Unsubscribe Me — How To Do It Better
Today I unsubscribed from two newsletters. It’s an interesting experience because even getting off of a list is part of your relationship with a company. Here’s how the two lists differed in getting me off.
Chatty and Unbranded
The first one was a very chatty unsubscribe. The unsubscribe me link opened an email, to be sent to a particular machine-processed address. That’s ok, but the subject and body were blank. So, liking the company but wanting off the list, I told them why I was leaving. How valuable is that? Extremely. You want your customers to complain, or you don’t learn anything about your business. I don’t think that anyone will ever see my comments, though.
This automated unsubscribe led me through a weird dance — first it sent me a mail to confirm that I really wanted to unsubscribe. Ok, so I click on the link to confirm, and it takes me to an unbranded web page telling me that I’ve been taken off the list. Then I receive another email confirming my confirmation. Brother, that ain’t marketing. Three emails and a web page, none of them working on our relationship, however tenuous.
Succinct and Welcoming
The second unsubscribe couldn’t have been more different. The unsubscribe me link went directly to a branded web page that thanked me, confirmed that I was off the list, and solicited my opinion on how they could improve. It even had a if you keep getting mail from us emergency removal link that may well have a human on the other end.
Even if I never do business with this company, I’ll remember them fondly should they ever come up in conversation. Indeed, it’s this second process that prompted this post — I don’t want to forget to be just as good, if not better, than company #2.
There’s always a flaw
There’s a flaw, though. Company #2 encourages me to forward their newsletter to all of my friends. What if one of them clicks on the unsubscribe me link? Where the first scenario I got too many emails, the second one could have done with a single email to confirm that it was really me who requested deletion. Otherwise I might inadvertently lose what I think of as a valuable resource.