Having unconfirmed subscribers isn't always a bad thing
When you change your subscriber dropdown menu option in the Subscribers page to "Unconfirmed Subscribers," you'll see a list of users who haven't confirmed their subscription to your email list.
There can be a few reasons for this and is normally nothing to be alarmed about.
Bot signups
You could be experiencing something called listbombing. This means bots might be adding subscribers to your list without their consent. So, they won't confirm their opt-in.
This is a good thing, because they won't join your email list.
If they're successfully added to your email list and become a confirmed subscriber, they may receive emails from you that they don't want. They may then mark your emails as spam, which can hurt your deliverability.
The best thing you can do to prevent listbombing is to ensure you are using double opt-in and reCAPTCHA.
The subscriber didn't confirm their opt-in
It's easy to forget that subscribers are real people like you and me. They may sometimes opt in to your form and forget to check their email right away to confirm their subscription.
When they think about it again, the confirmation email may have become lost in a sea of other emails they've received.
They could've also opted in and changed their mind. Some people act in the moment and decide later that they'd rather not add to their overflowing inbox.
NOTE: If your new subscriber has not confirmed their subscription, there's nothing more you can do to reach out to them (to remind them to confirm their subscription, for example).
This is the beauty of the double opt-in: it keeps your list full of active, engaged subscribers eager to receive your content!
The confirmation email has been sent to spam
Some subscribers could be using email providers with stricter spam filters. For example, governments and universities' email systems often send any external email to the spam folder.
It's a good idea to add a blurb at the subscription confirmation step to encourage new subscribers to look for the confirmation email in their other email folders if they don't see it in their inbox.
You can also ask subscribers to allowlist your sending address.
Can you confirm unconfirmed subscribers yourself?
No. If a subscriber hasn't confirmed their subscription themselves, there's no option for confirming them on their behalf in your ConvertKit account. You'll have to wait for them to click your opt-in email's confirmation link to confirm their subscription on their end.
But don't fret too much about these unconfirmed subscribers: focus on engaging your confirmed subscribers—the ones who genuinely want to receive your emails.
At the end of the day, your creator business will benefit more from having an engaged—even if smaller—list of subscribers who love your content, compared to having a large list of subscribers who may not know how they got on your list and don't care for your emails.