Many people think that bounced emails and unsubscribes are a sign of a failing email marketing strategy. Although they may be an indicator that something is wrong, they are also a learning opportunity. Let’s a take a deeper dive into what bounced and unsubscribed emails are and how they can affect your email marketing strategy.
Bounced Emails
When an email bounces, it can be classified as “hard” or “soft.” (Yes, the same as ice cream, but not as sweet.) Soft bounces are emails sent to correct email addresses, but don’t deliver for a few reasons, including a full inbox or down server on the recipient’s end. Most likely, if you resend the email at a later date, it will go through.
Hard bounces are a result of a “dead” email address. This could be because a person no longer works at the company, or that the company went out of business. Ideally, you’ll want to replace the dead contact with a live one; see if you can reach out to the new manager, for example, to get the correct contact.
Although there’s not much you can glean information-wise from bounced emails, at the very least, receiving a hard bounce should inspire you to clean up your email lists to ensure you don’t keep sending to people who don’t exist.
Cleaner email lists also mean better data and more accurate tracking metrics. Ideally, you’re looking to have the number of emails delivered be nearly the same as the number of emails sent; this means removing invalid email addresses (such as email addresses that are misspelled) and duplicate email addresses.
Unsubscribes
On the other hand, opt-outs are a great reason to engage in research. If you can, customize your email unsubscribe form to specify why someone doesn’t want to receive your emails anymore: too frequent, irrelevant promotions and/or content, not interested anymore, or other changed expectations… Getting this kind of feedback will help you adjust your messaging right away to ensure that no other (or fewer) people hit unsubscribe.
If you don’t have a form set up (or can’t set one up for whatever reason), we suggest emailing or calling the person who unsubscribed to get their reason. It may be scary to do so, but receiving this feedback is critical to ensuring you have the best possible email marketing. After all, if the person who opted out didn’t understand something in an email, chances are they aren’t alone. Users should respond positively to your outreach (since it shows you care), and you’ll get their important insight.
However, it’s important to remember that a few opt-outs per email is very normal. By letting those subscribers go, you’ll be improving your other email marketing metrics because a less engaged contact has disappeared from your list.
…Too Many Unsubscribes
A sudden rise in unsubscribes, though, should be examined more closely. “Sudden” is defined as a spike from your normal opt-out rate or an unsubscribe rate that is rising and/or nearing 2%. Was it the content that scared readers away? Or did you implement a change that they didn’t like? After a rise in opt outs, be sure to review your emails to see if anything should be adjusted.
In addition, consider how your list has changed during an opt out frenzy. Perhaps, if you added a new list and saw a big spike in unsubscribes, it could indicate that users were expecting something different from what they got.
But keep in mind that, just because someone unsubscribes, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s the end of your relationship with that customer. For some users, signing up for a newsletter or email list is an added bonus; their motivation always depends on their individual needs, so try not to (always) take it personally.
Closing Thoughts
In the end, email opt outs aren’t something to fear–they’re direct feedback from your target audience telling you what is and isn’t working. By reaching out and clarifying the exact reasons, you can craft a more effective email marketing strategy that will better speak to your customers’ needs–and craft emails that people actually want to read.
For more information on email marketing best practices, feel free to get in touch.
Read more blogs.
Take me home!
