How to Reduce Unsubscribes… Without Sacrificing Sales

How to Reduce Unsubscribes… Without Sacrificing Sales

Many brands fear clicking that “send” button.

Annoying subscribers. Watching the unsubscribe numbers rise. Worrying about spam complaints.

The truth is…

You WILL lose some people with every send. EVERY brand loses subscribers. That doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.

The key is to keep a consistent, low unsubscribe number by leveraging your list the right way.

This article breaks down how to do that. You’ll learn:

• Why some unsubscribes are a good thing (especially at the beginning)
• The real reasons some people unsubscribe
• 6 strategies for keeping unsubscribes low while you mail regularly

Keep on reading…

Table of Contents

Yes, Some Unsubs Are a Good Thing How To Keep Unsubscribes Low While Selling Keep Your Subscribers and Boost Your Sales What To Do Next

Yes, Some Unsubs Are a Good Thing

Let’s get the scary part out of the way:

You WILL lose some subscribers the moment you increase your mailing frequency. The biggest drop will occur when going from “zero to one”. 

However, you weren’t mailing anyone in the first place. Those subscribers were quite literally “dead weight” on your list. Many email software platforms charge you by subscriber count, so you were wasting money on them. 

For example, Klaviyo charges based on subscriber count ranges, so this might drop you down into a cheaper tier!

Meanwhile, the subscribers who want (or at least don’t mind) emails will stick around, allowing you to build relationships and sell more.

Furthermore, you set the stage to grow your list with people who will stick around and buy. You will replace those old “liability” subscribers with new ones who generate revenue.

It’s like doing surgery. It hurts at first, but it removes the thing causing harm so your list can “heal” and grow stronger.

Many such cases.

Quick example:

A client of mine mailed once a week (Mondays) to his latest YouTube video. That was the ONLY thing he mailed about. 

His massive list (35k+) had TONS of untapped potential.

We started mailing to his paid offer (Wednesdays) and a free trial of it (Fridays).

Unsubs spiked for about 1 week, then came down. We now see 30-70 unsubs every send. Sounds like a lot, but that’s around 0.2% of his list. And his list is growing on net.

We then upped to 4 emails weekly, and then 5 (one every weekday, including the YouTube one). Almost no change in unsubs on each send.

Why People Actually Unsubscribe

Unsubscribes don’t happen because you send “too many emails.” Some brands mail 7 days a week (and sometimes twice a day within that calendar) without issue.

You have to look deeper. Here are the real reasons they drop off:

• The content isn’t valuable: If you send pure pitches with no content, lesson, or payoff, people will leave.
• The frequency is erratic: Firing off emails at random dates and times will never get people “used to” when to expect your emails.
• The voice/tone is off: If you don’t have a consistent brand voice that resonates with the reader (and speaks like they do about their problems), people stop caring.

Once again, some unsubs for these reasons are good at first. Those are the “poor-fit” subscribers for your brand.

You’ll just replace them with better fits.

However, if you’re driving traffic to your list consistently and yet it’s not growing on net, you might need to dial in these things. More on that next.

How To Keep Unsubscribes Low While Selling

Just because some unsubscribes are healthy, doesn’t mean to ignore them. The goal isn’t ZERO unsubscribes, but to keep the right people around while sending often enough to drive revenue.

Here’s how to do that without ditching your email list or giving up sales…

1. Set Expectations Early

You can undercut high unsubscribe rates by setting expectations up front. Tell new subscribers:

• Approximate number of weekly emails to expect
• What those emails will contain (educational content, new product launches, exclusive offers, etc.)

There are two places to set expectations:

• Opt-in forms: Give a short blurb. For example, “We’ll also mail you 3-4 times a week with helpful content, company news, special offers, and more. Feel free to unsubscribe at any time.”
• Welcome email: Here, you have the space expand a bit more on what to expect.

Having just one of these is enough. But having both reinforces expectations so you don’t catch subscribers off guard. It demonstrates transparency and commitment to customer experience.

2. Make it Feel Exclusive

Email list subscribers will, by nature, be the first to know about your promotions and new product launches. 

You can lean on this in your “setting expectations” messaging per the previous section, but use it in copy, too. 

Such exclusivity gives another reason NOT to cancel.

For instance, you might give email subscribers early access to a big promo. Or perhaps you simply say they’re the first to know about it since.

Another example:

That client I mentioned earlier is an affiliate for several niche products. He has a discount code for his followers. He can technically share it with ANYONE, but the only channels where it makes sense to share it are:

• His paid membership community
• His email list (his paid members are on his list)

Because he won’t just share it with the public!

We can therefore say things like “as a [BRAND] email subscriber, you get an exclusive 10% off your [PRODUCT] with code [CODE]. My treat.”

3. Segment By Engagement

Not every subscriber should get every email.

Segmenting by engagement is the easiest way to scale sending without tanking your metrics or triggering a wave of unsubscribes.

A couple of pointers:

1. Send your regular emails to a specific “engagement window” segment. 

It should be a segment that falls within some open rate range (like 40-50%). For example, “180-day engaged.” If open rates climb to 50%, you can expand that window, and vice versa if opens fall below 40%. 

2. Counting “engagement” properly is crucial.

It often means opened or clicked within the engagement window at minimum.

However, I also recommend on-site metrics like “active on site,” viewing products, adding to cart, reaching checkout, etc.

These people are signaling interest, after all. They may not open every email, but they are highly likely to interact with some.

3. Send “big announcements” to a much larger window (if not your entire list).

For instance, you might send a new product launch to EVERYONE. This maximizes reach when it matters. You may shed more subscribers and get “worse” stats, but this is not a HUGE deal if infrequent. It can also move “unengaged” subs that interact with the email to your “engaged” window.

I did this with a supplement brand. We sent our 4 weekly “regular emails” to 180-day engaged.

Then, promo announcement emails (such as our Spring Sale) and the “last call” emails in those promos went to EVERYONE. Emails in the middle went only to the engaged segments to preserve deliverability.

4. Send Content + Offers… Not JUST Offers

You can sell in every single email without angering your list. The only condition is you have to deliver some sort of content with those offers. Otherwise, subscribers tune out.

The content should stand alone as helpful or entertaining, yet tee up your offer. Some examples:

• Tips for solving a problem or achieving a goal (your product solves this, or makes the solution easier/faster/better)
• Education on the product, niche topics, etc. (then tie in your product)
• Stories (personal, product creation, customer) that entertain and set up your product CTA somehow
• News/current event items and your take (as long as it ties back to your overall messaging and products)
• Lifestyle stuff, like behind-the-scenes or brand stories

This trains your list to expect helpful content and to read your emails as you build a relationship. They stick around to consume your email content.

A nice benefit, besides sales, is that subject lines lose their importance. Customers look forward to your emails. They open them purely to see what you have to say. The COPY ends up driving open rates.

Thus, you can agonize less over the perfect subject line/preview text combo.

All that said, the occasional direct pitch can work in context. For instance, the start of a seasonal promo. 

Another example might be “Hey, we have this cool product that does X, but it’s BETTER than competitors because…”

Again, use these sparingly. Mix them in with your content calendar.

5. Set Your Cadence and Calendar

Consistency matters as much as frequency. Sending at random times with no structure or rhythm throws off the reader. 

They don’t learn when to expect what (meaning they read your stuff less). It feels a bit more like you’re spamming them to make sales, even if the content’s good. It just feels less orderly.

Instead, use a rough schedule that rotates email themes, frameworks, products, or some combination.

For example, I worked with a supplement brand that tackled a different health theme throughout the week:

• Monday: General (To promote their bestselling product)
• Tuesday: Weight Loss
• Thursday: Gut Health
• Friday: Sleep/Energy

The framework I used could differ.

For example, one Tuesday might be a storymonial about a customer who struggled to lose weight until they found our weight loss supplement. Another Tuesday could be a belief-shifter email pushing a gut health product… but on the topic of weight loss.

Either way, readers learned to expect they’d learn something new about weight loss every Tuesday. It felt intentional. Like the brand was helping customers achieve outcomes rather than just sell products.

You don’t have to do it the exact way I laid out here, either. Think strategically. Consider what kinds of content, delivered regularly, would:

• Build your perceived authority and expertise in the customer’s eyes
• Help them achieve their goals and move further in their journey
• Offer natural segues to product pitches
• Entertain customers the whole way through

As mentioned earlier, you may have to start slow at first. From 0 to 1-2 weekly emails hitting your 1-2 biggest topics. Then, you can build further if metrics remain healthy.

6. Offer Soft Opt-Downs and Easy Unsubscribes

People’s email preferences change. And hey, some people will miss your “double expectation-setting” techniques when they sign up.

That doesn’t mean they WANT to leave your list. They may just want less of it. Give them that option!

Write a simple line like “Too many emails? Click here to adjust your preferences.” Build it into your footer. That way, you keep them without bugging them.

Make your unsubscribe link easy to find, too. You could put both of these things together and make them visible.

Doing so shows you aren’t trying to hide the option from subscribers or make them jump through hoops. Subscribers appreciate that and, even if they leave, will think of you more highly.

Oh, and hiding it from people who want to leave will increase the chance they flag emails as “spam” to get rid of the emails.

Also, making these things easy helps with compliance. Hiding them may violate CAN-SPAM.

The result is a healthier, more engaged list… and fewer unsubscribes, funny enough.

Keep Your Subscribers and Boost Your Sales

Unsubscribes are NOT your enemy. Silence is. Avoiding email to keep unsubs low lets your list ROT in the background.

Better to send and lose some while making sales than to never send at all… if you do it right.

Set expectations early, make it feel exclusive, segment by engagement, mix content & offers, nail the cadence, and make it easy to adjust preferences.

Do this while maintaining a steady traffic source and you’ll not just maintain — but GROW a list that reads, buys, and sticks around for the long haul.

What To Do Next

1. Share this article with someone who might find it helpful (or entertaining).
2. Get my free eBook using the form below to learn the 5 things stopping you from turning “one-and-done” customers into repeat buyers.
3. Reach out to me if you have a sizable email list and make less than 20% of your revenue through email.