Common Causes of Email Churn and How to Fix Them

Coaches, let’s talk newsletters. Growing up isn’t the hard part, keeping people reading is. I was talking to a coach last week who said: "My newsletter had 800 subscribers… but every week, people kept unsubscribing. I’m adding new people, but losing old ones. Feels like a never-ending loop." Sound familiar? The truth is that subscriber growth is exciting, but it means very little if people don’t stick around. Because real value comes from retention. From turning passive readers into engaged fans who actually open, read, and even buy from you. So let’s break down what keeps your audience hooked 👇 🧠 What Makes People Stay? Subscriber retention isn’t just about sending a “great” email. It’s about psychology. Here’s what your readers want (and what most coaches miss): ✅ Consistency — Show up like clockwork. Make opening your email a habit for them. ✅ Connection — Make your content feel like a conversation, not a broadcast. ✅ Value — Teach them, inspire them, or shift their mindset every time. No fluff. Personalization Wins A McKinsey study showed: → 71% of people expect personalized content. → 76% get frustrated when it’s all “me, me, me” instead of “you.” So stop using your newsletter to only talk about yourself. Instead: 🔹 Segment your audience – Are they beginners or advanced? Coaches or clients? 🔹 Share relevant stories – What real problems do they have? Speak directly to those. 🔹 Use simple tech – Tools like ConvertKit or Customer.io help automate smart content journeys based on your reader’s behavior. 💡 Case in Point: A Coach Who Fixed Her Churn One of our clients was losing 5-6 subscribers every week. We paused the regular “salesy” emails and shifted focus to high-value insights, short stories, and light mindset tips. Result? → Unsubscribes dropped by 25% → Replies went up → 3 booked calls in 2 weeks from her email list alone Moral of the story? Don’t just send emails. Send value. 🔧 Tool of the Week: Customer.io If you’re running a newsletter and want to automate smart, behavior-based follow-ups, this tool is gold. ✅ Personalized content journeys ✅ Re-engagement automations ✅ Works like magic with small teams Before you go, tell me 👇 What’s one thing YOU do to keep your audience engaged? Drop your answer in the comments or reply “ENGAGE” and I’ll send you a few newsletter prompts that always get high open rates. #EmailMarketingForCoaches #NewsletterGrowth #PersonalBranding #ContentRetention #CoachingBusiness

6 EMAIL MARKETING PROBLEMS (and how to fix them) LOW OPEN RATES This can stem from uninteresting subject lines, poor deliverability, or not using preview text. Craft subject lines that spark curiosity and use personalization. Ensure strong sender reputation, avoid spam words, and test sending times. Use preview text to complement and summarize. Make subscribers eager to open your email, not just feel obligated. HIGH UNSUBSCRIBE RATES High unsubscribe rates may signal irrelevant content or frequency issues. Get feedback via surveys or emails. Segment list for tailored content and frequency. Improve content with value and variety. Deliver what subscribers want to keep them engaged. LOW CTR Low click-through rates often result from dull call-to-actions (CTAs) and irrelevant content. Use action-oriented, appealing, and well-placed CTAs. Align content with audience interests; use visuals. A/B test CTA styles, placements, and wording. When you have CTAs that stand out and relevant content, it'll help improve your email engagement. EMAIL GOING TO SPAM Emails landing in spam folders are often due to not following email deliverability best practices. Use double opt-in if necessary. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Regularly clean your email list. Monitor reputation with Google Postmaster. Follow these easy best practices to improve email deliverability. SLOW EMAIL LIST GROWTH This can stem from poor sign-up strategies, low-value offers, and low traffic. Offer compelling lead magnets like eBooks or discounts. Write persuasive copy and simplify the sign-up. Promote sign-ups via social media and website. A/B test form designs, placements, and copy. A streamlined and seamless sign-up process will help boost your list growth. HIGH BOUNCE RATES High bounce rates typically indicate issues with email addresses or list hygiene. Clean list regularly; verify addresses before sending. Monitor bounce reports; address hard and soft bounces. Use double opt-in; keep subscription info updated. A healthy, well-maintained list minimizes bounce rates.

✉️ Emails usually make companies money. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 $𝟭𝟯𝟴𝗞 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗥𝗥 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.   This late-night text thread says it all… “𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥,” 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘵 11:59 𝘗𝘔 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺. “𝘞𝘛𝘍? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭?” 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘺. “𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 — ‘𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦.’ 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴. 𝘖𝘮𝘨.” *** 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆’𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀? #1. No segmentation A system-generated transactional email went to EVERYONE, even inactive, paying customers, says Murphy. #2. Automated cancellation email Inactive users started canceling in the middle of the night because the company automated its email with the cancellation link, which cost them $𝟭𝟯𝟵𝗞. 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗵𝘆’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘅: Months earlier, Murphy had instructed the company to set up a high-friction cancellation flow, but the automated cancellation email rendered it ineffective. Turning off the email reintroduced the necessary friction to slow the churnpocalypse the unsegmented transactional email triggered. *** 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀? • “Zombie customers aren’t safe revenue,” says Murphy. • Poor segmentation can cost you big time. • Cancellation friction slows churn. 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄?

Worried you're sending too many emails? Relax. It's not how often you email that bothers customers. It's whether your emails matter to them. Here's what's actually annoying: • Sending newsletters that nobody asked for • Sending the same generic email to everyone • Ignoring what customers have bought or shown interest in Here's how to fix it: • Send emails based on what customers actually care about • Divide customers into clear groups (buyers, non buyers, active, inactive) • Make sure every email you send has a purpose: solving a problem, answering a question, or sharing something useful People don’t mind frequent emails if they’re relevant. They just hate emails that waste their time.