Unsubscribes Aren’t Always Bad News

Unsubscribes Aren’t Always Bad News

“Awesome, I just got an unsubscribe!” said no one ever.

You spend years building up a database of contacts and weeks crafting a series of emails you think they will love. You activate the campaign and are wrapped with all the positive feedback you receive from your clients.

Then you check the reporting and realise someone unsubscribed. They no longer want to hear from you and that can feel like a real punch in the gut.

Instead of getting all worked up about it, I challenge you to see it as a natural part of the marketing process.

When ActivePipe starts communicating with your database after years of radio silence, it’s common to experience a few unsubscribes. This simply means that your contact has no current interest in the property market so don’t take it personally.

Here’s what to do when an unsub has you feeling down in the dumps:

Revisit Your Dash

Go back to your ActivePipe dashboard and remind yourself of how many people are interacting with your emails. They’re highly engaged with your content and are volunteering vital information about their property intentions. Who cares about a couple of unsubscribes when thousands of people are enjoying your content.

Call Your Unsubscribers

Call the people who unsubscribed and ask them for their feedback on the campaign. This conversation is a great opportunity to find out where they are positioned in their property journey so you can update their status in your database.

“Hi Madeleine, it’s Joe from so and so real estate, how are you?

I noticed you unsubscribed from my email list so I thought it would be a good time to catch up and see what you’ve been up to since we last spoke at 123 Random Street.”

Adopt a Quality over Quantity Mindset

Real estate agents often compare the size of their database, assuming the higher the number of contacts they have, the more leads they can generate. This is not true and having an interactive database is far more important than having a loaded one. Communicate with those who genuinely want to hear from you and deprioritise the rest.

Clean Your Database

Unsubscribes are a great way to clean up your database without doing any extra work. Having unengaged contacts can seriously affect your deliverability so see their unsubscribe as an opportunity to improve your customer data and reach those who want to hear from you.

Don’t Be Disheartened

Remember that most people have an interest in the property market, even if they are not ready to transact. Don’t let a few people stop you from keeping in contact with those who want to know about property trends in their area. It might be a year or two down the track but guess who they are going to call when they come to market? You!

At the end of the day, every sales person experiences the heartache of an unsubscribe from time to time. Be more productive by communicating to the people that want to hear from you and start cementing the foundations of a genuine relationship.

An unsub is a blessing in disguise.


Ebany McLees
After years working the field as a real estate agent, Ebany joined the ActivePipe team as Client Success Manager. Her behind the scenes knowledge of the industry combined with a natural training ability makes her much loved by clients and colleagues alike. As ActivePipe’s ‘can-do’ girl, Ebany is always up for a challenge and says her clients can call her any time of the day.