Don’t Get Paranoid About Unsubscribe Rates

There is a tendency in email marketing to obsess about the bad.  Some people look right past opens and click-throughs to the unsubscribe rate.  If they see 10 people unsubscribed they begin to panic thinking that the campaign has lost its effectiveness and it’s time to move in radically different directions.  Always have an idea of what the numbers mean.  10 people from a list of 10,000 means that only .1% unsubscribed.  That’s not something to obsess over.  However 10 from a list of 100, is something to be concerned about.

Avoid the unsubscribe paranoia.  Certainly you should gauge how many unsubscribes and what is unreasonable.  Know what the numbers mean and whether it signifies a problem needs fixed or does the entire campaign need changed.  As a rule of thumb anything over 5% is probably pointing to a major problem.  However, if its 3% but that only happens once, it’s worth evaluating that email, but not pulling the plug on the campaign.  Smaller lists require even more analysis.  Three people from one company makes up 3% if you only email a hundred people but it is really an isolated incident.  Before analyzing any email rate set your goals and acceptable ranges of response.  Do the same for unsubscribes and avoid rushing to judgement that things have gone terribly wrong unless you have some significant data to back that opinion.