Do I need to include an unsubscribe link? How does it work?

Last updated about 8 years ago

Tl;dr: kinda, but not really 

To comply with CAN-SPAM requirements for cold outbound email, you need to give your recipients a way of opting-out from your outreach. This means, if they don’t want to be emailed they have the right to say so and then not be emailed. 

Email marketers often address this requirement by including an unsubscribe link. 

How does the unsubscribe link work with LeadFuze?


You can include an unsubscribe link in your LeadFuze emails. The unsubscribe tag is included in the Sequences editor. The benefit of the unsubscribe link is it allows prospects to automatically remove themselves from your list. Easy for them, easy for you. When a recipient clicks the link, their status updates to unsubscribed. When a potential prospect unsubscribes, they are automatically removed from the sequence.
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Are there alternatives to using the unsubscribe link?


We're glad you asked! An alternative to using the unsubscribe link would be to include messaging in your campaign that lets your recipients know how they can opt-out. Usually this is a quick note like this: 

P.S. If you aren’t the right person to contact about this, please let me know. If you’d rather I not follow-up, you can let me know that too!

This message lets recipients know that they can opt-out of your outreach list by replying and asking to be removed. An opt-out strategy like this is compliant with CAN-SPAM, but it makes the exchange more personal. Plus, you don’t have to use the word ‘unsubscribe’ in your email (some organizations have filters for this!). 

How do I honor opt-outs in LeadFuze if I don't include the unsubscribe link?


A disadvantage of not including an unsubscribe link is that you lose automatic tracking when prospects remove themselves. . Now when prospects reply to let you know they want to opt-out, you will need to go into LeadFuze and manually edit their status from Emailed or Responded to Unsubscribed.

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When a prospect replies they will be automatically removed from a sequence, so you can rest easy knowing your replies for opt-outs won't get another message. However, you’ll still want to honor your opt-outs by editing their status and keeping a record of their requests. This way your data is clean. If you ever wanted to email prospects from that list again, you could segment them accordingly and you'll be more organized for better reporting. 

Want to learn more?


Read more about CAN-SPAM & how to follow the rules here. 

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