Checking the box in my Gmail inbox and clicking the "Spam" button is much easier than opening the email and hunting down the unsubscribe link.
Checking the box in my Gmail inbox and clicking the "Spam" button is much easier than opening the email and hunting down the unsubscribe link.
Personally, I've noticed an increasing affinity for the 'tag as spam' button.
It takes a certain amount of effort to scroll down, and find the unsubscribe (I'm not even sure if it's there), vs. having my inbox cleaned up by just clicking the darn 'tag as spam' button -- dead easy. Also, there's the uncertainty about how daunting the unsubscribe experience might be. These days, quite many startups get their users to go through tedious surveys before they can unsubscribe completely. This results in a sticky association that's hard to undo: 'unsubscribe' is a hassle.
Are there ways around this?
How about a large button above the fold that says 'Don't mail me.', 'Junk!' or similar. Something that indicates they'll have their intended results: less of this sorta mail, and a cleaner inbox. On the other hand, this might result in more unsubscribes.
I'm assuming that the majority of people are not even opening the emails though. Hitting the spam button is just too easy. I think the system is broken.
It's probably partly our fault: we geeks have been telling our friends and family not to open suspicious or unsolicited e-mails for years.
The comments at the following link show what I'm referring to -- people taking the easy way out: http://ask-leo.com/why_shouldnt_i_use_the_report_spam_or_jun...