If you want to drive yourself crazy, look at the number of email “unsubscribes” you get each week.
Yeah, don’t do that. People come and people go. Don’t obsess over your numbers.
People leave for all kinds of reasons:
- They satisfied their legal need or their problem went away
- They thought you did X and didn’t know you really did Y
- They forgot who you were or that they signed up, (probably because you mail too infrequently)
- They think you email too often (NB: you probably don’t)
- They only signed up to get your “freebie”
- They don’t see the value in your newsletter or posts
- You said something they didn’t like
Who knows?
Sure, you’d prefer them to stay. They may hire you someday or refer someone. They may share your content or promote your events. They may provide you with useful questions, feedback, and ideas for content.
The best way to keep people from leaving is to write things people want to read. Something valuable and interesting.
But people will still leave.
Can you get them back? Maybe.
Continue writing valuable content and encouraging your subscribers to share it. They may share it with someone who used to be on your list.
Keep promoting your sign-up page. Some lapsed subscribers may see it.
Keep doing what you’ve been doing and some of your subscribers will come back.
They may have a new legal problem. they see your name somewhere and realize they miss your pithy missives.
But let’s face it. It’s much easier to get new subscribers than to figure out how to get lapsed subscribers to return.
