When Paul Simon wrote his ode to breaking up “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” back in 1975, he had no idea the song's sentiments would apply to e-mail newsletters some 28 years later. But with no standards in place, end users have a hard time figuring out how to unsubscribe from unwanted e-mail. And many wonder if they should try in the first place. After all, they know too well that if you try to unsubscribe it only serves to validate that an e-mail address exists and is active.
I recently conducted an informal study on unsubscribe methods and was surprised to find just how many different ways there are to get off an e-mail list. Send an e-mail, click on this, log in, click on that. With so many variations, it's no wonder marketers are seeing declining open and clickthrough rates.
For the study, I attempted to subscribe to 100 direct marketing company's e-newsletters, waited for an e-mail and then promptly unsubscribed.
The most significant finding was just how many unsubscribe methods are out there, and how many variations there were in each category (see chart, page 28). The No. 1 method was providing a link in the e-mail for the subscriber to click on (always at the bottom) that accesses a profile screen where the subscriber can choose to update his or her profile or unsubscribe.
The shining star out of the 100 newsletters in this study was Palm Computing (www.palm.com). The experience was smooth, consistent, and it worked. To unsubscribe you click on a link in the e-mail, which takes you to your subscription page where you can modify your information or opt out all at once from any or all of the newsletters you signed up for. They have even linked their “Please do not send me e-mail messages” button with Javascript to automatically uncheck all the newsletters you have signed up for. Once you click submit, it takes you to a confirmation page which then has an optional customer service survey that can be filled out.
While most e-mail service providers have a set way of handling unsubscribes, a good number allow custom unsubscribe methods. Here are some best practices that, if followed, will ensure a happy experience for your subscribers in what is an otherwise mundane process.
Make sure the process works
Before launching an e-mail program, ensure that the system works from start to finish. Pay particular attention to how the unsubscribe language is placed in your e-mails. Don't mask the unsubscribe links, as your message may arrive broken — which means the user won't be able to click on the links. Offer both masked and unmasked links so the user can always unsubscribe if need be. In the study, an HTML e-mail from CameraWorld.com had broken links and I couldn't unsubscribe.
Give the subscriber options
Everyone likes choice. Provide multiple ways to unsubscribe, such as by snail mail, phone, e-mail or going back to the Web site. Have at least two different options — many ISPs, such as AOL, require this. At the same time, also give a user the opportunity to change his or her profile. There are many reasons for unsubscribing and a user may just want to receive your newsletter in a different format or at a different address. Unless you provide options, you may force that person to leave your list.
Offer multi-unsubscribe capabilities
We all know how easy it is to get on multiple lists, but getting off them is often a bear. If you send out several e-newsletters, allow users to unsubscribe or change their subscription to any or all of them at the same time.
Don't make the process too cumbersome
One of the companies in our study, Classmates.com, seemingly doesn't allow you to unsubscribe. I clicked on the link in their e-mail, had to log on to their site, stumbled around for what seemed like forever and finally gave up because I couldn't figure out how to get off their list. Make the process smooth and intuitive. Putting more than two steps in the process makes it take too long, allows for error and frustration, and is counterproductive. Centralize all of the “modify profile” and/or unsubscribe options on one screen.
Avoid input
There's no reason why a subscriber should have to input data to unsubscribe. Technology has existed for quite some time that allows necessary information to be passed along to automatically fill in the e-mail address or other information in any subsequent modify profile or unsubscribe form.
Beware the Catch-22
There's a problem when your primary unsubscribe method is to send an e-mail back to a specific address. This process takes many forms, as you might be required to write “unsubscribe” or “remove” in the subject line or body of the e-mail, or it may suffice to just send an e-mail and have the system know that all e-mails going to this address mean “unsubscribe.”
The problem lies in inactive e-mail accounts. If the unsubscribe process requires you to send an e-mail, it has to come from the account you want to unsubscribe from. If that address is old and is being forwarded to you from an inactive account, it basically prohibits the user from unsubscribing. This affects everyone, from business users to consumers.
The Catch-22 is while this shouldn't be your primary unsubscribe method, it needs to be one of them, even if it isn't published as such. Anyone in this business knows that with every outbound e-mail campaign comes inbound responses. A good percentage of these will be unsubscribe requests (in their many forms): “Thanks, but no thanks,” “Get me off your @%*! list,” etc. If you do not allow this avenue of communication, it will only serve to frustrate users and lead to tarnished relationships.
Confirmation, please
While it may seem counterintuitive to send an e-mail to someone who just unsubscribed, it will serve to confirm an important action by the user. In fact, you should also display a confirmation page once the user clicks on the unsubscribe button on your site (if that is how the person unsubscribed). Either location is a great opportunity to place an optional survey asking why they're leaving. Also, don't forget to make the subject line of the unsubscribe confirmation e-mail appropriate to the message.
Set expectations — and keep them
When a user unsubscribes from your e-mail, he or she often expects not to receive any more newsletters from you instantly. While this is technically feasible (even if you use an outside e-mail service provider), not all companies accomplish this. Enter the legal team, and this becomes a sticky issue fast.
During this study, I found that a lot (10% to 15%) of the companies had rather long time frames (four to six weeks or more) in place for when you could expect to be taken off the list. While this may be prudent from a legal standpoint, it will undoubtedly frustrate users if they continue to receive more than one additional newsletter from you from the time they unsubscribed.
People may forget how they got on your list, but they have pretty good memories of trying to get off it. Allow no more than one or two more newsletters to reach these people after they unsubscribe. As part of this study, I subscribed and unsubscribed from American Greetings. Within 24 hours of unsubscribing and receiving a unsubscribe confirmation e-mail, I got seven more messages. While one can assume this was done in error, it's not a good response by any means.
Watch out for technical glitches
What happens if your site is down or your e-mail service provider's unsubscribe pages are not working? I tried unsubscribing from a National Geographic newsletter and got a notice from Topica, National Geographic's service provider, stating they were having technical difficulties and to either try back later or use the alternate communications means listed to report the problem. Hey, things happen, but it was nice to be informed and to have other options. I did try to unsubscribe the next day and did so without incident.
Keep your branding elements intact
Many e-mail systems seemingly force you into their way of unsubscribing users. The legacy off-the-shelf list servers from L-Soft and Lyris often spit out computer jargon for registration and unsubscribe confirmations. Unless properly configured, the subscriber may not even know what the message is for, let alone miss a great opportunity to hear from you on your brand, call to action, etc. Make sure every step of communicating with your subscribers is handled by your marketing department, not a developer.
Geoff Smith is vice president of online services for ClickAction, a division of Donnelley Marketing and InfoUSA Inc.
