How to reduce email unsubscribes.

I've recently learnt about a program called Unroll.me which is an app that allows the user to unsubscribe from all their mailing lists at the click of the button. I must admit, I used it for my personal use and found it the best thing since sliced bread, as a business owner though it gave me great cause for concern. Allowing users the ability to unsubscribe from an email list via a third party app which doesn't give you the chance to try and retain them is not good news for your email list. So this got me thinking that the only way around that is to make sure that your emails provide so much value that people don't want to unsubscribe.

So much sales revenue comes from email marketing if it's done correctly, so here are a few things you need to make sure you're doing it right at all times.

Segment your list:
Whichever systems you have in place to give you the ability to segment your list, use them. And if you don't have any, get some. If you're writing to everyone on your database as though they're in the same demographic and have the same spending habits then it's your own fault if people are unsubscribing. Segmenting allows you to be really specific with your offering and personalisation and is what people are looking for these days.

Be educational.
Not everyone wants to be sold to all the time. Often people want content that's of value to their daily life and circumstances and if you can provide that, you'll keep them on your list for you to make an offer to them the next time. A constant stream of sales material will turn off even the most loyal of customers so mix up your content and keep them interested.

Ask for feedback.
Once someone has used your service or bought your product, email them and ask for a review. This serves a few purposes;
1) it lets them know that you care. The fact that you're interested in their feedback means you're looking for ways you can improve on your offering.
2) It gives a relationship building opportunity. The more personal contact you can have with a customer, the better.
3) It gets them back to your website. This is where the sales page is don't forget, a few well placed ads will keep their interest and has the potential to encourage them to buy from you again.

Thank them.
Always use your email as an opportunity to thank your customer. Vouchers, coupons and special offers should always be used to make your customer feel valued and if they don't know what little treat they'll be given next time, they're likely to remain loyal.
Have you got any tried and tested methods of reducing your email unsubscribes?