Here’s a new one, courtesy of Eddie Garcia. Take a look at this unsubscribe link from Groupon. Pretty clever. I have a feeling it could actually get people to reconsider ending their subscription.

(Note: Because Groupon is apparently overwhelmed with visitors today, I had to link to a Screenr video of the unsubscribe page rather than the page itself.)

7 Responses to “An emotionally intelligent . . . unsubscribe link?”

  1. Hey Daniel – love this post and really enjoyed Drive. Thanks for linking to the Screenr video, too. I’m the CEO of the company behind Screenr and we like to think it was built with the kind of motivated team (autonomy, mastery, purpose) you advocate.

    Keep up the great work! – Adam

    PS – Screenr is spelled with a lower-case r.

  2. TrendBlazer says:

    Great post. Screenr – way to go

  3. Will says:

    Yes, it would cause me to reconsider, not so much because I’m a softie or afraid Derrick’s about to be poked with pointed sticks, but because a company with a fun attitude like that is more likely to create a fun experience for its customers.

    Still, I think Derrick could use a hug.

  4. I’m not quite sure how to say what I want to say here, so please bear with me:

    I agree that this unsubscribe page is emotionally aware, but I’m not sure I agree that it’s emotionally intelligent in the way you’ve been using the term. The page (and the writers and designers behind it) manipulates people and pushes buttons in order to get them not to unsubscribe. We’re being asked to imagine that we’re being actively cruel to a fellow human being – for wanting to unsubscribe from a mailing list we no longer find useful?

    I’m on one mailing list that I can’t stand, but I’ll never unsubscribe because the guy who runs it has put it together manually and runs it as a cc: list from his email client – there’s no unsubscribe link. I have to personally send him an email asking him to take me off his mailing list, and I’d rather stay on the list and set up a filter to toss the list in the trash than send that email. This page does a similar thing, but writ large: at least with the mailing list I’m on, I don’t have to click a button that says “Punish [administrator]”.

    Bottom line: if the goal is to keep people who actively don’t want to be on your mailing list subscribed to your mailing list, then yes, this unsubscribe page is a great idea. Otherwise, no, it’s just cheap manipulation.

  5. George says:

    Wow. That is really cool. I think it’s about innovation and having fun. Who said that an unsubscribe page has to be boring and say, “You are now unsubscribed”?

    Some fun-loving, happy employee came up with the idea. He said, “Hey let’s get rid of that boring unsubscribe and instead we’ll punish Derrick by throwing coffee in his face!” Derrick lamely murmured, “I don’t know…”

    I think it’s a big win for Groupon regardless of whether it affects the unsubscribe rate. It shows the company off as a fun, innovative, and cool place to work at. What better way to attract and keep talent? (Besides 20% time, perhaps…now reading DRiVE)

    I think that punishing Derrick creates an atmosphere of innovation and creativity which is the key to successful companies. As the economy declines, organizations that come up with new, fun and creative solutions to old problems (like people unsubscribing) will grow and flourish. It’s all about using our whole brain to make the company succeed.

  6. I love this kind of humor — it brings some humanity to what people have come to think of as a purely mechanical action.

    When I first started sending out my newsletter, I used to get notification of who subscribed and unsubscribed. It really did feel like a cup of coffee thrown in my face when someone unsubscribed. 🙂

  7. Paul Cornies says:

    Most aspiring bloggers realize that you gain your readers one at a time. Every time I see that my readership is down I think about my last few posts.

    -Why did I lose this subscriber which took so much work to gain?
    -What was he/she expecting at my site?
    -How do I need to refine my posts and my perspective?

    I tend to take it out on myself, learning from my mistakes, or muddled vision.

    But then, Godin, warned about the dip.