3 Reasons Why Subscribers Opt-Out of Your Email Newsletter Mailings

by Alyssa Rice

Opting out may seem like a small issue if the percentage of customers doing so appears to be trivial, but marketers must understand that the impact of opt-outs is cumulative. It’s not just a moment in time, it compounds with every campaign. When customers opt-out of email, you can no longer market to them; thus, impacting your company significantly in lost sales and profits. And these are the opt-outs you know about. There are also the "silent" opt-outs, those customers who are opting-out by filtering your emails to automatically go into their "junk" folder.

Three major reasons that customers opt out:

1. Contacted too frequently
Since over communicating with customers can result in opt-outs, allow your customers to select different communication preferences (to opt-in to only the content that is relevant to them or decrease the frequency they receive your communications).

2. Don’t believe that they have opted in
Expressly ask them for permission before signing them up for your promotional campaigns, informative newsletters, or any form of email communication.

3. Receive messages that are not relevant
Ensure that the messages you are sending are of interest and value to those you are sending them to. Consider segmenting your lists and tailor content and offers to suit each of your segments.

Although it takes time and money to build a permission-based list, customers who want to hear from you are more likely to open and engage with your messages. Let your subscribers determine how frequently they want to hear from you. When you get their permission to send marketing communications to them, they will be less likely to opt out of your messages.