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Why do double opt in subscribers complain?

by bertuseng
14 replies
I only send emails to my double opt in list about 2 to 3 times a week. These consist mostly of free offers or occationally highly discounted offers of my own products.

The subscribers know why they opted in, but still after every broadcast I sent there is the occational 1 or two people that complain on Aweber.

Are these people too lazy to unsubscribe if they don't want any more emails, or are they just ignorant?

I try to offer a great service to my list, but I just can't understand why there is always 1 or 2 people complaining. Probably the same 2 guys...

P.S. Sorry for the rant, but I was just wondering if you guys have the same problem sometimes and how you feel about it.
#complain #double #opt #subscribers
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    No matter what you put into your emails, content free stuff or hard pitch you will get the same number of complaints and unsubscribes.

    Its just how it is...learn not to take it personally

    It says nothing about you...and everything about them
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    I think everyone with a list gets this problem from time to time -- even it the list is double opt-in and people have confirmed that they want to receive mail from you. Quite often people only want the the thng you're giving away to get their e-amil address, and resent any follow-ups even though you've made it clear what's on offer.

    Don't take it too hard. I'm sure Aweber are used to dealing with this all the time, and as long as it doesn't happen too often, I doubt they'll blacklist you as a spammer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
    Unfortunately, even some double opt-in subscribers will
    complain.

    But at least you can prove to AWeber that all of
    your subscribers have confirmed their subscription.

    Some people are too lazy to scroll to use the unsubscribe
    link and others are ignorant of the fact that hitting the spam
    button is not the same as unsubscribing.

    That said, take a look at your own opt-in process...

    Are you setting the expectations right from the beginning?

    I briefly looked at some of your pages and in both there's
    just the offer of a freebie and no mention of additional
    follow-up or the likely frequency of it.

    In the lead capture page and your first e-mails you may
    want to set the expectations on exactly what they'll receive
    and when.

    Humans are irrational - and people on lists can be irrational
    too.

    Dedicated to your success,

    Shaun
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    .

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  • Profile picture of the author casius
    Personally I do not use any mail list service, but no complains from 15.000 subscribers haven't received either. I was using Aweber long time ago, but the problem about it was that I was constantly having the problems with mail sending (not every newsletter been sent), so I have bought self hosted app interspire. It is really great. Also I guess if you are sending your newsletters very often when it is natural thing that your subscribers complains about it. Also if you have added their email without their permission when it is another side of this situation.
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  • Profile picture of the author binko
    Even double opt-ins will complain. In fact some would probably complain even if you send them a 100 bill in cash. They are "born complainers". Don't take it personally as long as you don't send spammy looking emails.
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  • Profile picture of the author bertuseng
    I think people are just ignorant, and they think it is less trouble reporting it as Spam. Also I think some people don't know what exactly spam is.
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    • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
      Originally Posted by bertuseng View Post

      I think people are just ignorant, and they think it is less trouble reporting it as Spam. Also I think some people don't know what exactly spam is.
      Bingo.

      I can't tell you how many times I've seen people on this forum label any email they don't like as spam. It doesn't matter if it's confirmed opt-in list. It doesn't matter if they've been on the list for a long time. The moment they see an email they don't agree with -- one that looks too promotional for their tastes -- they call it spam.

      These folks don't hit the unsubscribe, even though they know that's how to get off the list. Instead, they hit the "spam" button to teach the marketer a lesson.

      It's not the marketer that needs to be educated in those cases.

      Cheers,
      Becky
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  • Profile picture of the author jbode
    Yeah, people are going to complain regardless... but for every email seems high to me, my advice unsubscribe them from your list - if they are going to complain they are probably not going to buy anything

    FYI if you send free stuff all the time they will complain when you try to sell them something so don't do too much free stuff
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    • Profile picture of the author WikiWarrior
      I wish all the autoresponder companies and email client providers would get together and implement a simple system to stop these complaints. If someone double optins to a list then they shouldn't be able to mark a message as spam. They chose to optin to the list so if the emails don't suit their needs in the future, it's their responsibility to unsubscribe, not put a black mark on the list holders account.

      It's not as if it would be complicated to implement either if people can't be bothered to scroll down and hit unsubscribe. For example:

      1) double optin messages could have some special indicator on when they arrive in a persons inbox to show that the reader did indeed double optin.

      2) If the reader hits the spam button a pop-up could be displayed saying 'You have double-opted in to receive emails from the sender. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click ok and you will be automatically unsubscribed. Click no to stay on the list but move this message to your trash folder.

      Or something to that effect using less words . So in this case if the readers hits the spam button and chooses either action, the message isn't marked as spam but is still dealt with appropriately.

      It just seems unecessary and unfair that marketers be punished for the readers laziness, ignorance, whatever reason it may be.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by YOUniversityLife View Post

        I wish all the autoresponder companies and email client providers would get together and implement a simple system to stop these complaints. If someone double optins to a list then they shouldn't be able to mark a message as spam. They chose to optin to the list so if the emails don't suit their needs in the future, it's their responsibility to unsubscribe, not put a black mark on the list holders account.

        It's not as if it would be complicated to implement either if people can't be bothered to scroll down and hit unsubscribe. For example:

        1) double optin messages could have some special indicator on when they arrive in a persons inbox to show that the reader did indeed double optin.

        2) If the reader hits the spam button a pop-up could be displayed saying 'You have double-opted in to receive emails from the sender. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click ok and you will be automatically unsubscribed. Click no to stay on the list but move this message to your trash folder.

        Or something to that effect using less words . So in this case if the readers hits the spam button and chooses either action, the message isn't marked as spam but is still dealt with appropriately.

        It just seems unecessary and unfair that marketers be punished for the readers laziness, ignorance, whatever reason it may be.
        It's actually pretty simple...

        1) Stick to what you promised when they opted in. Just because they agreed to receive, say, dog training related emails doesn't mean they also gave you permission to email them about affiliate offers for pickup artist, weight loss, get your ex back, or whatever. When people get what they expect, they mostly don't complain.

        2) Remind people that they did indeed ask for further emails. Even something simple like:

        "Just a reminder... You subscribed to this list from [email] on [date]. I've been sending you email related to [subject] ever since."

        When I started doing this on a list I didn't mail on a regular schedule, the spam complaints virtually disappeared.

        3) Don't hide the unsubscribe option. Some mailers will put 30-40 blank lines between the end of their message and the unsubscribe link.

        I use a variety of blurbs at the bottom of the message, but they all boil down to "I only send you these emails because you asked for them. If you changed your mind and don't want them, that's cool, I'm not into taking hostages. Just click this link, and we go our separate ways with no hard feelings. And this link is included in every single message."

        You can't prevent the ignorant or lazy from hitting the spam button instead of deleting, but you can sure make a case that you're doing everything on the up and up...

        By the way, I'm certainly not accusing you of doing any of the things I mentioned above. I'm just pointing out that there are a lot of proactive things you can do without requiring all the autoresponder companies and email providers collaborate on a solution for you.
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        • Profile picture of the author WikiWarrior
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post


          I use a variety of blurbs at the bottom of the message, but they all boil down to "I only send you these emails because you asked for them. If you changed your mind and don't want them, that's cool, I'm not into taking hostages. Just click this link, and we go our separate ways with no hard feelings. And this link is included in every single message."
          I don't have a list yet , just finished making my membership site so I will be starting a list asap. I agree with your points though; there's plenty of things people can do to minimise the complaints. I was talking more about the misuse of the spam button when the emailer is marketing ethically, doing all those things and more to provide solid value but still get complaints. I know this isn't going to change any time soon if ever but it's still disappointing that ethical marketers can still have problems purely because of this.
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          • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
            I'm pretty sure that aweber unsubs automatically anyone who reports your email as spam so it's not the same couple people. But, as others have said, this is par for the course, unfortunately. There isn't an IQ test prior to subscription.

            Tina
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  • Profile picture of the author rickkettner
    You will never remove all complains, but one tip is to build stronger name recognition at sign-up. Sometimes people forget how they got on your list, who you are, and why they are subscribed. Branding yourself a little stronger (especially with video) will make you more identifiable, and is less likely to result in people complaining/marking-as-spam/unsubscribing.
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