How does resubscribing users affect one-click unsubscribe reporting in Gmail?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains maintaining a clean and engaged email list is essential for deliverability. Resubscribing users who previously unsubscribed can affect engagement metrics if not managed properly, they recommend using a double opt-in process and monitoring open rates to avoid deliverability problems.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that resubscribing users requires explicit consent, they emphasizes the importance of a clear opt-in process and highlights the need to respect unsubscribe requests to maintain a healthy sender reputation and avoid spam complaints.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that resubscribing users must adhere to email marketing compliance laws. Underscoring that a clear opt-in process is essential to ensure that users actively want to resubscribe. They say to make it clear to them that they are choosing to be back on the list, and why.
Email marketer from Mailchimp shares that resubscribing users necessitates clear, affirmative consent. Mailchimp emphasizes adherence to anti-spam laws like GDPR and CAN-SPAM, mandating documented proof of re-opt-in before resuming email communication. They also highlight the importance of maintaining accurate records of unsubscribe and resubscribe events.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares Gmail's one-click unsubscribe requires senders to process unsubscribe requests. Emphasising the need for a smooth and immediate unsubscribe process and also a smooth resubscribe process.
Email marketer from Reddit responds that resubscribing users who have unsubscribed without proper consent can lead to spam complaints and deliverability issues. They advise against resubscribing users unless they have explicitly re-opted in.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that resubscribing users who previously unsubscribed requires explicit consent and proper list management to avoid deliverability issues and spam complaints. He emphasizes the importance of honoring unsubscribe requests and only resubscribing users who have re-opted in through a clear and documented process.
Email marketer from HubSpot shares that resubscribing users requires a clear re-permission process. They highlight the importance of obtaining explicit consent to comply with regulations and maintain a positive sender reputation. Underscoring that transparency and respect are key to maintaining a healthy relationship with subscribers.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that resubscribing users who have unsubscribed can negatively impact sender reputation if not handled carefully. Suggests to ensure a double opt-in process for resubscribes and monitoring engagement metrics closely to identify any deliverability issues.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks states Google cannot track subscription requests, other than by recipient behaviour in response to future mail. They can’t tell whether a previously unsubscribed user resubscribed or not, but they can tell whether they’re happy about it.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that if a former subscriber indicates they want to subscribe again, start sending them email. Mentions he can't imagine Gmail is tracking who unsubscribed and trying to bust you for sending email in the future - that would be too much data to sift through. Suggests that if you find a lot of unsubscribes/resubscribes and it seems to be causing problems, claim a technical difficulty prevents it and require them to provide a new email address.
Expert from Email Geeks explains if a user signs up for mail again intentionally, it's okay to proceed. However, refrain from doing so if they merely make a purchase, interact with you, or inadvertently leave a pre-checked "opt-in" box checked on a form. Informed, explicit consent is crucial. Also that on a mechanical level spam complaints are more monitored than unsubscribes. Sending mail after opting out tends to cause complaints.
Expert from Spamresource shares if users resubscribe then mark email as spam then this is a bad look for the sender. To ensure users dont mark as spam, ensure you have explicit consent when resubscribing users and also include a preference center, to let users define what they want to receive, if they resubscribe.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that resubscribing users who have previously unsubscribed should only occur with explicit and verifiable consent. She emphasizes that poor list hygiene, including mishandling unsubscribe and resubscribe requests, can severely damage sender reputation and negatively impact deliverability to Gmail and other ISPs. They also suggest actively pruning unengaged users and using confirmed opt-in for all new subscriptions, especially resubscriptions.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google Support explains that Gmail's one-click unsubscribe feature allows users to easily opt-out of email lists. Senders must process these requests promptly. While the documentation doesn't explicitly address resubscribing, it implies that any future subscriptions should be treated as entirely new and require explicit consent.
Documentation from GDPR explains that consent is needed for data collection and processing. It highlights that users must give explicit and informed consent before being added to a mailing list, particularly after they have unsubscribed. Consent needs to be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous.
Documentation from RFC 2369 explains standardized email headers for automated mail processing, including list-unsubscribe. Underscoring that these headers enable one-click unsubscribe functionality and that this must be adhered to.
Documentation from CAN-SPAM Act explains compliance for unsubscribe requests, mandating honoring opt-out requests promptly. While not directly addressing resubscribing, it underscores that any renewed communication must align with consent guidelines. It mandates that once a user unsubscribes you should never email them again, unless they resubscribe.