5 reasons you’re losing email subscribers and what you should do to fix it
No one (even marketers with 1 million subscribers) feels happy to check their email stats and notice a drop in the number of subscribers. Such a bad feeling could get even worse if you see the numbers dropping almost daily and it seems there’s nothing you can do to reverse your fortune…or is there?
You may find yourself asking questions like:
What did I do wrong? And what can I do to save the situation?
Well, that is the purpose of this article. We’ll discuss common reasons why you’re losing email subscribers and what you should do to stop the decline. Are you ready? Let’s roll.
1. You’re bombarding your list with emails
You were not wrong when you thought that sending too many emails may be the reason why you’re losing subscribers.
The reality is that most subscribers are not comfortable seeing the same company or individual popping up in their inbox daily, and such frequent emails are enough to trigger the “unsubscribe” button, even if you’re sending the most significant and value-packed emails.
Does this mean that you should stop sending emails altogether or only do so once in a while? Any of those approaches have a dead end.
What should you do?
Set a limit to the number of emails you send out to customers weekly and monthly.
Top brands and marketers recommend a maximum of three each week and sticking to defined campaigns such as weekly or monthly newsletter in which case subscribers expect only one email at the end of the period.
If you send weekly emails to monthly newsletter subscribers, then you’re only tempting them to use the “unsubscribe” button. If you keep to your part of the deal, then they’re more likely to keep theirs.
2. You sound too salesy
Salesy means you’re trying to pitch a product or service in nearly every email you broadcast to your list. Well, we understand that you want to sell, but in this case, you’re only selling away your subscribers, and you don’t want it.
Put their feelings into consideration each time you want to push that “broadcast” button.
They are already bombarded with numerous ads on social media and other websites and expect to find some relief or useful information (not another sales letter) when they check their inbox at their spare time. If you understand this vital truth, then you’ll have higher open rates and conversions on your marketing campaigns.
Now, we’re not saying you shouldn’t sell altogether, but you could do it without losing email subscribers.
What should you do?
Try as much as possible to avoid sending a sales letter to new subscribers.
It is often said that the brand which spends more time educating clients wins in the game of selling. For this reason try to offer value first before pitching your product or service to them.
Also, when you do start sending salesy emails, set a limit to the number you send out within a given period. Even in exceptional cases where you must send offer reminder emails to subscribers, broadcast them at reasonable intervals.
3. Bulky and selfish subject lines
We’re sorry if that line above sounds too harsh, but the reality is that subscribers will likely leave your mailing list is your subject lines are either long, not catchy and focus solely on you and not the subscriber.
For instance, an email subject line that reads “Today Only! Free Shipping On Women’s Fashion and Beauty. Selected Electronics and Appliances Also” only shows a subscriber that you’re after their wallet and not thinking of what could benefit them.
Where’s the unsubscribe button? Done! You just lost another subscriber and maybe many others if you sent that to more than one person.
What should you do?
Well, there’s no magic involved here. Make your subject lines and emails about the reader, and you’re more likely to keep them and even win their trust enough to buy from you when you do pitch something.
4. Emails not displayed well on user devices
Sorry. You’ll lose subscribers if they’re having a hard time viewing your messages on their device. In some cases, it could be images or some other elements not displaying correctly or prompting users to open the email in a browser when that happens.
Some subscribers may not have enough time to do all those things when the “unsubscribe” button is lurking somewhere below the wrongly displayed email.
What should you do?
Email marketing clients like MailChimp provides options to ensure that emails are suited to different devices before you broadcast them. If you’re using an HTML client instead, then it wouldn’t be wrong to preview the email on as many devices as possible before you let them fly to your list.
5. You’re not meeting their expectations
As much as you try to have something to send to subscribers, you could as well lose them if you fail to meet their expectations for signing up to your list.
Generally, one thing that leads to many people unsubscribing is by sending an email to the wrong list. You will also be doing the same thing if you send unrelated topics to your lists all the time.
What should you do?
Don’t send out emails when you don’t have anything meaningful to share with your subscribers. Always offer value each time and you’ll drastically reduce the number of people who reach out for the “unsubscribe” button.
Final thoughts
So, what if you’ve reviewed the ideas suggested in this article and still can’t figure out why you’re losing email subscribers? Well, it is not the end of the road. You may try some other tweaks or rely on the fact that sometimes losing email subscribers can be a good thing.
It opens the opportunity for you to build from scratch, a loyal list of subscribers that will likely help you reach your campaign goals faster. Plus, you should think of it as a way to increase your open and click rates as now only people who are truly interested in your emails are receiving them.