How people unsubscribe
The standard footer has an Unsubscribe link and an Email preferences link. A campaign whose design has no unsubscribe link won't send, so it can't be left out by mistake.
Gmail, Apple Mail and other email apps also show their own unsubscribe button beside your name. One click there unsubscribes the person.
Your Unsubscribe link opens a page headed with your business name, such as “Unsubscribe from Wrenfield Pottery?”. The person clicks Unsubscribe, or Or choose which emails you get to pick topics instead. After unsubscribing, they're asked why they're leaving, for example Too many emails or I didn't sign up for this. Answering is optional. If they answer, it shows on their page under Activity, for example Unsubscribed (too many emails).
They're unsubscribed straight away and get no more campaigns, drips or Cruise emails.
Topics and how often
The preferences page lets people choose what they hear about and how often.
- Topics: set these up in Setup → Subscription topics. Click Add a topic, give it a Topic name and a short description, and click Save. For Wrenfield Pottery, that might be Workshops and New from the kiln. Each topic has its own on and off switch. Deleting a topic asks first and says how many people have turned it off, because their choice goes with it. A topic that a campaign or a drip still uses can't be deleted until you change them.
- How often: with Let people choose how often they hear from you switched on, as it is to start with, people can pick from As often as there's news, At most once a week, At most once a fortnight or At most once a month.
Use the preview link under these settings to see the page as your people see it.
What their choices do
- When you send a campaign, choose a topic under Email category on the Who gets it step. Anyone who turned that topic off is left out. People who have never changed their preferences get every topic.
- Someone who turns every topic off is unsubscribed.
- Nobody is emailed more often than they asked. If a campaign would reach someone too soon after their last email, they're left out of it. Drip emails normally wait until it's allowed.
- You can see a person's choices on their page, in the Subscriptions panel and the Frequency tile.
Coming back
Someone who unsubscribed and opens your preferences page again can click Subscribe again. We email them a link to confirm, and when they click it, all your topics are back on for them. An address that bounced or was reported as spam can't come back this way. Anyone who unsubscribed can also sign up again on one of your forms, where they'll be asked to confirm by email. You can resubscribe someone from their page with Resubscribe, but only when they've clearly asked to hear from you again. Emailing people who opted out breaks anti-spam law and gets your emails reported.
Bounces and complaints
Addresses that bounce, and people who mark your email as spam, are stopped for you. They stay on your list, marked Emails stopped, so you keep the record. See Bounces and spam complaints.