UR = number of unsubscribes ÷ number of delivered emails × 100%.
For example, a company sent a mailing for 1,000 subscribers and 10 of them unsubscribed. We calculate the unsubscription rate using the formula:
UR = 10 ÷ 1,000 × 100 = 1%
There is no optimal number of unsubscriptions. The bounce rate will depend on the branch, the number of unsubscribes, the content, the base peculiarities.
Why monitor the bounce rate
Regular tracking of the bounce rate solves several problems:
Avoid problems with deliverability. Too much bounce rate is a blow to a sender’s reputation. If your subscribers unsubscribe, it means you’re sending something unnecessary. And any unnecessary e-mail is spam. This conclusion will be made by e-mail providers and they will become more suspicious about your mailing lists. And yet unsubscribes are less dangerous than direct complaints about spam. The actual unsubscribe rate may be 1% or 2%, but it won’t get us into spam. But if the spam complaints are at least 0.6-0.8%, there may already be problems with deliverability.
Get feedback on the mailing. To keep the mailing going, it’s important to experiment with the formats of the letters and their contents. And here the unsubscribe rate is like litmus paper which will show how successful your experiment was. If the unsubscribes suddenly rose sharply, it’s better not to do it again. Additionally you can get into the reasons for unsubscribes and study them.
Assess the quality of the base. If your bounce rate is high, especially among new subscribers, you might be attracting the wrong people.
How to reduce the number of unsubscribes
Your unsubscribe rate will be minimal if the newsletter meets your subscribers’ needs.
Invite subscribers to customize your newsletter. Let users choose what content they want to receive and how often. This way, you won’t seem intrusive and can increase audience engagement.
Segment your address base. To offer relevant content, segment your audience by interest, gender, age, location.
Allow a choice of communication channel. A subscriber can unsubscribe if he is not comfortable with receiving emails. Suggest an alternative – newsletters in social networks, SMS, messengers.
Keep the frequency of sending. Your emails should come with the initially promised regularity. If the emails come too often, many subscribers will unsubscribe. If, on the contrary, you send your emails too infrequently and irregularly – there is a risk that users will forget about it and send them to spam.
Provide feedback. Ask subscribers what they lack in your mails. Ask for feedback on products and services. Stimulate the dialogue through bonuses, discounts and interesting offers.
Work on retaining subscribers. Try to find out why people unsubscribe. In an unobtrusive way, ask about the reasons and the reason for unsubscribing. This will help you find the problem and fix it to avoid further unsubscribing.
