From Our Brains to Yours
Keeping the Unsubscribe Experience Positive
I hate it when organizations make it difficult for me to unsubscribe. Sometimes it takes a week for messages to stop (typically with commerical businesses). Sometimes they require me to click through on a confirmation email or worse, email them with “unsubscribe” in the subject line (never works). Regardless, by the time the emails are done, I’m REALLY done.
It doesn’t matter how well you execute your email communications: from time to time people are going to opt-out. Your messages can always be timely, relevant and personal, but users may not want them anymore. Assuming it has nothing to do with your organization (how could it?), sometimes it is important to just help them move on. But it can be done in a positive, and possibly useful way.
ReturnPath recently released a study “Keeping the Subscriber Experience Positive After ‘Unsubscribe Me.’” Although geared towards business, I think the recommendations apply very well to all organizations that communicate with their constituents via email (if you don’t, you should – get in touch and we’ll help you):
- Make it easy and painless: Include a link all email messages. If necessary, make sure an automated message is sent that provides confirmation to the user but asks for nothing in return (unless it was a mistake). Then – stop sending messages.
- Email Confirmation: When users click on the unsubscribe link, they should be directed to a landing page on your web site. The unsubscribe form should be auto-populated with their email address. They should be able to change their email address, just in case they clicked through a forwarded message.
- Email Change of Address: Occasionally users just want to get the email at a different address. They may use an alternative address for all of the email subscriptions as a way to filter them from their personal or work messages. Make it easy for them to change their address. Include an option on the landing page to change their email instead of unsubscribing.
- Stop sending messages: I know, this is repitive, but important. Sometimes you have messages qued up and ready to go. Someone may unsubscribe on Tuesday and get a message on Thursday, especially if your email service doesn’t automatically remove them. If at all possible, create a way to stop this practice. If not, then your unsubscribe confirmation email and webpage should mention this with the sincerest apologies.
- Offer alternatives: Make it easy to unsubscribe. Provide a link to an unsubscribe landing page that autopopulates their email address. Then, give them options:
- Change of Email Address
- Frequency of future emails (once per month/quarter/year) – better one annual message that they’ve asked for than none at all
- Types of future emails – only event announcements, surveys, etc.
- Learn: Keep the process simple, but learn something about the user before they unsubscribe. Add a quick survey of 1-3 questions. Are they less interested in your organization now for some reason? Were the messages never relevant to them? Or do they just get too many emails? All can help you better understand your users in the future.
Lots of helpful information. I recommend downloading the full study.
-Stephen
H/t: Email Insider