In email marketing, it pays to have an optimized unsubscribe process. It should be smooth and easy to do, while serving as a final chance to persuade wavering subscribers to stay onboard. If you know your average reader’s lifetime value, you can appreciate how improving your unsubscribe page is one of the easiest ways of boosting profits.

It may be tempting to bury the ‘unsubscribe’ link, or not provide one at all, but giving into this temptation will certainly backfire. What’s more, failing to provide an unsubscribe link puts you on the wrong side of SPAM laws. It can damage your reputation with ISPs, leading to deliverability problems and messages heading to the wilderness of the junk box.

Instead, focus on creating an unsubscribe page that comes across as friendly and understanding. Don’t cling onto readers like a spurned lover blocking the door. Handle the breakup in a classy way and they may realize they made a mistake and come back to you.

Here are nine tips for creating unsubscribe pages that gently put a shoulder around hesitant readers and steer them back into the fold:

1. Make it easy (but not too easy)

A one click unsubscribe option might be quick and pleasing, but it makes the process that little bit too easy. People can unsubscribe on a whim, or even by accident, and you haven’t allowed yourself the chance to win them back. Equally, making them jump through hoops is only going to frustrate them. It is best to offer your customers a quick way to unsubscribe, but taking the time to remind them of the reason why they subscribed in the first place.

2. Remind them what they will lose

Whether it was to get a free report, the promise of valuable information or just general interest in the brand, there’s always a reason why people first subscribed. To keep them hanging around, remind them why they first registered, what they can expect to gain in the future and what they will be missing out on if they quit.

3. Be human and understanding about it

People unsubscribe. It happens. Rather than be bitter, it’s much classier to provide a human, conversational message telling them that you’re sorry to see them go. The relationship might be over for now, but you’ll be waiting with open arms should they change their mind.

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4. Use the word ‘Quit’

The word ‘quit’ is one of those power words copywriters use to trigger subconscious reactions in the reader’s mind. It’s a word with entrenched psychological meaning. Nobody wants to think of themselves as a ‘quitter’ and giving up on something before they’ve reaped the rewards. Test using the word ‘quit’ in your unsubscribe copy to see whether it causes readers to reconsider.

5. Allow them to update their preferences

The two most common reasons for unsubscribes are frequency and relevancy. You can alleviate both these problems by allowing people to update their subscription options. Only interested in reviews of headphones, and not TVs? Want discounts for the spa but happy to miss out on the newsletter? No problem. Simply update your preferences and it will be done.

6. Find out why

While some people find them annoying, providing a quick survey on the reasons for unsubscribing will help you find out whether your campaign needs fine tuning. After all, nobody can tell you better how to improve your newsletter better than the readers themselves.

7. Offer alternatives

So the newsletter didn’t work out for them. But there are plenty of other ways they can stay in touch. Offer them links to your social media accounts and RSS feed as alternative ways of staying in touch and benefiting from the goodies that pour forth from your content machine.

8. Tell them how long it will take

If you’re unable to action an unsubscribe request immediately, let them know. Nobody’s going to be impressed if you keep bombarding them with messages after they’ve asked you to stop.

9. Fine tune your improvements with testing

Along with tracking future unsubscribes, setup A/B split tests or multivariate tests to see exactly what improvements are helping keep readers subscribed. Better yet, use heat maps to see where people are clicking and which options on the page are influencing their decisions. Testing the impact of improvements to weak emails and your unsubscribe page sets you on a path that can only lead to success.

89% of marketers rate email as the best channel for lead generation

Following these tips will help you to reduce unsubscribes and keep people locked in your campaigns for longer. According to Forrester Research, 89% of marketers rate email as the best channel for lead generation, while the DMA assessed that 66% of people bought something because of an email. Make sure you can be a marketer experiencing these benefits firsthand through minimizing unsubscribes and maximizing revenue.

Quick action tips for reducing unsubscribes

• Check your emails for unsubscribe rates of 0.5% of higher.
• Improve the content of these emails to make them more helpful and relevant.
• Provide the option to change email frequency and topics.
• Check your unsubscribe page — could it be made more persuasive?
• Set up a questionnaire to find out why people unsubscribe.
• Make adjustments and test the results. Rinse and repeat.