There are many ways to upset your email subscribers. But one surefire method? Make it painfully hard to reach you.

This isn't theory – it's what happens when user experience (UX) is designed like a trap, and customer support vanishes into thin air. Want to create email marketing that effectively pushes people away? Of course not. But… here's a blueprint – and a cautionary tale.

Scene: A Click, a Pop-up, and a Problem

Picture this: a subscriber opens your marketing email and clicks through. A pop-up appears with two vague buttons. One says "Continue", the other "Leave til later" (grammar included). There's no clear exit. The X is tiny, faint, and colour-blended like a predator hiding in the jungle.

Naturally, the subscriber clicks "Continue", thinking they're going back to what they were doing. But no – they've just applied for something financial, something commitment-adjacent, and very much unintended.

And then?

Radio silence.

What Happens Next Will Annoy You

The subscriber checks their inbox. Six "no-reply" emails roll in. No contact info. No support. No way out.

So they go to your website. No live chat. No phone number. An FAQ section that answers everything except their question. A form that may as well post replies by carrier pigeon.

Now they're frustrated. Not because they made a mistake, but because there's no human (or helpful robot) on the other end.

Spoiler: They Unsubscribe

In fact, they do more than unsubscribe. They leave with a sour taste. They tell others. And if they were a loyal customer? You're just burned a bridge you didn't even know existed.

And for what? A poorly designed pop-up and a contact page buried deeper than a time capsule.

If You Want To Upset Subscribers, Do This…

Let's make it official. If your goal is to increase unsubscribes, which I doubt (but you never know), here's your "action" plan – 

• Use "no-reply" email addresses – because who needs to reply anyway?
• Hide your contact details – make them earn that customer service.
• Create vague CTAs – "Continue" to… what, exactly?
• Design dark-pattern pop-ups – where "close" is invisible or hard to hit.
• Make your FAQs useless – and ensure real help is nowhere to be found.

Congratulations, you've now built a subscriber-repelling machine.

Now, If You Actually Want To Keep Subscribers…

You'll do the opposite – 

• Use real, monitored inboxes (yes, people still reply to emails).
• Offer multiple ways to contact support – clearly and accessibly.
• Make your pop-ups make sense. A simple "No thanks" button goes a long way.
• Make sure your unsubscribe process isn't the only easy thing about your marketing.

Don't Make Them Regret Clicking

Your emails are supposed to build trust, not feel like traps. Subscribers don't expect perfection – but they do expect clarity, respect, and a way of if needed.

So before your next email campaign goes out, double-check: if someone clicks the wrong thing, can they easily fix it?

If the answer's no, don't be surprised when they click "unsubscribe" next.