After seeing this unsubscribe confirmation email from CB2 over on Smith-Harmon, I have to say I was alarmed. While not illegal, what message are you sending? To me, it says “Even though you unsubscribed, I’m not going to respect that you have asked to stop hearing from me to get one last sales message in”. Just let them go, CB2!
By sending this confirmation, CB2 is setting themselves up for complaints. Below, I go through the elements of the unsubscribe process from start to finish to show what’s most effective so that you can ensure complaints don’t happen to you.
A) Unsubscribe placement in email
There are plenty of options around where to place the unsubscribe: In the footer, in the preheader, directly beneath the header, or in the main body of the message. How questionable your list or content is will likely determine where the unsubscribe should go in the message. The more questionable, the higher the unsubscribe should reside. Testing placement will also help you find the best place for it to live.
Bottom line: Make it easy for people to find the unsubscribe or they will complain.
B) Unsubscribe language in email
Following are two examples of marketers that have made it very clear how to opt-out of their email communications:
1)
2) 
There is no question on how to unsubscribe from communications from these marketers. You don’t want to make the mistake of not including an unsubscribe link or option, as seen in this example from Alibris. While it may not have been done intentionally, CAN-SPAM requires that every marketing email contain a clear unsubscribe. You also don’t want to place the unsubscribe in an image or bury the unsubscribe in legalese and gray it out. Both are confusing and ineffective.
Bottom line: Make it easy for people to unsubscribe or they will complain.
C) Unsubscribe landing page
First and foremost, you want to make sure that the unsubscribe link in your email goes to a proper landing page where it’s easy for people to perform one click to unsubscribe. However, this landing page is also the perfect opportunity to open communication and determine why the subscriber is unsubscribing like Petco does, or to try to look for ways to keep the subscriber engaged by providing opportunities to opt-down on frequency, like Chefs.com does. You can also provide alternative channels for subscribers to interact with your brand like social sites or blogs, for instance. Supplying alternatives will also help to combat the top two reasons people unsubscribe: lack of relevancy and frequency.
Loren McDonald shared a presentation on why the unsubscribe doesn’t necessarily have to mean goodbye with tips and tricks for how to keep subscribers engaged, which you can find here.
Bottom line: Provide options for subscribers and you will potentially keep them engaged.
Remember, subscribers unsubscribing does not necessarily mean they no longer want to hear from you (just that they don’t through email at this time) and it certainly doesn’t mean they’ll stop shopping your brand. Just let them go! The spam button is prominent in most email clients. Don’t give people a reason to use it.
Kelly Lorenz
Email Marketing Strategist at Bronto
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Wow. Some companies just don’t get customer service and outreach. If you have to opt out and unsubscribe from something…you’ve done your due diligence. This kind of outreach is just going to turn the customer off forever.
Stuart,
Thanks for your comment! I completely agree - make the unsubscribe process pleasant and you have the potential to gain the subscriber back at a later date. Make it difficult and that’s the end.
Thanks again,
Kelly @ Bronto