What keywords can I use to filter reply messages for unsubscribe requests?

Summary

To effectively filter reply messages for unsubscribe requests, a multifaceted approach is needed. It involves identifying direct keywords like 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' and 'opt-out,' along with their variations, misspellings, and translations in different languages. Equally important is recognizing indirect cues through phrases expressing disinterest, complaints, or negative sentiment. Employing negative keywords can prevent unintended unsubscribes of auto-replies. Understanding audience language and adapting filters dynamically is crucial. Monitoring for new keywords, sentiment analysis, and contextual analysis are vital for an adaptive and accurate system.

Key findings

  • Direct & Explicit Keywords: Core terms such as 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' 'opt-out,' and 'stop' form the foundation for filtering unsubscribe requests.
  • Variations and Misspellings: Accounting for common misspellings, typos, and variations significantly improves accuracy in identifying requests.
  • Indirect Language & Sentiment: Monitoring for phrases expressing disinterest, complaints, and negative sentiment helps capture indirect unsubscribe signals.
  • Multilingual Support: Identifying and filtering for unsubscribe keywords in relevant languages ensures broad coverage for diverse audiences.
  • Negative Keywords Implementation: Using negative keywords, like 'vacation' or 'out of office', helps avoid unsubscribing automatic replies.

Key considerations

  • Audience Language & Slang: Understanding the audience's language, including slang and colloquial terms, is crucial for effective filtering.
  • Dynamic Adaptation & Monitoring: A continuous monitoring and adaptation system is required to account for new language, phrases, and changes in communication styles.
  • Contextual Understanding: Assessing the context surrounding keywords and phrases is crucial to avoid misinterpreting intent and accidentally unsubscribing users.
  • Sentiment Analysis Integration: Integrating sentiment analysis can aid in identifying subtle cues that are not explicitly unsubscribe requests but suggest dissatisfaction.
  • Regular Expression Utilization: Employing regular expressions allows for capturing a broader range of variations and potential misspellings of keywords.

What email marketers say
11Marketer opinions

Filtering reply messages for unsubscribe requests involves identifying a comprehensive list of keywords. This includes explicit terms like 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' 'opt-out,' and 'stop,' along with variations, misspellings, and translations in different languages. Additionally, it's beneficial to monitor replies for implied keywords, negative sentiment indicators, and common phrases that indicate a desire to unsubscribe. Experts recommend considering negative keywords (e.g., 'vacation,' 'out of office') and continuously adapting the keyword list based on user feedback and language.

Key opinions

  • Core Keywords: The foundation consists of keywords such as 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' 'opt-out,' and 'stop'.
  • Variations & Misspellings: Include common misspellings, typos, and variations of the core keywords to capture more requests.
  • Implied Keywords: Monitor for phrases indicating a desire to unsubscribe, even without using direct terms (e.g., 'stop sending me emails').
  • Multilingual Support: Identify and use unsubscribe-related keywords in languages relevant to your audience.
  • Negative Keywords: Implement negative keywords like 'vacation' or 'out of office' to avoid unsubscribing auto-replies.

Key considerations

  • Audience Language: Understand your audience's language and adapt your keyword list accordingly, including slang and colloquial terms.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor replies for new keywords, phrases, and patterns to refine your filters.
  • Sentiment Analysis: Consider using sentiment analysis to identify and process indirect requests and negative feedback.
  • Context: Assess the context of replies to avoid misinterpreting requests and accidentally unsubscribing users.
  • Regular Expressions: Utilize regular expressions to capture a broad range of variations and potential misspellings.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus Blog highlights the importance of understanding your audience's language and using a flexible system that can adapt to new or changing unsubscribe requests, including slang and colloquial terms.

May 2023 - Litmus Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOctopus Blog advises including keywords such as 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' 'opt-out,' 'stop emails,' and 'no more emails.' They also suggest considering common phrases like 'I want to unsubscribe.'

October 2022 - EmailOctopus Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit suggests including terms like 'unsubscribe', 'opt out', 'remove', 'stop', and common misspellings/typos of those terms. Also suggested to add swear words.

July 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from DigitalMarketer Blog suggests using a combination of explicit keywords like 'unsubscribe' and implied keywords such as 'stop sending me emails', as well as monitoring for negative sentiment indicators.

November 2021 - DigitalMarketer Blog
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests looking for common spelling errors or autocorrects in replies to add to the keyword list for unsubscribe requests.

June 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit advises using negative keywords in addition to positive ones, like 'vacation' or 'out of office' so only real requests are unsubscribed.

August 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog recommends using a comprehensive list of keywords like 'unsubscribe,' 'opt out,' 'remove me,' 'cancel subscription,' and 'end my emails.' They also suggest monitoring replies for new keywords and phrases.

September 2022 - HubSpot Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow shares a comprehensive list including 'unsubscribe', 'remove', 'opt-out', 'stop', 'no longer want emails', and translations in other languages like 'désabonner' (French) and 'abmelden' (German).

August 2023 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares a list of keywords for filtering unsubscribe requests, including terms like 'annoying', 'block', 'cancel', 'delete', 'no consent', 'opt-out', 'spam', 'stop', 'unauthorised', 'unsolicited', and 'unwanted'.

July 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora recommends identifying keywords in different languages if you have a global audience, such as 'unsubscribe', 'abmelden', 'darse de baja', and '取消订阅'.

March 2023 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog suggests including keywords such as 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' 'opt-out,' and 'stop' in your filters. Additionally, consider variations of these words and common misspellings.

September 2021 - Neil Patel Blog

What the experts say
2Expert opinions

Filtering email replies for unsubscribe requests requires monitoring for both direct and indirect cues. Experts recommend using explicit terms like 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' and 'opt out.' Additionally, it's vital to identify less direct phrases, such as expressions of disinterest, complaints about email frequency, emotionally charged language indicating dissatisfaction, and overall negative sentiment, which indirectly signal a user's desire to be removed from the mailing list.

Key opinions

  • Direct Keywords: Include explicit keywords like 'unsubscribe', 'remove', and 'opt-out' as the foundation for your filters.
  • Indirect Phrases: Identify and track phrases that indirectly indicate a desire to unsubscribe, such as expressions of disinterest or complaints.
  • Emotional Indicators: Monitor for emotionally charged language or negative sentiment, as these can also signal a user's desire to unsubscribe.

Key considerations

  • Broad Monitoring: Implement a broad monitoring approach that captures both direct requests and subtle cues indicating a desire to unsubscribe.
  • Contextual Analysis: Consider the context of the reply to accurately interpret the user's intent and avoid misinterpreting requests.
  • Adaptive System: Create a flexible system that can adapt to new or changing phrases and sentiment indicators as user language evolves.
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource recommends monitoring replies for a broad range of terms, including direct requests like 'unsubscribe', 'remove', and 'opt out', as well as less direct phrases such as 'stop sending me emails' or even emotionally charged words indicating dissatisfaction.

November 2022 - SpamResource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that in addition to direct keywords like 'unsubscribe' or 'opt-out', it's important to identify and track phrases that may indirectly indicate a user's desire to be removed from the mailing list. This includes phrases expressing disinterest, complaints about frequency, or simply negative sentiment towards your emails.

June 2021 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Email deliverability documentation emphasizes the importance of filtering email replies for unsubscribe requests using keywords such as 'unsubscribe', 'remove', and 'opt-out.' Additionally, identifying less direct phrases like 'I don't want to receive these emails anymore' is crucial. Monitoring for misspellings and variations of these keywords, and using regular expressions to capture a broader range of expressions, is also recommended.

Key findings

  • Primary Keywords: Core keywords for filtering include 'unsubscribe', 'remove', and 'opt-out'.
  • Indirect Phrases: Monitor for less direct phrases indicating a desire to unsubscribe, such as 'I don't want to receive these emails anymore'.
  • Misspellings and Variations: It's essential to monitor for misspellings and variations of the primary keywords.
  • Regex Usage: Utilize regular expressions to capture a broad range of expressions and variations related to unsubscribing.

Key considerations

  • Comprehensive List: Ensure a comprehensive list of keywords and phrases is maintained and updated regularly.
  • Client/Server Rules: Implement filtering rules within email clients or servers to automatically identify unsubscribe requests.
  • Flexibility: Develop a flexible system that adapts to new expressions and evolving language used in unsubscribe requests.
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft suggests using keywords such as unsubscribe, remove, opt-out and variations of these words to identify unsubscribe requests, especially when configuring rules within email clients or servers.

August 2022 - Microsoft Support
Technical article

Documentation from Twilio SendGrid Documentation indicates implementing filters that capture 'unsubscribe,' 'opt out,' 'remove me from the list,' and similar phrases. The documentation also recommends using regular expressions to capture variations.

January 2025 - Twilio SendGrid Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from Sendinblue Documentation advises creating rules that look for 'unsubscribe,' 'remove,' 'opt-out,' 'stop,' and similar keywords. They also recommend monitoring for misspellings and variations.

June 2024 - Sendinblue Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from Mailjet Documentation suggests filtering for words like 'unsubscribe', 'remove', 'opt-out' in reply emails, alongside less direct phrases like 'I don't want to receive these emails anymore'.

November 2023 - Mailjet Documentation