Embracing the Unsubscribe Button
Wouldn't it be great if everyone who came to your website, signed up for your email list?
And, wouldn't it be better still if those same people bought from you every time you sent an email out?
The Ultimate: if they stayed on your email list forever!
The truth is, not everyone is going to be interested with what you offer. And that's okay!
Some people will come to your website by accident. Maybe a search engine didn't get the search criteria right and click on your website.
Then, there are going to be people who may belong on your website but for one reason or another decides that your email list is not right for them. This too, is okay!
In fact, you don't want these people on your list. It seems counter-intuitive as most people would want as many people on their email list as possible. But, the reality is if they don't want to there, you don't want them there.
Why Not?
The first reason is your autoresponder service is charging you for the number of subscribers on your list. Even though many will let you have up to a certain number for the base monthly fee, why non-engaging subscribers who won't open your emails and never buy from you?
Think of your emails list as your community or private club. The members (subscribers) come to find out what is going on in your club. You want to cater to people who care about this community.
Another reason why you don't want the non-engaging members is that they bring down your quality score at your autoresponder. Most people are not aware that unopened emails or deleted emails is used against you. It's not a huge factor but the more this happens, the more it hurts.
One caution: if you have several people unsubscribing to your list, this could sent up red flags to your autoresponder company. Besides, it doesn't do much good for you either. If you find this is happening, review what kind of messages you are sending. There's got to be some underlying reason for the mass exits.
Provide Value to Your Subscribers
This is an obvious statement but you'd be surprised how many people get this wrong. A good rule of thumb is to provide four or five emails that are not sales-related to every one that may be. This is usually a ratio marketers find works very well.
Another option is to try and make all your money on your website and send them to your website via the email messages. A great example would be Adsense ads. You would include some information in your email and then send them to your website to get more detailed information. The page that contains that information contains ads where you get paid when they click on them.
You could also incorporate banner ads from other advertising platforms on the pages you send them to.
Be aware that readers are more sophisticated these days and have adopted a kind of ad blindness. Banner advertising is not as effective as it used to be.
When you keep your focus on high quality emails, you are likely to retain members of your list for much longer than if you use it solely for selling to them. You also build trust with them when you are giving them the valuable information. Over time, they will have no qualms about buying from you over and over again. When they associate your name and brand with the content you send, it becomes much easier to sell.
Don't Take Unsubscribes Personally
I already discussed why you should welcome or embrace people who unsubscribe to your list. Some online business owners take it personally when it happens and get discouraged. Again, unless it is mass unsubscribes, accept that it is a normal practice and expect it to happen.
