On unsubscribe rates

I’m surprised how often I still see low unsubscribe rates touted proudly in companies.

Don’t pat yourself of the back about your low unsubscribe rates. These days it’s easier to mute or simply filter messages than to even be bothered to click the unsubscribe link in an email.

Just because people aren’t unsubscribing doesn’t mean they’re interested in your email. You’ve got to look at rest of the data, namely click rate (though even that is tricky with bot clicks to contend with) to see how engaged (or unengaged) your audience really is.

Unsubscribe rate is a bit like online reviews – you only hear from the really negative, passionate audience. But just because the rest of the people are silent doesn’t mean you have no cause for concern.