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It may sting a bit when someone unsubscribes from your emails, but fear not: there’s an upside to the unsubscribe! Opt-outs can increase your overall email engagement, which helps keep your email deliverability high too.
However, if your unsubscribe rates are significantly higher than the industry benchmark of 0.20%, consider why people unsubscribe from your email. Usually, they unsubscribe because they receive too many or irrelevant emails. So how can you address that? By allowing subscribers to tell you what kind of email they prefer.
An email preference center gives your subscribers the power to choose what email they receive and how often they receive it. This reduces churn by ensuring your subscribers receive only the email they want. For instance, Digioh’s drag-and-drop preference center builder has helped brands reduce unsubscribe rates by up to 30%, enabling them to retain valuable email subscribers with a better email experience.
Here are five ways to minimize email churn with a custom preference center:
1. Give subscribers the option to choose the specific content they want
Many marketers by default use a one-click master unsubscribe link. This allows subscribers to unsubscribe from all of your lists with a single click, but it can lead to unnecessary unsubscribes from people who may prefer your other email content.
Instead, a non-profit organization allows subscribers to select whether they receive news stories, specials & promotions, or a mix of the two.
Perhaps some of your subscribers sign up because they like your content. Other subscribers may only be interested in your sweepstakes or promotions. Either way, a preference center can help you tailor your email content to each subscriber and follow changing interests, giving them the email experience they want.
2. Allow subscribers to set their email frequency
As mentioned above, many people unsubscribe from a brand’s communication because they feel that they receive too many emails from that brand. But what if you could allow subscribers to receive email only as often as they want? Fortunately, a preference center can do just that.
A daily deals site gives subscribers the ability to choose whether they receive daily or weekly email, preventing email fatigue. Plus, if subscribers need a break from their emails, this site also allows subscribers to “snooze” their email subscription and pause all emails for a month.
Finally, did you notice that they provide email content options too? You can follow their example and combine the email content and frequency options to give your subscribers total control over their email engagement with you.
3. Give subscribers a content preview that entices them to subscribe.
Who doesn’t like free samples? In-store samples can be a powerful way to persuade shoppers to buy certain foods. You can put the same principle to work in your email program!
A business publication does this with their preference center, as you can see below:
When visitors select “See Sample,” a preview of the newsletter pops up to the side. The preview allows potential subscribers to sample the content before they commit to a subscription.
Why is this important? Well, some subscribers don’t opt into new newsletters because they can’t be sure of the value the newsletter will offer. A newsletter preview demonstrates that value immediately.
More importantly, previews can be an effective way to reduce churn. If subscribers come to your preference center to unsubscribe from all communication, an enticing sample of your other newsletter may lead them to opt into those instead. That means one fewer unsubscribe for you!
4. Use post-unsubscribe surveys to understand why people leave
You can make assumptions about why people unsubscribe from your email, but the most effective way to learn why they leave is simply asking them!
With a preference center, you can show a post-unsubscribe survey to people right after they opt-out.
The survey in this example is quick, ensuring high completion rates, and it can provide valuable data about the quality of your emails.
While a post-unsubscribe survey may not help you change that particular subscriber’s mind, the insights they provide can help you fine-tune your strategy going forward. By using this data to improve your email program, you may prevent future unsubscribes.
5. Give subscribers peace of mind with an on-brand preference center
Branding plays a large role in how customers experience your company. Not only is consistent branding important for a seamless experience, but it can also help your customers feel more secure.
After all, consumers are more conscious of online security than ever. If your email doesn’t match your branding, subscribers may hesitate to click. Similarly, an unbranded preference page may cause potential unsubscribers to exit the page and mark your email as spam.
That’s why an on-brand preference center is vital to the health of your email program. Scotts Miracle-Gro is an excellent example of a properly-branded preference center:
A custom preference center gives you the control you need to create an end-to-end email experience that seamlessly matches your brand. With Digioh’s preference center builder, you have the flexibility to add your brand’s fonts, colors, CSS, and images to your liking.
To provide subscribers with greater peace of mind, you can also customize your preference center’s URL to match your domain. Whether subscribers decide to opt-out or stick around, you can be sure that they’ll leave your preference center with a good impression of your brand.
Put your subscribers in control with a custom preference center
Unfortunately, list churn is inevitable. Subscribers will come and go.
However, with the right preference center, you can minimize unsubscribes and improve your email performance. A custom preference center is the best way to put your subscribers in control of the email they receive and provide your email audience with a seamless experience.
To learn more about how Digioh’s custom preference centers reduce unsubscribe rates by up to 30%, take a tour of our preference page builder here.
This guest blog was written by Melanie Angel from Digioh.