Ensuring that your email recipients have a clear and easy way to unsubscribe is not only a best practice but also essential for maintaining trust and improving engagement with your audience. Lead Hero allows you to create custom unsubscribe links, providing a seamless experience for your contacts and maintaining your compliance with email regulations.

What Are Custom Unsubscribe Links?

Custom unsubscribe links are personalized opt-out links embedded in marketing emails, allowing recipients to unsubscribe from future communications in a way that aligns with your brand. Unlike default unsubscribe links, which often redirect users to a generic confirmation page, custom unsubscribe links give you full control over the user experience.

Key Benefits of Custom Unsubscribe Links

Enhance User Experience: Direct users to a branded landing page that confirms their opt-out decision.
Provide Subscription Preferences: Allow users the option to opt out of specific types of emails instead of all communications.
Maintain Compliance: Ensure compliance with email marketing regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act and GDPR.
Improve Deliverability: Reduce spam complaints by offering a clear and easy way for recipients to unsubscribe.

Note: Custom unsubscribe links in Lead Hero use trigger links and workflows to automatically mark contacts as "Do Not Disturb" (DND), preventing them from receiving further emails.

Creating Custom Unsubscribe Links

Follow these steps to set up a custom unsubscribe link in Lead Hero:

Step 1: Create an Unsubscribe Landing Page

Design a landing page that confirms the unsubscribe action. This page should inform users that they have successfully unsubscribed and if desired, offer options to manage their subscription preferences.

Navigate to Sites and then Funnels from your Lead Hero sub.
Click on + New Funnel and name it Email Unsubscribe.
Within this funnel, add a new step named "Email Unsubscribe Page" with a path like /unsubscribe.

Design the page content to reflect the unsubscribe confirmation message. We have added a demo page below for your reference. Check out our Funnel Styling guide (*needs to be updated) for more information.

Step 2: Set Up a Trigger Link

A trigger link in Lead Hero allows you to perform specific actions when a contact clicks on a particular link. In this case, clicking the unsubscribe link will update their preferences.

Go to Marketing then Trigger Links from your Lead Hero sub-account.
Select Links from the dropdown and click on the Add Link button.
Add the name of the link.
Paste the URL of the unsubscribe landing page you created earlier into the Link URL field.
Click on Save.

Step 3: Create a Workflow to Manage Unsubscribes

Set up a workflow that automatically updates the contact's status when they click the unsubscribe link.

Navigate to Automation from your Lead Hero sub-account and select Workflows.
Click on + Create Workflow and select + Start from Scratch.
Name the workflow.

Set Up the Trigger

Click on Add New Trigger and select Trigger Link Clicked from events.
1. Add the Workflow Trigger Name.
2. Click on Add Filter and select Trigger Link from the drop-down.
3. Select your previously saved Email Unsubscribe Trigger link from the drop-down.
4. Click on Save Trigger button.

Add the DND Action

Click on the + button to add an Action.
Select Enable/Disable DND action.
Select Enable DND for Specific Channels and Email from the Channels drop-down.
Save and Publish the workflow.

Step 4: Insert the Unsubscribe Link into Your Emails

In your email template editor, add text like Unsubscribe or Unsubscribe from this list.
Highlight this text and click the link icon.
Click on Trigger Links from the Link URL dropdown and select the saved Unsubscribe Link.
Save the template.