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Stop Losing Members to the Unsubscribe Button
How one of Australia's largest football clubs keeps members reading their emails
Member Communications
March 12, 2025
Steven Kryger
That unsubscribe button at the bottom of your emails?
It's dangerous.
One click and you've lost your cheapest and most effective channel for communicating with them. Getting them back? Almost impossible.
The answer isn’t to remove this button (in most cases this is illegal and you can’t grow your membership when you’re in prison).
Instead, let me share what one of Australia's largest membership organisations does.
When you become a member of the Carlton Football Club (95,278 members in 2024), you're not added to one email list but seven. Each list has a different focus:
Match updates
Team news
Events
Member benefits
Partner offers
Community programs
Club updates
Here's the clever part: if a member unsubscribes from partner offers, they'll still get team news. Tired of merchandise promos? They can opt out but continue receiving selection updates.
Yes, it takes more work. You'll need to:
Segment your content clearly
Plan different email streams
Be disciplined about what goes where
But the payoff? No more all-or-nothing unsubscribes. Members stay connected on their terms. They get what they want, and you keep your communication channel open.
That's called a win-win.
That unsubscribe button at the bottom of your emails?
It's dangerous.
One click and you've lost your cheapest and most effective channel for communicating with them. Getting them back? Almost impossible.
The answer isn’t to remove this button (in most cases this is illegal and you can’t grow your membership when you’re in prison).
Instead, let me share what one of Australia's largest membership organisations does.
When you become a member of the Carlton Football Club (95,278 members in 2024), you're not added to one email list but seven. Each list has a different focus:
Match updates
Team news
Events
Member benefits
Partner offers
Community programs
Club updates
Here's the clever part: if a member unsubscribes from partner offers, they'll still get team news. Tired of merchandise promos? They can opt out but continue receiving selection updates.
Yes, it takes more work. You'll need to:
Segment your content clearly
Plan different email streams
Be disciplined about what goes where
But the payoff? No more all-or-nothing unsubscribes. Members stay connected on their terms. They get what they want, and you keep your communication channel open.
That's called a win-win.
That unsubscribe button at the bottom of your emails?
It's dangerous.
One click and you've lost your cheapest and most effective channel for communicating with them. Getting them back? Almost impossible.
The answer isn’t to remove this button (in most cases this is illegal and you can’t grow your membership when you’re in prison).
Instead, let me share what one of Australia's largest membership organisations does.
When you become a member of the Carlton Football Club (95,278 members in 2024), you're not added to one email list but seven. Each list has a different focus:
Match updates
Team news
Events
Member benefits
Partner offers
Community programs
Club updates
Here's the clever part: if a member unsubscribes from partner offers, they'll still get team news. Tired of merchandise promos? They can opt out but continue receiving selection updates.
Yes, it takes more work. You'll need to:
Segment your content clearly
Plan different email streams
Be disciplined about what goes where
But the payoff? No more all-or-nothing unsubscribes. Members stay connected on their terms. They get what they want, and you keep your communication channel open.
That's called a win-win.
The Lab Report
Insights every Wednesday for growing membership 🚀
✔︎ 3-minute reads on proven member engagement tactics
✔︎ Exclusive findings from our ongoing research
✔︎ Ready-to-use templates and frameworks
The Lab Report
Insights every Wednesday for growing membership 🚀
✔︎ 3-minute reads on proven member engagement tactics
✔︎ Exclusive findings from our ongoing research
✔︎ Ready-to-use templates and frameworks
The Lab Report
Insights every Wednesday for growing membership 🚀
✔︎ 3-minute reads on proven member engagement tactics
✔︎ Exclusive findings from our ongoing research
✔︎ Ready-to-use templates and frameworks
Recruit and retain more members.
GET THE LAB REPORT
Insights every Wednesday for growing membership.
Recruit and retain more members.
GET THE LAB REPORT
Insights every Wednesday for growing membership.
Recruit and retain more members.
GET THE LAB REPORT
Insights every Wednesday for growing membership.