Why Unsubscriptions are Good for Business
Email unsubscriptions...I'm cool with em!
Pay attention to who unsubscribes from your list and why. One of the many advantages of using a system like Aweber is that it gives people an option to comment on why they’re unsubscribing. This is valuable feedback, but unsubscriptions should not be viewed as a loss.
In fact, they are good for business in every way. Here’s why:
- They’re clearly not someone who wants to be on your list, so why sould you want them any way?
- Your list shouldn’t be padded with people who aren’t into what you’re doing any way. Whoever said you need a big list in order for it to be valuable? It’s not true. You don’t need a big list. You need a quality list. Big numbers can be nice. But only if the quality is there.
- If the unsubscriber offer feedback, you can use that to improve your business. It’s a win for you either way when someone unsubscribes.
It’s important not to look at losing people as a negative thing. Did you really think 100% of the people would stick around forever? Besides, a lot fo the comments you’ll likely get will be like the one I just received. It must have been in response to a sales message I sent out. It went something like this:
“I’m only interested in bloggers who appreciate me for just being a subscriber.”
Ok, then. Clearly the fact that I share new content 2-3 times a week on this site for free isn’t enough. You know, there will always be people who complain no matter what you do. Put up an ad, they will complain. Change your design, they will complain. Do something (god forbid!) to monetize what you’re doing in any way, they will complain.
I remember when Darren Rowse changed the design on Twitip he got a load of comments saying they would unsubscribe because they didn’t like the background he’d selected for his new layout. I laughed out loud when I read those comments. To me it was proof that there is no limit to what some people will choose to complain about. To internalize this is madness. You have to learn all you can from every interaction and realize this stuff is just part of doing business! Make up your mind now that it won’t affect you negatively in the least. It WILL happen. And it’s good for business when it does.
Comments (1)
Solid post Christian. I am always glad when people unsubscribe to our list too. We put out a mass mailing on Tuesday morning...when people are the most likely to visit links...and we generally get 3-5 unsubscribes out of thousands. Luckily some people forward the blog snippet and we get 1-2 subscribes too. I guess over time this will be a much better list for us.
Bryan Hancock, about 15 years ago