Email marketing remains a crucial strategy for businesses of all sizes. Whether you run an e-commerce store or provide services, email campaigns help you connect with your audience and encourage repeat engagement. However, many small business owners overlook measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) and send emails without analyzing results, missing opportunities for growth.

Tracking KPIs is vital to understanding your email campaign’s effectiveness. One important metric to monitor is the email unsubscribe rate, which reflects how many subscribers opt out of your emails. But how do you calculate this rate, and why should you care?

What Is an Email Unsubscribe Rate?

The unsubscribe rate indicates the percentage of recipients who choose to stop receiving your emails. A low unsubscribe rate suggests your content aligns well with your audience’s interests, while a high rate may signal issues such as irrelevant content or excessive frequency. Monitoring this metric helps you adjust your strategy to better meet subscriber preferences and improve engagement.

Industry Benchmarks for Unsubscribe Rates

Unsubscribe rates typically vary between 1% and 2% depending on the industry. Comparing your rate with these benchmarks can help you gauge your campaign’s performance. If your unsubscribe rate is significantly above average, it may be time to reassess your content and sending frequency to better serve your audience.

How to Calculate Unsubscribe Rate

Most email marketing platforms automatically calculate your unsubscribe rate, but the formula is simple: divide the number of unsubscribes by the number of emails delivered, then multiply by 100 to get a percentage. Tracking this over different campaigns and periods helps identify trends and areas for improvement.

Common Reasons People Unsubscribe

Subscribers expect relevant and valuable content when they sign up. High unsubscribe rates can result from:

• Unmet expectations when emails differ from what was promised
• Poor design that reduces readability and trust
• Lack of audience segmentation, leading to irrelevant messages
• Over-emailing, which feels like spamming

Six Strategies to Lower Your Unsubscribe Rate

To keep your unsubscribe rate low and maintain a healthy email list, consider these approaches:

• Avoid buying email lists to prevent spamming uninterested recipients
• Segment your audience to send targeted, relevant content
• Personalize emails to increase connection and relevance
• Ask for subscriber feedback to better tailor your campaigns
• Optimize emails for all devices to improve user experience
• Adjust email frequency based on subscriber preferences and engagement

Other Email Marketing KPIs to Track

Besides unsubscribe rates, monitoring other KPIs is essential to fully understand your email performance:

• Open rate indicates how many recipients open your emails and can highlight subject line effectiveness
• Click-through rate (CTR) shows engagement by tracking how many users click on links
• Bounce rate reflects undeliverable emails, which should be cleaned regularly to maintain list health

Avoid Spamming to Protect Your Email Reputation

High unsubscribe rates can harm your sender reputation and increase the likelihood that your emails land in spam folders. By personalizing messages, segmenting your list, and engaging subscribers thoughtfully, you can reduce unsubscribes and enhance deliverability.

Platforms like Mailchimp provide tools to help you track unsubscribe rates, manage subscribers, and create effective, personalized campaigns. Taking control of your email marketing strategy ensures your messages reach and resonate with your audience.