Unsubscribe links in email templates
When a user wants to stop receiving emails from a company, they start looking for the «Unsubscribe» button in the email. There are situations where companies intentionally hide the link, but this is not recommended for at least two reasons:
- Mail services require the presence of an unsubscribe link in the email. If the link is missing, the email may be sent to spam or blocked.
- If the user does not see the unsubscribe button, they may mark the email as spam themselves. A high percentage of spam complaints can lower the sender's reputation.
Therefore, we recommend adding an unsubscribe button to every email. The platform provides several unsubscribe links:
- Unsubscribe link
- Global unsubscribe link
- User unsubscribe page link
In this article, we will explain each of them.
Unsubscribe link
This is the simplest way to unsubscribe. When the email recipient clicks on this link, they are taken to the Altcraft unsubscribe system page.
Default unsubscribe page
Upon clicking, the subscriber will go through our tracking system, and their subscription status for the resource will automatically change to «Unsubscribed». Note that only the subscription status for the channel within the resource from which you sent the campaign will change. Subsequent campaigns from the same resource will no longer send messages to this profile.
To use this mechanism, create an email template and add a link with the variable {unsubscribe} in the footer:
<a href="{unsubscribe}" title="Unsubscribe">Unsubscribe from mailing list</a>
The same can be done through the link builder. Open the builder using the button on the toolbar, select the link type «Unsubscribe Link», then change the text and click OK.
Global unsubscribe link
The principle of operation is almost the same as the unsubscribe link: the user clicks the link, lands on the unsubscribe system page, and their status changes to «Unsubscribed». However, in this case, it is not the profile's subscription status to the resource that changes, but their global status.
After this, the platform will completely stop communication with this profile. You can read more about the difference between subscription status and global status in this article.
You can add a global unsubscribe link manually or through the link builder:
Here, a different variable is written in the href attribute — {globalunsubscribe}.
<a href="{globalunsubscribe}" title="Unsubscribe">Unsubscribe</a>
Custom unsubscribe page link
The unsubscribe link and the global unsubscribe link direct the user to the Altcraft system unsubscribe page. However, if you have your own unsubscribe page on your website and want to direct users there, you should consider using custom links.
To create such a link, go to the «Settings» → «Custom Links» section and click «Create». Name the link, select the type «Unsubscribe Link», and enter the URL of your unsubscribe page:
After you create the link, you need to select it in the message template under the «Extra Settings» block. With this setup, when the recipient clicks on the unsubscribe link — {unsubscribe} or {globalunsubscribe} — they will be directed to the custom link. Their status will change to «Unsubscribed».
In this same block, you can attach a stop list to the template. Email addresses included in such a list will not receive emails created based on this template. Additionally, you can direct all unsubscribed users to this stop list.
Custom unsubscribe links are often used to redirect users to a subscription management page. However, remember that when users click on such a link, their profile status will change to «Unsubscribed» regardless. If the subscriber decides to continue communication, you will need to resubscribe them.
Conclusion
An unsubscribe link is mandatory in any email. You can't accidentally forget it because the platform won't allow you to save the template without this link. By the way, if you've added the link to the email but the platform still «complains», check the text version. The unsubscribe link might be missing there.