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Email Unsubscribe Do's and Don'ts

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Published: 19Feb2010
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Just recently, I was purging all of my "unwanted" email subscriptions. We're talking hundreds of mailing lists that I was no longer interested in or just plain never wanted in the first place.

It was actually quite an enlightening experience to look at the processes from a "customer" or "prospect" standpoint rather than that of the marketer, or online business owner! And it became quite clear WHY people just get angry and report marketers as spammers!

In this article, we're going to focus on some of the Do's and Don'ts regarding your unsubscribe process. And how to stay out of hot water when a real live email administrator finds your emails and tries to make a decision as to whether or not to let you keep on mailing or not!

Some practices or errors to avoid at all costs in list management are as follows:

- NEVER allow an unsubscribe URL to point to a missing or deleted web page!

If you frequently change your website, always keep a record of the previous names of those pages, and set up HTTP redirectors to bring misdirected subscribers to the new correct pages.

- NEVER allow another piece of mail to get to an unsubscribed user.

Your database deletes do not necessarily have to be in real-time (though it is preferred, and a lot easier to manage that way) but all mail campaigns should begin with ensuring that recently unsubscribed users are excluded.

- DO NOT program the unsubscribe URL to redirect to another one of your sites to process the removal.

This gives the illusion of foul play, and astute users may skip the removal process and instead simply report the communication.

- DO NOT create a removal page that prompts a user to re-enter his/her email address.

You already know what this address is because you just sent it an email! Your mail campaign software should be smart enough to build the subscriber's ID into the unsubscribe link so that the user does not have to enter anything extra.

- NEVER send any text on a removal page describing a time frame for removal (eg. "Allow 3-4 days for processing", "May take 4-6 weeks").

Whether your process is real-time or otherwise, always indicate that ex-subscribers will get NO MORE communications, and that you are sorry to see them go... And remove them right away!

- NEVER attempt to obscure or draw out the unsubscribe process in the hopes that the user may find it too much trouble, and reconsider.

A good (bad!) example of this would be a lengthy and confusing list of publications requiring that the user clear the check box next to each.

- Don't Make the User Go Through Excessive Confirmation Screens!

You see all sorts of convoluted unsubscribe processes out there. In marketing, it's the equivalent of "upsell hell" when you're trying to make a purchase. All it's going to do is make people mad and encourage them to report you as a spammer. There's no win in that no matter how you look at it!

Now, on the flip side, here are some Unsubscribe Tips that may help you not only stay in the good graces of the Email Administrators and keep a customer - or get a new one!

- Include a 1-Click Unsubscribe Link In All Email Correspondence.

At the end of every email, you should have a link that the person can click on in order to immediately unsubscribe him/her from your list. And make it simple and obvious! Don't make them click through to another page to enter their email address again and so on and so forth.

- Honor All Unsubscribe Requests Immediately

Unfortunately, you will have people that don't click the link and send emails back requesting removal from your list. (Admittedly, some of these can be quite rude). And while it may be tempting to send them back through the process or to reply with instructions to click the link, simply remove them instead.

- Utilize Your Unsubscribe Page As A Tool.

If you put a custom page up for your unsubscribe, which we certainly would recommend, be sure it's a working page.

If you have a continuity program, you may want to make sure they don't think they are unsubscribing from the continuity program by putting something to the effect of "You have successfully been removed from our email database.

If you're requesting to cancel your subscription to our ACME monthly service, please click here to complete. Your paid subscription will NOT be canceled until you complete the cancellation process".

This will reduce your chargebacks and complaints ten-fold.

You may also use this custom webpage to give them one final offer, recommend something else via an affiliate link, try to get them to subscribe to a different list, etc. This is a great way to monetize your competitors' marketing efforts!

You have absolutely nothing to lose at this point because this is your last chance to communicate with this customer, so make the communication mean something to your bottom line!

To learn how to get more of your emails delivered to your customers and prospects, visit: http://www.EmailDelivered.com. Here, you'll learn how little tips and tactics can increase your email deliverability - and your bottom line profits - overnight. Heather Seitz has co-developed the world's first email monitoring and email block removal service of its kind.

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