Author: Chris Pearson, Partner & Email Marketing Specialist at 3BM
You may have heard this from a subscriber or two, butâŠ
Itâs nothing to worry about.
And while a âI hate youâ reply to one of your emails can sting a bitâŠ
Itâs not the end of the world.
The truth?
We all get replies like this from one subscriber or another.
The important thing is how to handle it.
Hereâs what I believe puts brands at risk of ruining their reputation and revenue potential:
They kowtow to one or even 100 subscribers saying that they âhateâ the emails youâre sending.
While this can emotionally weigh on you as the sender, itâs actually a positive sign that youâre getting negative responses.
Hereâs how:
Replies, positive or negative, improve sender reputation.
Email service providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, iCloud, and others do not read the contents of your emails (at least we hope they donât đ).
This means that the âreplyâ is simply a signal that your list is engaging with your sent email.
This engagement (alongside opens, clicks, and forwards) all play into your sender reputation score.
SimplyâŠ
The more your list engages with your emails⊠The more likely youâll inbox the emails you send.
And the more often you inbox emails⊠the more often youâll be able to make sales to your list.
So, those âhatersâ are indirectly helping you get your products in front of more people on your list.
âHaters are sometimes people who canât understand why everybody loves you.â– Ziad
NowâŠ
Hereâs how to tell if you need to pay attention to those haters.
Unsubscribe Rate & Spam Complaints
Every list has churn, itâs normal. But, if you have a unsub rate over 1% consistently (on average per 30 days), then this is something to address.
There are seasons when your unsub rate will be higher than 1% due to a given re engagement strategy or other reason, butâŠ
It shouldnât stay above 1% on average all the time.
How do you address a high unsubscribe rate?
The two big levers you can pull to address a high âbail rateâ are as follows:
- Segment your list
- Send better emails
And if after doing this 20% to make an 80% change doesnât work, thenâŠ
You may have a âbad list.â
Your Spam Complaints are more sensitive.
Monitor the rate of spam complaints for every campaign. A complaint rate of 0.1% (1 complaint per 1,000 emails sent) is generally seen as a threshold. Rates above this should be a cause for concern.
Taking Spam Complaints Seriously
If your spam complaint rate goes above the 0.1% threshold, it’s time to take immediate action. Ignoring this can result in your emails being flagged as spam, which will severely impact your sender reputation and deliverability.
Here’s what you can do:
Review Your Content: Sometimes, the content can be the culprit. Make sure you’re not using spammy words or misleading subject lines.
Re-evaluate Your List: If you’ve purchased an email list or haven’t cleaned your list in a while, now is the time to do it. Remove inactive subscribers and those who haven’t engaged with your emails in a long time.
Be Transparent: Always make it easy for people to unsubscribe. The harder you make it, the more likely they are to mark your email as spam.
Seek Feedback: Sometimes it’s good to directly ask your audience what they want. Use surveys or quick polls to understand what your subscribers are interested in.
Consult with ESP: Your Email Service Provider can provide insights into why your emails might be marked as spam and how to improve your sender reputation.
The Power of A/B Testing
One of the most effective ways to understand what resonates with your audience is A/B testing.
Test different subject lines, leads, offers, and call-to-actions to see what yields the best results.
And by results we want to look at metrics in this order:
- Revenue
- Earnings Per Subscriber
- Clicks
- Opens
I like to focus on making sales first and then backing into âengagement metricsâ to make sure as many people are seeing the emails as possible.
The Bottom Line
Negative responses are a part of the email marketing landscape.
They can be disheartening, but they also offer an opportunity for growth and improvement.
The key is to not let the negativity derail your strategy but to use it as a tool for refinement.
Remember, every piece of feedback is a chance to improve.
So, instead of dreading those “I hate youâ emails, see them as an opportunity to better your email marketing strategy and, ultimately, improve your sender reputation, which grows your business.
In the world of email marketing, negative feedback is inevitable but not insurmountable.
While it can be disheartening to receive emails from subscribers who want to unsubscribe, it’s crucial to see these as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks.
Remember, engagementâwhether positive or negativeâboosts your sender reputation, which in turn improves your email deliverability and ultimately your sales.
From monitoring unsubscribe rates and spam complaints to leveraging the power of A/B testing, there are various strategies to improve your email marketing game.
The key is to focus on what truly matters:
Driving revenue and improving your sender reputation!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the complexities of email marketing or simply want to take your strategy to the next level, we’re here to help. Click below to get a FREE Email Marketing Audit and discover actionable insights to supercharge your email campaigns.
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Don’t let the haters derail your success.
Turn their feedback into your stepping stone to greatness.