Your Unsubscribe Handling is Probably Lame

The vast majority of permission-based e-mail marketers miss huge opportunities in the way they handle opt-out requests, according to a new study.

While 96% of e-mail marketers include an unsubscribe function in their promotional e-mails as required by federal law, almost two thirds said they use methods to discourage opt outs, such as putting unsubscribe language in tiny type or hiding it, according to a survey of more than 400 e-mail marketers by marketing services provider Lyris.