Unsubscribe Rate

What is Unsubscribe Rate:

Unsubscribe Rate is an email marketing metric that measures the percentage of subscribers who opt out of one of your email lists. The final rate includes departing subscribers that click both the standard unsubscribe option in an email footer and those who unsubscribe via the list-unsub functionality in the inbox.

The data for this metric can be discovered in email marketing tools such as Klaviyo or Mailchimp..

How to calculate Unsubscribe Rate:

The formula for calculating Unsubscribe Rate is dividing the number of unsubscribes by the number of emails delivered, then multiply that number by a hundred for the percentage.

Notes

- This metric can be filtered to be tracked by segments (product, general, country, etc.) and time intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.).

- In Yaguara Unsubscribe Rate can be created as a Key Result.

Why Unsubscribe Rate is Important:

For eCommerce teams your Unsubscribe Rate is directly related to lost sales due to the nature of your business. And even if you have a low Unsubscribe Rate, it is shocking when an eCommerce business does the calculation on the average number of subscribers they use and the cost incurred to replace them.

While it is not the most positive area to focus on, an Unsubscribe Rate is a key metric to track throughout your email campaigns, as it helps you to measure clear success and gauge consumer interest into your various products and promotions.

But in the end remember that some list churn is normal and healthy. While it stings to see a few qualified subscribers depart, you never know the circumstances on their side. You can only improve moving forward.

How to improve Unsubscribe Rate:

Stray away from vanity metrics

Engagement is the only thing that matters. Perhaps you ran some promotions to get numbers up, or heaven forbid paid for your subscriber list, it is possible the number of subscribers on your list is just a vanity metric.

A disengaged list will unsubscribe at a higher rate, and your email marketing confidence will go with it. Either focus on engagement from the start, or clean out the shallow subscribers later on.

Do NOT Always Be Closing

It is possible that you are selling too early and too often. Subscribers know they can head on over to your store and make a purchase at any time, so have a meaningful exchange until that magical event occurs.

Mobile-minded

Since 99% of email campaigns are created on desktops, there is always the threat that your team overlooked the mobile version. In 2019 mobile is accounting for 50%+ of all email opens, we recommend a radical shift in considering the subscriber’s journey.

Use services such as Litmus for testing and analyzing deliveries. Mailchimp and Klaviyo have friendly mobile testing as part of their offerings.

Become extremely relevant

Every company falls in an industry bucket. But that doesn’t mean subscribers want to hear random thoughts about those macrotrends. Segmenting your list based on their interests within your niche allows for sending content that’s relevant to them, rather than keeping a one giant list.

Trusted Advice on Unsubscribe Rate:

Email Marketing Benchmarks via Mailchimp

7 Stats That Will Make You Rethink Mobile Email via Campaign Monitor

The 2019 Client Market Share via Litmus