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Saying goodbye to subscribers is hard, but sometimes it's for the best.
And if a subscriber wants to leave the company, the process needs to be as simple as possible. While you should still have an unsubscribe option in your emails, there is another tool for email marketers and subscribers: List-Unsubscribe.
Let's explain what unsubscribing from a list is, why it actually benefits everyone, and how to use it.
What is List Unsubscribe?
While marketers are used to placing unsubscribe messages in emails themselves, List-Unsubscribe is a native unsubscribe option offered by popular inbox service providers (ISPs) that offers subscribers a consistent and easy way to unsubscribe from your future messages.
Clicking the ISP-provided “unsubscribe” link in the inbox or email will remove subscribers from a mailing list or redirect them to an unsubscribe landing page with a single click.
What does the list unsubscribe look like in the inbox?
The unsubscribe list appears as a link or button at the top of an email, usually next to the sender's name and email address. Some inbox service providers, such as Gmail, also use a hover-effect unsubscribe button in the inbox.
Gmail's List-Unsubscribe list contains text with hyperlinks.
Gmail users can also unsubscribe from emails without opening the message.
iOS Mail uses a more prominent button for the unsubscribe list option.
Is list unsubscribe the same as automatic unsubscribe?
Since 2018, Gmail has suggested when to unsubscribe from newsletters that users don't interact with. These automatic unsubscribe suggestions are not the same as unsubscribing from lists.
Gmail asks subscribers if they want to unsubscribe from newsletters that they haven't opened in a while. Image via Gmail.
Do I have to use List-Unsubscribe?
List-unsubscribe was previously an optional email header on inbox providers such as iOS Mail, Gmail and Outlook.com. Now Gmail and Yahoo have new email deliverability rules for bulk senders and Mandatory unsubscription from the list is one of them.
Email senders must include List Subscribe headers in their messages and accommodate unsubscribes within two days.
List unsubscribe benefits for marketers and subscribers
Email marketing is a channel of relationship building and trust, and easy unsubscribe is a cornerstone of it. Here's why unsubscribing from a list is actually a good thing for everyone involved.
Marketers get better deliverability, better engagement, and better brand value
50% of consumers have marked an email as spam because they couldn’t easily figure out how to unsubscribe – yikes.
List-unsubscribe is a hedge against frustrated spam clicks, but it's not the only option for marketers:
- Minimize your spam complaint rate
- Follow Gmail and Yahoo sender requirements for deliverability
- Optimize engagement and performance by only sending to interested subscribers
- Potentially reduce email marketing costs by regularly cleaning up list sizes
- End subscriber relationships on a positive note
Subscribers get a better experience
The average subscriber may not know the mechanics of unsubscribing from lists, but they help him:
- Easily control your subscriptions
- Curate their inbox to get more visibility for the content they are interested in
- Trust that marketers and brands aren’t trying to trap them
How to use List-Unsubscribe
Unsubscribing from lists used to be optional, but now it's a new requirement for Gmail and Yahoo Mail – here's how to use it.
Is unsubscribing from the list automatic?
No, unsubscribing from the list is not automatic. An email client can provide a native unsubscribe option from lists only if it finds unsubscribe instructions in the header of the email. (Unsubscribe links from lists do not automatically appear in every promotional email.)
There are two types of instructions a sender can provide to an inbox provider to enable unsubscription from the list: a mailto link or an unsubscribe URL.
An email to unsubscribe
When a recipient triggers the list unsubscribe in a client that supports unsubscribes via the Mailto link, an email is automatically generated informing the sender that an email address has unsubscribed. The unsubscribe header is set up with the email address to which the unsubscribe requests are sent.
A logout URL
A link that takes the subscriber to a landing page where they can process the unsubscribe request. In most cases, this is a subscription center or some other type of landing page that asks the user to confirm unsubscribe. Brands can also choose to offer one-click list unsubscribe, which does not require additional confirmation on a landing page, according to RFC 8058.
The email header shown below contains both:
Which email clients support list unsubscribe?
Support for unsubscribing from lists varies depending on the email client. While some email clients honor Mailto or URL-based List-Unsubscribe headers (or both), others do not support List-Unsubscribe at all.
The following email clients support list unsubscribe:
While the list may seem short, it covers the most popular email clients by Litmus email client market share. The majority of consumers could benefit from hassle-free unsubscribe using the unsubscribe list feature – if the email senders have it set up.
How do I set up list unsubscription?
Adding unsubscribe information to the headers of your emails is done through your email service provider (ESP). If you're seeing issues with your List-Unsubscribe header or want to add it to your emails, start with your ESP.
Some add an automatic unsubscribe list to all emails sent through their services. Others may require list unsubscribe to be enabled manually or turned on and off for specific campaigns.
For example, Marketo does not include list-unsubscribe in test emails. To see it in your inbox, you need to send yourself a live email.
If your ESP does not recognize unsubscribe from lists in test emails, this may also impact the results you see in the email testing process. (Test emails would be marked as not being list-unsubscribed, even though this is actually the case.)
How do I set up list unsubscribe for my campaigns?
Litmus Spam Testing can help you verify your unsubscribe email list setup with just one click. It tells you whether your email has a List-Unsubscribe header set up, shows whether you're set up to support both the Mailto and URL versions of List-Unsubscribe, and flags any issues which are discovered in your List-Unsubscribe header.
You can also retrieve your email's header information manually, but this works slightly differently for each inbox provider. For example, in Gmail, you can view the header of your email using the drop-down menu to the right of the sender details.
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Once you've viewed the email header, look for the list-unsubscribe section and see if you can find a mailto link, an unsubscribe URL, or both.
Remember: list-unsubscribe is not a replacement for your unsubscribe messages
List-Unsubscribe makes it easy for subscribers to stop receiving email messages they no longer want to receive – and it helps email marketers maintain a current and healthy subscriber list.
However, remember that this is not a replacement for unsubscribe messages and links in your email. Think of it as another way to give subscribers a positive email experience with your brand.
Does your email contain a List-Unsubscribe header?
Litmus Spam Testing checks whether your email address is set up to unsubscribe from lists – and gives you actionable advice if it isn't.
Steph Knapp
Steph Knapp is a freelance content writer for SaaS and B2B companies
Create your very own Auto Publish News/Blog Site and Earn Passive Income in Just 4 Easy Steps
