Unsubscribe link: Why you need it for marketing & how to set one up

Surprisingly, the success of your email marketing campaigns depends heavily on your unsubscribe link. Hard to believe? Keep reading to find out why. 

• What is an unsubscribe link?
• Why you definitely need an unsubscribe link
• Email unsubscribe links and the law
• How to add an unsubscribe link to an email?
• Make your newsletter compliant with the law

Why do you need an unsubscribe link?

👉 Find out useful feedback: If you’re sending a confirmation email to customers who have unsubscribed from your mailing list, you can take advantage of this to learn more about their reasons for unsubscribing. 

👉 Don’t be labeled as spam: By having an unsubscribe link in your emails, you increase the likelihood that they will land in the inbox rather than the spam folder. This is also true since consumers will likely mark your email as spam if they do not want to receive your newsletters and cannot find an unsubscribe link when searching for one.

Email unsubscribe links and the law

Due to the requirement of an unsubscribe link under anti-spam legislations, each nation has its own laws.

🇪🇺 🇬🇧 If the GDPR applies to you, you must give users the right to withdraw their consent, or you’ll be in violation of the law. 

So under consent rights, the user has to: 

• Opt in with freely given informed consent, and
• have the ability to withdraw consent in a manner equally easy as it was to grant consent

🇺🇸 The US’s CAN SPAN Act: According to this Act, which is strictly enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, you are required to provide a very easy option for subscribers to unsubscribe from your commercial messages: Inform recipients of how to stop receiving your emails in the future.

How to add an unsubscribe link to an email?

Adding an unsubscribe link to your email is an important aspect of email marketing compliance and customer satisfaction. Here are the steps to add an unsubscribe link to your email:

• Choose the right email service provider: Most email marketing platforms, like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Campaign Monitor, have built-in unsubscribe functionality that you can easily add to your emails.
• Create an unsubscribe link: Once you have selected an email marketing platform, you can create an unsubscribe link by adding a merge tag or personalization tag to your email content. The merge tag is usually something like [unsubscribe], [opt-out], or [manage preferences], which will automatically generate an unsubscribe link in your email.
• Place the unsubscribe link in the email: You can place the unsubscribe link at the bottom of your email in a prominent location, such as the footer. This will ensure that subscribers can easily find and click the link to opt-out of future emails.
• Test the unsubscribe link: Before sending the email, it is important to test the unsubscribe link to ensure that it works properly. Click on the link yourself and make sure that it takes you to a confirmation page or a page where you can manage your email preferences.

By following these simple steps, you can easily add an unsubscribe link to your email and ensure that your subscribers have the option to opt-out of your emails, which can help improve your email marketing compliance and customer satisfaction.

Make your newsletter compliant with the law

It is usually a good idea to approach your data processing activities with the tightest available requirements in mind when it comes to compliance. Compliance requires you to at least implement the following in relation to the newsletter process:

✅ Step 1: Inform your users of the data you collect, why, and the method of delivery (If you’re using direct email marking, make sure to include this in your privacy policy)
✅ Step 2: Inform your users of all third-party providers involved in your newsletter management process, including links to their privacy documents and their rights in regard to their data (including the right to withdraw consent).
✅ Step 3: Keep valid records of the consent collected. Without these records, the consent you collect is considered invalid.

Easily get started with the iubenda privacy policy generator!

1. First, click add a service and start typing the name of the service you’d like to add; then
2. fill out your web/app owner and contact details; finally
3. embed on a location that is easily accessible and visible to users.

Once you’re finished with the privacy documents, don’t forget to set up your consent records to keep track of users who have given consent and those that have opted out.