eBook - Silverpop

The Unsubscribe Process:
Essential But Often Overlooked
How can I reduce spam
Q: complaints from my
subscribers?
There’s no single thing you can do
A: to reduce spam complaints, because
people click the “report spam” button for many
reasons. However, every time you spot and fix a
spam-complaint trigger, you further reduce the
chance that someone will click the button.
ISPs and Webmail providers use the percentage
of spam complaints as a factor in blocking
or bulk-foldering your messages. So, the fewer
spam complaints your emails generate, the better
your delivery rate should be.
Begin at the End
The unsubscribe process is one of the most overlooked
aspects of an email marketing program.
However, a good unsubscribe – a trustworthy
and simple process that also offers alternatives
to unsubbing – can help your brand’s reputation,
email deliverability and list churn.
Unsubscribing is better than clicking the spam
button in the email interface, but Silverpop
research from 2009 has found 3 of 10 subscribers
still mistrust the unsubscribe link. That’s one
reason email recipients click the spam button;
the “spam” button is the quickest, easiest and
most trusted way to stop receiving emails.
Most marketers place the unsubscribe and
preference-center links at the bottom of the
email along with other administrative details,
such as contact information, privacy-policy link,
postal address, etc. For some, it’s more convenient;
others think that by tucking the link away in
an unobtrusive place, subscribers won’t click on it.
Radical Idea: Unsubscribe Link at
the Top, Too
It sounds crazy, but there are times this might
solve specific issues that drive spam complaints.
Consider it if your email program suffers from the
following problems:
1. High complaint rate at specific ISPs
If you see higher-than-average spam-complaint
rates at a specific ISP, then consider adding the
additional unsubscribe link at the top of emails
sent to those subscribers.
2. Inactive subscribers
If you’re trying to identify inactives and encourage
them to re-engage by segmenting out your inactive
subscribers, definitely put an additional unsubscribe
link at the top of the emails sent to those subscribers.
3. Questionable acquisition sources
If you use aggressive opt-in practices such as coregistration,
sweepstakes opt-ins or email append,
consider putting an unsubscribe link near the top of
your emails for those particularly problematic lists.
Unsubscribe Versus Spam
Complaint
What drives a subscriber either to unsubscribe or
click the spam button? Below are several situations:
Frequency/Cadence: 20 retail emails in 20 days,
even from a well-known and trusted brand, is
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