3 Email Footer Tips to Boost Delivery and Lower Opt-Out Rates

Email continues to be a workhorse for many subscription & membership sites. That said, in an age of increased compliance issues and design changes

Email continues to be a workhorse for many subscription & membership sites. That said, in an age of increased compliance issues and design changes that impact deliverability (think Gmail tabs), we wanted to show you some smart ways others are managing their email opt-out and white-list “Footer” communications. Below are three real-life examples from subscription sites.

Example #1: SKIFT

Skift has always been smart at testing and being at the forefront of many publishing issues. Here is a footer message to their Gmail users with instructions to move the email from the “promotions” tab to the primary tab in Gmail to improve response.

Example #2: MEQUODA GROUP

Mequoda Group treats their email footer like a micro-site. This is one of the more comprehensive footed we have seen. Mequode Group’s email footer comes complete with links at the top for quick navigation, detailed copy to educate the person opting out why they should NOT click the spam button, social links to spread the word, and even a premium offer for forwarding to a friend.

Example #3: STANDARD ESP FOOTERS

There is nothing wrong with using elements of standard ‘out-of-the-box’ options from email service providers like Constant Contact. In this example, we grabbed a footer from the “Future M” conference, but we have seen this footer a LOT in our inbox from numerous publishers, subscription and membership sites who use Constant Contact. While the design is not “slick”, it gets the job done. The fact that this footer has the brand and opt-out from a known email service provider helps the receiver of the email feel more comfortable about safely unsubscribing. It is common for email recipients to hit the “spam” complaint link vs. unsubscribing. They do this because a) out of habit, b) they do not recognize the brand or company emailing them of c) they just don’t trust that the unsubscribe process isn’t a fishing scam. What ever the reason, the more you can build trust so they properly unsubscribe, the better your email deliverability and regulation scores will be.