26 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
26 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

My Aweber Open, Click & Unsubscribe Rates are BRUTAL!

by SeanyG
19 replies
Hey guys,

Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

Over the past few weeks I've built a list of 1000 subscribers. I figured that I would look at the stats today to see what has been happening. A few of them shocked me and I called aweber and all they could say was "it all depends on what market you are in". I am in the DJing niche. I would appreciate your advice on what to do:

35% of my subscribers are unverified.

Why? What can I do to lower this?

77% of unsubscribes come on the 1st email.

What can I do to lower this?

Do you guys know any good resources for learning how to get more opens & clicks?

Thanks in advance!

~Sean
#aweber #brutal #click #open #rates #unsubscribe
  • Profile picture of the author ragnartm
    "77% of unsubscribes come on the 1st email." What the.. How targeted is your list?
    Signature

    Ragnar.

    Quality over quantity. Hire me to write highly shareable, user focused blog posts or articles.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[864784].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Brian
    I think the major factor would be as mentioned, targeted list, and the quality of your message. What are you saying to them in your first message? Also, regarding the unconfirmed members, do you tell them upfront that they need to check their email after subscribing in order to confirm?
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[864798].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Harry Behrens
      Do you let them know in a very up-front and clear way what they can expect to receive from you when they subscribe? Such a high % unsubscribing upon the first email tells me they might not be expecting it or what it contains.

      I've found this is actually pretty common when you do the old "Subscribe to get a free report!" squeeze and leave it at that... They get their free report, but when the emails start coming in after that, they're like "Whoa, I subscribed for a free report - end of story my friend" (I had people tell me this directly even). You're better off promising an ongoing thing like regular update notifications, a weekly course, etc.

      So that's one thing to think about... could also be other factors though.
      Signature

      - Harry Behrens

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[864826].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WallerBlog
    One of the best ways to improve your initial verification rate is to offer some type of little bonus for joining your list (free report, video, etc.) On the initial thank you page tell them to check their e-mail and spam box for your first e-mail. Have the confirmation e-mail link to the page with the bonus offer.

    In other words, the only way people get whatever it is you are offering is by confirming their e-mail address.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[864824].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author wilkyu
    I agree with hmbehrens

    maybe some of those unverified are going to their spam?
    I wouldn't think you're sending too many e-mails for them to unsubscribe...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[864828].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
    Let me clarify one thing:

    Roughly 12% of people who submit their email address unsubscribe. I have 1000 on my list and 122 have unsubscribed. This isn't that bad of a number. 77% of unsubscribes come on the 1st confirmation email.

    Regardless, I say in both the video on the squeeze page and the video after they submit their email address that they need to click the verify link in their email. Maybe I need to be more clear.
    Signature
    FREE Video DJ Lessons to help you learn
    >>>How To DJ
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866410].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author tkulzer
      Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

      Let me clarify one thing:
      77% of unsubscribes come on the 1st confirmation email.
      They are "unsubscribed" because they are undeliverable. Meaning that people
      are typing bogus addresses into your subscribe form to get whatever is on the
      other side of your opt-in page. A free download perhaps? Make it clearer on
      the opt-in form that the free download will be emailed to them and a valid
      address is required.

      It's all about setting the right expectations up front.
      Signature

      Tom Kulzer
      CEO & Founder
      AWeber Communications, Inc.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866674].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
        Originally Posted by tkulzer View Post

        They are "unsubscribed" because they are undeliverable. Meaning that people
        are typing bogus addresses into your subscribe form to get whatever is on the
        other side of your opt-in page. A free download perhaps? Make it clearer on
        the opt-in form that the free download will be emailed to them and a valid
        address is required.

        It's all about setting the right expectations up front.
        Thanks for the info Tom. This brings some clarity to the issue!

        I need to be more clear about the next steps the user needs to take (clicking verification link).

        I am not giving away a report, I have set up an auto-responder that will send them links which will make an online video course.

        Thanks as well to everyone else that contributed on this thread. Valuable stuff here from each one of you. Thanks hmbehrens.
        Signature
        FREE Video DJ Lessons to help you learn
        >>>How To DJ
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[869130].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    That's not unusual to have the spam complaints and unsubs clustered around the first email (either the confirmation email, or the first in your AR series).

    As to the verification % - instead of figuring out how to fix it, I just switched to single opt-in. I now have over 20k subscribers across my various lists, all are single opt-in (spam complaints average around .2%), and I haven't had any problems with aweber. I do back up my list regularly, just in case.
    Signature

    -Jason

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866454].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mary Green
    If you want, you can post the emails here so we can tell you what might be happening. I know if you are giving something away and they just want the free gift they might subscribe and unsubscribe as soon as they get what they want.
    Signature
    Free Guide- 52 Time Saving Social Media Tools on Social Media Fuze
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866465].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BrianMcLeod
    Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

    Hey guys,

    Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

    Over the past few weeks I've built a list of 1000 subscribers.
    Nice job, Sean.

    35% of my subscribers are unverified.

    Why? What can I do to lower this?
    Are you redirecting straight to sales letter after the opt-in or to a "confirm your email" page?

    See Membership Site Overnight | Create Niche Membership Sites Overnight! and sign up (you can bail out immediately if you want).

    I pass the variables from Aweber onto the Confirm page to personalize it for each visitor. Definitely bumped the confirmation rate way up on that list.

    It's a subtle but powerful push to confirm but I want them to continue on to the sales page too... so I use a "continue" link at the bottom.

    77% of unsubscribes come on the 1st email

    What can I do to lower this?
    A) They only want the freebee
    B) They don't like your first message

    Think about stretching out the delivery of the freebee over a 3 days or a week.

    Do you guys know any good resources for learning how to get more opens & clicks?

    Thanks in advance!

    ~Sean
    Look up fellow warrior Jay White and his email autoresponder training.

    Best,

    Brian
    Signature
    Brian McLeod
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866599].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author anton343
    35% of my subscribers are unverified.

    Why? What can I do to lower this?


    When asking people to subscribe tell them they need to confirm their email address and to check their spam folder for the confirmation email.

    This was happening to me a lot untill I posted the above where people subscribed
    Signature
    WP Free Image Finder
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866600].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SeanSupplee
    Do not give them access to the product they are joining your list for until they confirm put it in your first email. Second what in the world do you have on that first email? Maybe you should rewrite it or reword it I have never seen results like that.
    Signature
    Sean Supplee -Expert Insight of an Affiliate Marketer (Blog)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866615].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jason James
    How cool is that, the CEO of Aweber comes into an internet marketing forum to answers customer questions/issues. Very impressive Tom.

    And speaking of aWeber, check out their blog, they provide some awesome training there as it relates to email marketing... Inbox Ideas: Email Marketing Tips by AWeber

    Good luck.
    Signature
    I pity the fool who doesnt "Like" me on Facebook!

    http://www.facebook.com/JasonJamesExpert

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[866962].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
    Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

    Hey guys,

    Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

    Over the past few weeks I've built a list of 1000 subscribers. I figured that I would look at the stats today to see what has been happening. A few of them shocked me and I called aweber and all they could say was "it all depends on what market you are in". I am in the DJing niche. I would appreciate your advice on what to do:

    35% of my subscribers are unverified.

    Why? What can I do to lower this?

    77% of unsubscribes come on the 1st email.

    What can I do to lower this?

    Do you guys know any good resources for learning how to get more opens & clicks?

    Thanks in advance!

    ~Sean
    35% unverified is outstanding. The average is 50%. You should be celebrating.

    Now about that first email. How about putting it up here so we can see what is wrong, and how to go about fixing it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[867001].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    I think several people are confused - Sean is not getting a 77% unsub rate.

    He's getting a 12% unsub rate.

    With those 12%, 77% of them are with his first email.
    Signature

    -Jason

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[869312].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Harry Behrens
      Originally Posted by jasonl70 View Post

      I think several people are confused - Sean is not getting a 77% unsub rate.

      He's getting a 12% unsub rate.

      With those 12%, 77% of them are with his first email.
      Yep I misunderstood that when I replied.

      I agree that it's not unusual for those unsubscribers to come at the first email. 12% isn't bad at all, that could be just the percentage of people in your niche who go in planning to get the freebie and unsubscribe as soon as they get around to it (which would be right when they get the first email with the unsub link).

      It might actually be a good sign, meaning that the most of the people who didn't have plans to unsubscribe from the beginning do not see any reason to later on.

      The unverified thing, I've heard good things about single opt-ins lately, though I've never tried it (and wasn't even aware I had the option to until recently!). Could be worth a shot.
      Signature

      - Harry Behrens

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[869681].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mmacken
    Make sure that its 100% clear that a valid email address must be used to gain access to your video course. The fact you have so many unverified email addresses is probably because people are simply entering a fake email address in an attempt to gain access without the giving out their email address.

    You will find people don't like entering their email address on a site they do not know/trust, this is probably less of a problem in the IM niche due to the people subscribing will have a better understanding of how their email address will be used.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[869458].message }}

Trending Topics