When it comes to your newsletter, website, content, or what have you, the truth is that people unsubscribe for many reasons. However, even if they do, it doesn’t mean that all of their interest is lost, or even that you’ve completely lost their business. Consider my own anecdote that talks about why I began to think about the creative moves you can make after someone unsubscribes:

I recently got my dad a year-long subscription to the Dollar Shave Club, after it was time for him to switch to his own account and pay the subscription, I “unsubscribed” to the original service (which ships you razors once a month). Since this ecommerce business really thrives off of “club” membership, loosing a subscriber is kind of a big deal. Yet, once I unsubscribed I was incredibly impressed at how they handled the loss:

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You will see that the subject line says “your razor deliveries will be stopped…but there’s good news…” Followed by their unsubscribe email format which showcases their top products, all of which you do not need a razor subscription to purchase. What I really like about this is that even though I had stopped my monthly subscription, there were opportunities to keep my business. In fact, I liked this so much that I actually ordered my dad some of the shave butter as part of his next Father’s day gift. And that, is exactly what they wanted.

Why People Unsubscribe

When people unsubscribe from your email-marketing list, or from a monthly service that you offer, there are many ways that you can handle it. While the scope of this article is not necessarily to talk about why people might unsubscribe, I am going to give you five of the main reasons people do before we talk about how to keep them as a client:

  1. They receive too many emails. We have all been here. You sign up for a mailing list or you provide your email with a product purchase, and then all of a sudden your email box is exploding with emails from the same company. This is one of the biggest turn-offs for people and it can definitely make them unsubscribe faster than making a second purchase with your company.
  2. Professionalism. On of the biggest reasons that people unsubscribe is because your email designs look really cluttered or unprofessional. As you can see in the example in the introduction, Dollar Shave Club clearly has an awesome, clean, layout that fits their brand and looks super professional. This definitely helps in their unsubscribe email as well.
  3. Mobile Optimization. More and more people are using mobile for their online shopping, checking emails, and interacting with your site. If you are no optimized for mobile (including links in your emails, etc) then people are definitely going to opt for a company that is.
  4. Relevant Content. Conducting research on your user base is really important. You might think you know the type of content most relevant to your user-base, but many people end up unsubscribing because content is not relevant to them. Once you figure out the different types of customers receiving your emails you can tailor their experience and make sure to put out marketing materials that are relevant and appeal to different types of clients you have.
  5. Always Going for the Sale. Sometimes people do not want to be sold something. If they like your brand, they probably like it for more reasons than just purchasing your products. You need to make sure that your content isn’t consistently the same; otherwise people view it as boring and highly unoriginal.

Your Next Move When Someone Unsubscribes

So someone has decided to leave your email list, reoccurring subscription, or monthly program for now. There are some important things to consider when planning your next move:

  • Don’t assume they are no longer interested.

Just because they have decided to call it quits with your company for now, doesn’t mean they are no longer interested in your products and services.

Sometimes it can be a matter of just sending fewer emails. When they unsubscribe, make sure you give them the option to receive fewer emails first—many people that like brands and businesses will choose that over unsubscribing all together.

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  • Think about how customer service makes an impact.

Is someone unsubscribing because they had a negative experience? Do you think that reaching out might be able to make a difference? Doing an exit survey can help you to identify why people are leaving your email list so you can improve for your next batch of subscribers.

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  • Reach out in a creative way!

Just like the introductory anecdote expressed, there are ways you can get creative with reaching out to those who have unsubscribed. Offer discounts, promote your best products, and/or give people an exclusive offer or consultation. When people are considering leaving these things truly go a long way.

HubSpot put together an article with some of the best unsubscribe pages that really go above and beyond to keep their clients and customize their experience. Here are our top 3:

  1. J Crew

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When we talked about why people unsubscribe, one of the reasons was the relevancy of the emails they are receiving. J. Crew really took this into consideration and decided to ask their unsubscribes to “personalize” their inbox before they give them the option to unsubscribe entirely.

  1. Bed Bath & Beyond

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Bed Bath and Beyond gives their users the option to select exactly how many emails they would like to receive a month. Giving this kind of alternative and set number of emails allows people to feel like they have control over the amount they are hearing from you. It also allows you to prioritize the kind of information you want to send out. For example, those who are only getting emails once a month should be getting information that is absolutely necessary.

  1. Sidekick

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Now here is a totally different idea (that I personally love). For those who have not clicked on any of the links in your emails, automatically unsubscribe them and give them notice that they may choose to stay subscribed. Those who choose to stay subscribed will likely feel far more invested, but those who may have not been paying at all will probably appreciate that you don’t just want to spam them if they are not getting any benefit. This is one way to creatively grab peoples’ attention, while also putting your company back on their radar.

The Takeaway

Losing people to the unsubscribe process does not need to be a final end for their relationship with your business. There are many ways to reach out and take the next step in a creative, eye-grabbing, curious kind of way. If you can save a small percentage of people that were unlikely to return, you should definitely consider your efforts a success.

Do you have any experience with the unsubscribe process that you would like to share? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.