What is a good unsubscribe rate for email marketing?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that many clients use 0.3% as a threshold for unsubscribes, and any rate higher requires review to see if it was due to audience or content or both.
Email marketer from Automizy shares that many times unsubscribe rates are high because you are emailing too frequently and people are getting email list fatigue. They suggest you vary the frequency of emails.
Email marketer from Warrior Forum shares that they aim for an unsubscribe rate below 0.1%, but acknowledge that it can fluctuate based on the offer and target audience.
Email marketer from Mailchimp states that a healthy unsubscribe rate is typically below 0.5%. Rates consistently above this may indicate issues with targeting or content.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor suggests that an unsubscribe rate between 0.2% and 0.5% is generally considered acceptable. It also depends on industry and audience.
Email marketer from Litmus highlights user expectations, sharing that users expect the right to easily unsubscribe from emails, and not having this is a sure way to lose subscribers. They recommend making this process easy.
Email marketer from HubSpot advises that monitoring unsubscribe rates is crucial for maintaining a healthy email list. High unsubscribe rates can be a symptom of irrelevant content or poor list segmentation.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that contextualizing unsubscribe rates is important. A rate of 1% might be acceptable for a highly promotional campaign, while the same rate would be problematic for a nurturing series.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign points out that unsubscribe rates are influenced by factors such as list quality, sending frequency, and the relevance of email content to the subscribers' interests.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks recommends tracking unsubscribe rates over time to identify trends. Offering a "why are you unsubscribing?" survey can provide additional insights.
Expert from Word to the Wise suggests that maintaining a healthy and engaged list can help keep unsubscribe rates down, by focusing on sending relevant and valuable content to subscribers.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that each brand has an average unsubscribe rate, if this is within their average it is fine, if significantly higher it may indicate poor targeting and should be reviewed.
Expert from Spam Resource, Laura Atkins, emphasizes the importance of having a clear and functional opt-out process to maintain a good sender reputation and comply with regulations, which directly relates to keeping unsubscribe rates manageable.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from SendGrid highlights that a high unsubscribe rate can negatively impact sender reputation. It recommends implementing clear opt-out processes and honoring unsubscribe requests promptly.
Documentation from MarketingSherpa explains a deep understanding of audience segmentation will lower unsubscribe rates, as you can better target who you send emails to.
Documentation from GDPR.eu emphasizes that users have the right to easily withdraw consent and unsubscribe from emails. Organizations must provide a straightforward unsubscribe mechanism and comply with data protection regulations.