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Do people really report legitimate email as spam?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 by Karen Balle

Gmail and MSN Hotmail have recently started offering an unsubscribe link instead of a report spam button for some permission-based mailing lists, using the hidden X-List-Unsubscribe header that many email marketers and ESPs include in their emails.  It makes sense, as many people use the This is Spam button instead of unsubscribing from opt-in email. 

A customer asked us for some solid numbers on their unsubscribes, as they're trying to make some internal decisions on how to handle their unsubscribe process.  I knew the number of subscribers who click on the spam button was significant, but the numbers were eye-opening.  I looked at data for almost 80,000,000 emails sent (Yes, 80 MILLION emails), with complaint rates that never came near where an ISP would block and bounce rates that would make you drool. 

17% of unsubscribes came from customers who hit reply and asked to be removed.
43% of unsubscribes came from customers who followed the unsubscribe link in the email.
40% of unsubscribes came from customers who clicked the This is Spam button.

That's right.  40% of legitimate unsubscribes came through the feedback loop as a complaint.  ISPs take this figure into account, but it should give you something to think about next time you look to expand your email campaign. 

Even though they recognized the brand.

Even though they signed up for the email.

Even though they recently purchased from the company.

Even though many of them will continue to purchase services from this company.

On a list with engaged and active subscribers, 40% of the subscribers who no longer wanted to receive promotional materials that they had signed up for used the spam button instead of the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.

Comments for Do people really report legitimate email as spam?

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Jeff Ginsberg:
We have preached this for a long time. Make unsubscribing easy and simple. Heck put it at the top of the message if you have to. After all, that's where the report as spam button is :o)
Friday, October 23, 2009 by Steve:
Did the subscribers sign up for the email? Or did they provide their email address as part of a transaction and end up on a mailing list anyway?

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