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The unsubscribe rate for a newsletter or email campaign is calculated by dividing the number of people who clicked the unsubscribe link by the total number of recipients who successfully received the message in an email campaign. For example, if 1,000 people received the email and 5 chose to unsubscribe, the unsubscribe rate for that campaign would be 0.5%. Generally, unsubscribe rates are between 0.1% and 0.2% for weekly mailings. For instance, Danone, in its relationship marketing strategy, strives to maintain an unsubscribe rate below 0.25%. Similarly, this website’s newsletter has an average unsubscribe rate of 0.15%. While this figure may seem low, it only includes unsubscribes via the link usually located at the bottom of the email. In reality, most disengaged subscribers do not use this link to unsubscribe. Indeed, the unsubscribe rate can vary depending on the frequency of email sending or the initial sign-up to a mailing list. Its main value lies in observing its fluctuations over time. A sudden increase in the unsubscribe rate can signal a problem with content relevance or excessive marketing pressure leading to subscriber loss. This rate can also influence a sender’s reputation with email service providers, such as ISPs or webmail providers, and thus impact message deliverability. In fact, abnormally high unsubscribe rates, coupled with a high number of complaints, can damage the sender’s reputation. Two brief testimonials from advertisers highlight the strategic importance of monitoring unsubscribe rates in email marketing:

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