Someone just unsubscribed. Good.Someone just left your list. Your first instinct is to flinch. Don't. An unsubscribe is the cleanest goodbye you can get. So what is unsubscribe rate, what's a healthy number, and why is it nowhere near your scariest metric?
⬡ talking-stat, big "0.4%", then three pills fade in: unsubscribes ÷ delivered · a clean exit · not a complaintUnsubscribe rate is simple. Take the number of people who hit unsubscribe after a send, divide by the emails you actually delivered, times a hundred. Send ten thousand, forty opt out, that's a 0.4% unsubscribe rate. Most email platforms show it right in the campaign dashboard.
⬡ talking-stat, formula animates: 40 ÷ 10,000 x 100 = 0.4%An unsubscribe is a healthy exit.Here's the part people get backwards. An unsubscribe is a person self-selecting out, cleanly. They're gone from your list, and that's it. Compare that to the spam button, where they don't just leave, they report you to the mailbox provider. One is a quiet exit through the door. The other calls the harbourmaster. So an unsubscribe protects your list and your reputation. It's the good outcome.
⬡ split-compare, LEFT "Unsubscribe: leaves your list" (calm) vs RIGHT "Spam report: tells the mailbox provider" (flag raised)So what does the rate measure? How well your content matches what people signed up for. A high rate usually means one of three things. You're sending too often. Your emails aren't what they expected. Or you're mailing the whole crew when only half of them care.
⬡ record-cards, three cards: too frequent · content mismatch · no segmentationWhat's a healthy number? As a rough guideline, under 0.5% per send is generally fine, under 0.2% is excellent, and consistently above 0.5% is worth a look. Treat those as ballpark, not law, they shift by email type. A promo push to your whole list will run hotter than a beloved weekly note, and that can be normal.
⬡ gauge-meter, needle sits in green under 0.5%, amber above⬡ title-cardSo, unsubscribe rate is opt-outs over delivered, and a reasonable one is a sign of a healthy list, not a wound. The metric to actually fear is the spam complaint. That's a separate video.
If this cleared it up, subscribe, there's a whole series on the metrics that actually move your deliverability. Next up: the spam complaint rate, and why it's the one that really bites.
⬡ end-card, Subscribe + Next: "What is spam complaint rate?" (004.005.006)What is unsubscribe rate? It's the share of delivered emails that ended in an opt-out: unsubscribes divided by emails delivered, times a hundred. In under three minutes: the formula with a worked example, why a healthy unsubscribe is a clean exit that protects your list (very different from a spam complaint, which reports you to the mailbox provider), and the rough healthy range with the usual "varies by email type" caveat.
Concepts in this video: unsubscribe rate, delivered, spam complaint
Next: What is spam complaint rate? → [link 004.005.006]
Full written guide → reviewmyemails.com/emailalmanac/004/004-005/004-005-001
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