsubscribe?

Readers unsubscribe for a variety of reasons. Most modern email marketing software features an auto prompt asking contacts why they are unsubscribing, allowing administrators to analyze this data through reporting. This can help email marketers adjust and improve their campaigns based on this data.

For example, here are some typical options included in an unsubscribe prompt:

• I no longer wish to receive these emails.

• The emails are no longer the content I signed up for.

• I never gave my permission to receive these emails, please report it as abuse.

• I’m receiving these emails too frequently.

• I clicked unsubscribe by accident, please add me back!

• Other (Please explain)

The Most Common Reasons Readers Unsubscribe

Different studies and surveys have revealed different findings as to the top reasons that subscribers unsubscribe, but in our experience, here are three of the most common, along with tips for reducing unsubscribes.

1. Permission Wasn’t Granted

One of the top causes for unsubscribes that we see is that an email recipient never gave their permission to receive emails in the first place! Surprising, right? Even though this is against the law, marketers may still sometimes add unapproved contacts to an email list unwittingly.

This sometimes happens when a contact becomes a customer or sends their email to a company for a free consultation or price quote, for example. Remember, collecting a contact’s email address isn’t the same as getting permission to add it to your mailing list.

Sometimes this can be chalked up to an innocent mistake, other times it’s a little more shady, like when an opt-in form includes a hidden, prechecked opt-in checkbox. A good rule of thumb: if what you’re doing feels deceptive, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.

The best way to avoid this is to make the opt-in language as clear as possible, and make the opt-in checkbox prominent and default to unchecked. By doing this, you’ll not only be abiding by the law, but your unsubscribe rate should also go down significantly as a bonus for doing the right thing.

Bonus tip: Require subscribers to double opt-in

Requiring subscribers to double opt-in by confirming their email address (you send them a test email and they click a button confirming receipt) is a great way to ensure you are only adding active and engaged contacts to your email lists.

2. Emails Are Too Frequent

Another common reason that contacts unsubscribe from email lists is that they receive too many emails from the same source.

Most of us have experienced the “last straw” marketing email that causes you to “rage unsubscribe” on a particularly stressful day.

Most email marketing professionals agree that the peak email frequency is around 2-3 messages per week. However, this ideal frequency truly depends on your content and audience. For example, if your business sends out daily news roundups to an engaged audience, they might be upset if you suddenly send LESS than an email each day.

On the other hand, an individual may only want to receive emails from a home service company once per month because who needs daily emails about getting your lawn fertilized?

Bonus tip: Use testing to determine your optimal frequency

If you worry that you’re sending too many emails, just run a simple test. Increase the frequency of your marketing emails incrementally to see how the unsubscribe rate changes, and then rinse and repeat until you’ve discovered your ideal cadence.

This ideal cadence should be frequent enough to hit your email marketing goals while keeping your readers interested, engaged, and eager for more.

3. Email Content Is Not Interesting

Another common reason that readers unsubscribe is because the email content simply does not resonate with them. Their interests may have changed since they first subscribed, your content may have changed, or they may have simply learned all they needed from your content.

Of course, this issue can also arise when a company does not give their mass email content the attention it really deserves. Creating interesting, unique content at scale and doing so repeatedly is very difficult, but if it was easy, every company would do it and no one would unsubscribe. Email marketing can be a very effective tool if used correctly, but a lot of it comes down to the content in your emails.

When crafting your email content, think about the end user and whether they will perceive the content as valuable. Before hitting that send button on a mass email, ask yourself: “Would I read this entire email?” If the answer is yes, hit send! If the answer is no, take a step back and reevaluate your email content.

Bonus tip: Do more with less if you’re struggling to come up with content

It’s easy to get trapped into thinking that you just have to send mass emails at a certain frequency just to keep up and stay top of mind with your audience. But in reality, less emails with higher-quality content can achieve greater results in the long run.

How To Avoid Unsubscribes

Now that you know the most common reasons that readers unsubscribe, you should have an easier time steering clear of them.

To avoid unsubscribes, make sure you are opting in contacts properly. Then, set your email frequency to the expectation and tolerance of your readers through A/B testing. Finally, align your email content with your readers’ interests and send out only high-quality, unique content.

After you send a mass email, wait a few days and take a look at the reporting dashboard in your email software. Has your unsubscribe rate gone up or down compared to your last campaign? If contacts unsubscribed, which reason did they select?