How to Handle Unsubscribes
Don’t take it personally when someone requests to no longer receive your newsletter. This request to unsubscribe is not a rejection of your company. It may not even be a rejection of your e-mail. And there could be dozens of reasons why, many of which have nothing to do with what you send. People simply grow tired of a topic or no longer fit your target audience.
For example, the parent of a child who has “left the nest” may no longer need your newsletter on raising children, or an executive who has been transferred from New York City to Miami may no longer wish to receive your weekly newsletter on “Things to Do in Manhattan.” Whatever the reason, this is a make-or-break moment for the relationship because these are still potential customers, depending, of course, on how you handle the requests.
Unsubscribe Management Best Practices
Make it instant: Your unsubscribe process should be instantaneous and 100% successful. No exceptions. What’s more, the request to unsubscribe must always be processed immediately. Delays, even of as little as two days, are never acceptable in the eyes of users, although delays of up to ten days are permissible under CAN-SPAM. If you send a second mailing to someone who already unsubscribed because you haven’t processed the request yet, you’ve just acted like a spammer and lost all of your hard-earned credibility.
Make it clear and easy: The only acceptable method of handling unsubscribe requests is “click to unsubscribe” or the equivalent. Don’t require passwords, account numbers or logs-ins to unsubscribe; you don’t need that information to remove them from your list, so don’t ask them for it. And don’t obscure the links to your unsubscribe page. You’re only making these folks jump through unnecessary hoops that will cause them irritation. If they want off the list, let them off the list. It doesn’t help your response and success metrics to “paid” your lists with folks who are not interested. They will simply delete your e-mails unread, put your company on their personal block or, worse yet, complain to their ISP, which may block your future mailing to all of its customers.
Make it company wide: If a subscriber no longer wishes to receive e-mail from your company, make sure the unsubscribe e-mail address is removed from every list in every department throughout your company (if your company has multiple e-mail lists). This is not only good policy, it’s the law. The federal CAN-SPAM legislation requires that senders maintain a company wide “Do-Not-E-mail” list. If someone wants off, take them off immediately.
Use multiple, convenient unsubscribe methods: In addition to a link to an unsubscribe page, allow subscribers to unsubscribe by email. This is especially important for those who receive your e-mail newsletter on hand-helds or read it offline, for example, on an airplane. These folks can’t immediately go to a Web page, but they can create an unsubscribe e-mail request to be sent when they sync up or get online again. And don’t forget the obvious telephone or snail mail methods. When using these methods, be sure that the receptionist and the mailroom now what to do with these requests. Not only are these practices necessary to ensure that your unsubscribe process is as convenient and thorough as possible, but you’ll need them to be compliant with the federal CAN-SPAM legislation.
Show a confirmation page: It’s important to confirm a reader’s removal from the list as requested. You can do this most efficiently by creating a goodbye page. In addition to putting the requester at ease, you can use this page in a positive manner, by letting users know that the request has been received, that you’re sorry to see them go and that perhaps they’ll find one of your other newsletters more useful. Perhaps you can entice them to stay with another option, such as receiving the same newsletter less frequently, which may be able to re-capture some recipients. Also, remind them that they are welcome to come back any time.
Send an e-mail confirmation; There are two schools of thought on this practice. While some believe if someone asks not to get e-mail you shouldn’t send another e-mail, others feel that an e-mail confirmation provides greater satisfaction. Consider your audience and the level of trust they have in you. If you do send a confirmation, we recommend that it be sent immediately and be very straightforward content-wise. Of course, unsubscribe requests that are received by e-mail should be confirmed by e-mail That e-mail might contain the same information as the goodbye page.
Include a privacy policy link and fall-back instructions: As on the subscribe page, it is important to have a link to your privacy policy on the unsubscribe page. Also include an e-mail address and a phone number where you can be contacted if there is a problem, question or comment. Better to have someone call you directly than to be reported as a spammer.
Back up the addresses of unsubscribers: Because one mistake can destroy a relationship forever, make sure your unsubscribe system has a backup data flow. Send a duplicate copy of each unsubscribe to a separate e-mail box or database where it can be retrieved if the main system goes down. If you use an e-mail service provider to send your mail, be sure you know all about their backup procedures, and consider asking them to send a real-time feed to your servers as an additional safeguard. In addition, CAN-SPAM requires that you maintain a list of addresses that have been unsubscribed, as well as those who have subscribed.
Matt Blumberg and Michael Mayor are the driving forces behind Return Path, an e-mail performance company. Collaborating with them on this project are their colleagues, e-mail strategists Stephanie A. Miller and Tami Monahan Forman. This article was excerpted from their new book, “Sign Me Up! A Marketer’s Guide to Creating E-mail Newsletters That Build Relationships and Boost Sales (iUniverse Inc., 2005) © 2005 Return Path, Inc. All rights reserved.
