Worried! Complaint rate. Aweber list 80k.

26 replies
I have a list size of 80k with Aweber. I send a broadcast to my list once a week. For the last 8 or 9 broadcasts my complaint rate has been above the recommended >0.1%. It is mostly around 0.13%-0.15%. Should I be worried of my account being closed without warning? I was first contacted by Aweber in 2009 about my complaint rate and that was the only time.

I've been trying to find more info on complaint rates and if what Im seeing is worrisome?
#80k #aweber #complaint #list #rate #worried
  • Profile picture of the author HigherPrThanGod
    I don't know, but I've noticed an increase in the last few months of the desperate marketers. It's like money got scarce all of a sudden and the hounds of marketing were unleashed on me. So some idiots, unaware they willingly signed up for your list get mad and call it spam. After all, isn't everything spam these days? I openned up a can of Spam the other day and it was wrapped in police tape.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      Over 100 complaints per email is an awful lot, though. Have you done something differently lately? Or is there something in common with the complaints like the same email provider? I know some email providers set new spam filters in place that are really strict in January.
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      • Profile picture of the author web_dev
        Originally Posted by Tina Golden View Post

        Over 100 complaints per email is an awful lot, though. Have you done something differently lately? Or is there something in common with the complaints like the same email provider? I know some email providers set new spam filters in place that are really strict in January.
        I added a small message in the header of my newsletter ...

        "You're receiving this email because you have subscribed to our list. If you no longer wish to receive future emails, please click the link to ubsubscribe"

        This hasn't made any difference either.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
          How are you getting subscribers? Are they confirmed optin? Is it clear that they will get messages from you?

          The best place to ask if that complaint rate will be a problem is directly to Aweber.
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    • Profile picture of the author web_dev
      My list is not in the online marketing niche. It is mostly of females over 30.

      Regardless, you will always get complaints but I just want to know if consistently getting 0.12%-0.15% complaint rate on a list of size 80k+ is worrisome. I send broadcast once every 7 days.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
    My first question: how profitable is this list?
    2nd question: how old is the list?

    Judging by your answers, you will have 1 of 2 options.

    1) Purge your list. Ask subscribers to join a new list with a bonus gift. You'll probably lose 2/3 of them but your complaint rate will improve since tire kickers are removed. Send several 'warning emails' and finally, on the 5th one, archive the list and start using the new one.

    2) Test new email formats and copy to build trust. Try a new email template w logo that looks like the site the newsletter represents, for example. Maybe add the reason they subscribed? Use their names more often? There's a lot you can do here. Check out Lyris, MailChimp, Aweber and MarketingSherpa for addl tips.

    Just make sure you bring that rate down. Option 1 may suck, but email churn is very real. Its more important to preserve your relationship with Aweber than keeping unresponsive subscribers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike McAleer
    By complaint, you mean they are writing Aweber about you or what? How does aweber know about complaints?
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    Complaint rates vary depending on the niche you are targeting.

    I wrote an article on email marketing analysis based on MailChimp data compiled from over 273 million emails.

    I don't know your exact niche, but the complaint rate for Beauty/Health is 0.15% and the highest complaint rate is 0.23% for Healthcare/Medical (too many Viagra spam emails, perhaps?)

    So possibly, your complaint rate is within the expected range.
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    • Profile picture of the author web_dev
      How are you getting subscribers? Are they confirmed optin? Is it clear that they will get messages from you?

      The best place to ask if that complaint rate will be a problem is directly to Aweber.
      They are double optin subscribers. They know what they are singing up for my landing page. In my first follow, I clearly state that I will br sending them a broadcast every Wednesday. I do also have 7 followups containing offers and each in sent after 2 days.

      I've tried asking aweber support but their response is always very vague. They will tell me that they are not sure how many is too many.

      My first question: how profitable is this list?
      2nd question: how old is the list?
      The list really profitable, earning 2k on each drop. I started collecting this list 3 years ago.

      2) Test new email formats and copy to build trust. Try a new email template w logo that looks like the site the newsletter represents, for example.
      The header and logo in newsletter resembles my landing page.

      Maybe add the reason they subscribed? Use their names more often?
      I could try that.

      I don't know your exact niche, but the complaint rate for Beauty/Health is 0.15% and the highest complaint rate is 0.23% for Healthcare/Medical (too many Viagra spam emails, perhaps?)
      It's shopping/savings niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author LargeBenjamin
    perhaps once a week is too much. Do you really need to bash out emails so frequently? I know I would get fed up with emails once a week, even if it was something I was really interested in.
    Try reducing the frequency, and dialing down the hard sell a little.
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    • Profile picture of the author web_dev
      Originally Posted by LargeBenjamin View Post

      perhaps once a week is too much. Do you really need to bash out emails so frequently? I know I would get fed up with emails once a week, even if it was something I was really interested in.
      Try reducing the frequency, and dialing down the hard sell a little.
      Hmm that is something I was thinking about as well. Perhaps twice a month only. Reducing the drops will obviously cut the revenue in half. But assuming I'm still hitting 0.12% complaint rate, so hitting that complaint rate number twice a month means it is better than hitting 0.12% four times a month?
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      • Profile picture of the author joymarino
        Originally Posted by web_dev View Post

        Hmm that is something I was thinking about as well. Perhaps twice a month only. Reducing the drops will obviously cut the revenue in half. But assuming I'm still hitting 0.12% complaint rate, so hitting that complaint rate number twice a month means it is better than hitting 0.12% four times a month?
        Perhaps, even every 10 days, so it is still 3 times per month and see how that fairs for you.

        I do enjoy certain emails daily or weekly, others annoy the daylights out of me. Perhaps the idea of changing out the old to a new list, with a bonus is a good idea.
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        • Profile picture of the author Jeff Henshaw
          perhaps once a week is too much. Do you really need to bash out emails so frequently? I know I would get fed up with emails once a week, even if it was something I was really interested in. Try reducing the frequency, and dialing down the hard sell a little.
          Personally, I don't agree with this statement. You should keep in touch at least once a week with your confirmed opt in list. Just make sure that you balance what you send. What I allude to is; a mix of good quality useful relevant information which is free of charge and appropriate sales promotions of quality relevant products.

          Remember, the people on your list must perceive you not only as an authority on and in your niche, but also as a trusted friend. That is why they buy from you instead of one of your competitors.

          I wish there was a report like that where I could pull email that hit spam so I could email them personally get some feedback from them as to what part of my email made them hit spam.
          If you did email them, then that would be spam - pure and simple - unsolicited email from a commercial provider. That's why ARs don't openly provide that kind of information.

          These are just my thoughts and I wish you well in overcoming your current list problems.

          Regards,

          Jeff.
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  • Profile picture of the author kayden57
    Banned
    Honeslty, I really wouldn't worry about it. As fas as I know from Aweber, a complaint happens when someone pushes your email to the spam folder using their spam button in their email.

    It doesn't necessarily mean that your email was bad, it just means that some people may have forgotten they opted-in to your list, or maybe just were in a bad mood and didn't feel like reading your email.

    With a list your size, I think it's to be expected.

    If there is some report in Aweber that tells you who "spammed" your email, I would remove those peope from your list right away or send them an email reminding them that they opted-in, and instructing them how they can unsubscribe.
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    • Profile picture of the author web_dev
      Originally Posted by kayden57 View Post

      If there is some report in Aweber that tells you who "spammed" your email, I would remove those peope from your list right away or send them an email reminding them that they opted-in, and instructing them how they can unsubscribe.
      Awber actually removes people automatically who complaint/spam your email. I wish there was a report like that where I could pull email that hit spam so I could email them personally get some feedback from them as to what part of my email made them hit spam.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
    web_dev,
    I wish there was a report like that where I could pull email that hit spam so I could email them personally get some feedback from them as to what part of my email made them hit spam.
    Could you possibly do this yourself by simply exporting your list before and after a mailing and see which names are no longer on the list.

    Best,
    Jack Duncan
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  • I see most of you think send less like 2 times per month i see a problem in that because they might forget who you are and the complaint rate will go up, just a though, test increasing the mailing with some good content. What do the competitors do in your niche?
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    • Profile picture of the author Ian McConnell
      Originally Posted by HelpingYouBeAnExpert View Post

      I see most of you think send less like 2 times per month i see a problem in that because they might forget who you are and the complaint rate will go up, just a though, test increasing the mailing with some good content. What do the competitors do in your niche?
      I noticed in my hobby niche that complaints went up when I reduced the emails to once a week. I then changed to emailing 3 times a week and the complaints reduced. I surveyed the list and it seems that people wanted to hear from me more.

      I think we forget that our target market are not getting bombarded with emails like we are and often want more from us.
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  • Slowing down the frequency of your emails is actually counter-productive according to my experience!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill_Z
    I'm having this problem too in Aweber for the past few months. Never been a problem until recently. My complaint rate is consistently .11-.13 now (health/beauty) - before it was low, always .04-.06. I even purged my list, and lost about 60% which was fine, but it didn't seem to help.
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    • Profile picture of the author web_dev
      Originally Posted by Bill_Z View Post

      I'm having this problem too in Aweber for the past few months. Never been a problem until recently. My complaint rate is consistently .11-.13 now (health/beauty) - before it was low, always .04-.06. I even purged my list, and lost about 60% which was fine, but it didn't seem to help.
      How many broadcasts were over 0.1%? Were they consistently over 0.1%?
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil Morgan
    The "eggs in one basket" mantra is yelled loud and often on the WF.

    Yes people, it does apply to your list too.

    Autoresponder services care about their business, not yours, so none of this should be a big surprise really.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew Iannotti
    I wish Aweber had a built in feature to automatically remove these people from your list. If they want to hit the complaint button so fast then they do not deserve to be on your lists..
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    • Profile picture of the author dadamson
      Do you have large spaces or dashes after your follow up or broadcast emails? Believe it or not, this increases your complaint rate quite significantly as it pushes down your unsubscribe link.

      Remove any unnecessary spaces and ur complaint rate will come down, but your unsubscribe rate will go up.

      Aweber has started sending a couple of my clients emails threatening to suspend their account if they continue pushing the unsubscribe link down.
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