How can I avoid the unsubscribe link on Gmail when sending email campaigns?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Litmus explains that providing easy unsubscribe options reduces spam complaints and protects your sender reputation. They recommend prominently displaying the unsubscribe link in your emails.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that regularly cleaning your email list and removing inactive subscribers is essential for improving deliverability and avoiding spam traps. They highlight the importance of giving subscribers a clear and easy way to unsubscribe.
Email marketer from Reddit user explains that actively managing subscriber lists and honoring unsubscribe requests, are vital to avoiding spam filters and maintaining a good sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum states that unsubscribes are a healthy part of email marketing. It helps you maintain a responsive audience.
Marketer from Email Geeks states it's better for users to unsubscribe than mark as spam and that no reputable ESP will turn off the list unsubscribe header, even for their biggest customer.
Email marketer from OptinMonster explains how to re-engage subscribers who may be losing interest, this should improve email marketing.
Email marketer from Reddit user explains that trying to hide the unsubscribe link is a bad idea and violates best practices. It's better to respect subscriber preferences and maintain a clean list.
Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that managing unsubscribes is crucial for maintaining a healthy email list and a good sender reputation. They advise to make it easy for people to unsubscribe and honor unsubscribe requests promptly.
Email marketer from Gmass explains that a good sender reputation improves email marketing. Sender reputation is about list hygiene and clear unsubscribe options.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that people will find a way to stop receiving emails they don't want, either by unsubscribing or marking as spam, and marking as spam is much worse for the mailing program.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that list-unsubscribe headers are automatically added to emails by major email providers. Attempting to remove them is not a viable strategy.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that focusing on delivering valuable content to engaged subscribers will decrease unsubscribe rates. They advise to segment your list to deliver targeted content.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that using List-Unsubscribe headers is critical to responsible email sending practices and avoiding spam filters.
Expert from Email Geeks says that the Gmail unsubscribe link is a badge of honor and an indirect deliverability booster because if someone wants off the list and doesn't see the link, they're more likely to report as spam.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that providing easy, one-click unsubscribe options improves sender reputation and protects against spam complaints.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests the customer should embrace the unsubscribe button as a learning opportunity and focus on the quality and relevance of their email content.
Expert from Email Geeks answers to not use a List-Unsubscribe header to hide the unsubscribe link, but advises to not do that for all the reasons everyone else has said.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Google Support explains that including a one-click unsubscribe option in your email headers is required for bulk senders. They also explain that failure to comply can result in deliverability issues and being marked as spam.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that having clear unsubscribe instructions in your emails is critical for avoiding being marked as spam. They require senders to provide a functioning unsubscribe mechanism.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that list-unsubscribe header specifies the address to which a message should be sent if the recipient wishes to be removed from the mailing list.