You have heard many times that “the money is in the list”. Whilst it has become somewhat of a cliche, it remains true. Having a large responsive email list is a great way to drive traffic to your website, products or services.
For many affiliate marketers, seeing people unsubscribe from their email list is an indicator that something is wrong. Sometimes that is true. If you are constantly emailing your subscribers every day encouraging them to buy products, you are going to see a lot of people unsubscribe. Affiliate marketers compensate for this by ensuring that their subscription rate is higher than their unsubscribe rate. They are effectively churning their list, and making as much as they can from people until they leave.
As a blogger, my aim is a little different. I am not looking to push people away and I am not looking to constantly annoy my subscribers with promotional emails every other day (some affiliate marketers email more than once a day!). I would much prefer to build up a long term relationship with subscribers. Sure, some people will never buy my products, however that does not mean they are worthless to me. If they comment on my articles and share them with friends, I consider that as a contribution in itself.
Even if you only email your newsletter subscribers every now and then, it is natural for people to unsubscribe. People’s interests change frequently and so your content may not be relevant to them any more. It is not something you should take personally and not something to be worried about.
Last week I moved from Aweber to FeedBlitz. Therefore, I had to email all of my subscribers through Aweber and advise them that I had moved service. FeedBlitz includes an opt-out link for those who want to unsubscribe from my list. Around twenty to thirty people did unsubscribe.
This was not something I had to be worried about; it’s a good thing. Do you really want to be emailing people who are not interested in what you have to say? Losing subscribers that do not like your content anymore is akin to trimming off the fat. Remember: All email marketing solutions charge by the number of subscribers you have in your list, therefore you will save money when people who do not want your content choose to unsubscribe (the problem is, many people who do not want your content do not unsubscribe).
It is much better to have an email list of 1,000 people who want to receive your content than a list of 10,000 people who have no interest in what you have to say.
If you see more and more people unsubscribing from your email list, it is worth reviewing your content and the frequency you send out emails. Generally, it is healthy to see people unsubscribe from your email list every week. Do not be concerned when this happens. Your goal should be a responsive list. A large email list is pointless if it is not targeted.
Good luck,
Kevin