Unsubscribe tags (or unsubscribe links) are a way to help you keep your email list clean, healthy, and up-to-date. It also helps you stay compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act and the GDPR policy.
What is an Unsubscribe Tag & What are the Benefits of Email Marketing Campaigns?
An unsubscribe tag is a way to determine when someone has opted out of your email list. The unsubscribe tag is usually placed at the bottom of each email campaign and it can be manually or automatically inserted into your emails.
The benefits of an unsubscribe tag are that it allows you to build a better relationship with customers by providing them with an easy way to opt out of future emails, while also staying compliant with the CAN-SPAM act which keeps you from getting fined for spamming people who have opted out of your campaign.
How to Insert an Unsubscribe Tag in Your Emails
Having unsubscribe tags in your emails is a way to allow subscribers to remove themselves from your email list. This is done by adding an unsubscribe link or button that will take the user to a page where they can cancel their subscription.
The unsubscribe tag should be included at the bottom of each email, and it should be easy for the user to find. If you are using a newsletter service, then the unsubscribe tag may be included as part of that service.
In order for this button/link to work properly, it needs to have an “unsubscribe” word or phrase in it so that when people search for this word or phrase on their email account, they will find this link and thus remove themselves from your list.
Best Practices for Designing and Using an Effective Unsubscribe Tag
When it comes to email marketing, unsubscribing from a list is a major issue. Some email marketing platforms have been trying to solve this problem by developing unsubscription tags that display at the bottom of the email.
The unsubscription tags are designed to help customers easily and quickly unsubscribe from an email list. The tags are also meant to improve customer experience by giving them more control over their inboxes. Moreover, direct unsubscribe tags help to maintain your sender’s reputation high and trustworthy.
Some platforms have been using this feature for years, while others are still in the beta testing phase. These features can be found in both free and paid versions of the software, but they do not work on all types of devices or operating systems.
Unsubscribe Tags List
Below you will find complete unsubscribe tags and HTML unsubscribe links for the most commonly-used platforms on the web.
SAAS
MailChimp unsubscribe tag
*|UNSUB|*HTML Code for Mailchimp unsubscribe link:
<a href="*|UNSUB|*">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Sendgrid unsubscribe tag
{{{unsubscribe}}}HTML Code for Sendgrid unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{{unsubscribe}}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>SendinBlue unsubscribe tag
{{{unsubscribe}}}HTML Code for Sendinblue unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{{unsubscribe}}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Unisender unsubscribe tag (Selzy)
{{UnsubscribeUrl}}HTML Code for Unisender (Selzy) unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{UnsubscribeUrl}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Mailer Lite unsubscribe tag
{$unsubscribe}HTML Code for Mailer Lite unsubscribe link:
<a href="{$unsubscribe}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Constant Contact unsubscribe tag (embedded)
${unsubscribe}HTML Code for Constant Contact unsubscribe link:
<a href="${unsubscribe}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>ConvertKit unsubscribe tag
{{ unsubscribe_url }}HTML Code for ConvertKit unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{ unsubscribe_url }}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>ActiveCampaign unsubscribe tag (embedded)
%UNSUBSCRIBELINK%HTML Code for ActiveCampaign unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{ unsubscribe_url }}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>GetResponse unsubscribe tag
{{LINK `unsubscribe`}}HTML Code for GetResponse unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{LINK `unsubscribe`}}pt=unsubscribe">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>MailGun unsubscribe tag
%unsubscribe_url% (for the entire domain) or %tag_unsubscribe_url% (for just emails with this tag, less usual to use this tag)HTML Code for Mailgun unsubscribe link:
<a href="%unsubscribe_url%">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>AWeber unsubscribe tag
{{ subscriber.unsubscribe_link }}HTML Code for AWeber unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{ subscriber.unsubscribe_link }}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Zoho unsubscribe tag
$[LI:UNSUBSCRIBE]$HTML Code for Zoho unsubscribe link:
<a href="$[LI:UNSUBSCRIBE]$ ">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Flodesk unsubscribe tag
{{ subscriber.unsubscribeUrl }}HTML Code for Flodesk unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{ subscriber.unsubscribeUrl }}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Mailjet unsubscribe tag
[[UNSUB_LINK_LOCALE]] or [[UNSUB_LINK_FR]] (for smtp relay)HTML Code for Mailjet unsubscribe link:
<a href="[[UNSUB_LINK_LOCALE]]">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Pradot unsubscribe tag (salesforce)
{{Unsubscribe}}HTML Code for Pradot unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{Unsubscribe}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Elasticemail unsubscribe tag
{unsubscribe}HTML Code for Elasticemail unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{Unsubscribe}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Ongage unsubscribe tag
{{unsubscribe}}HTML Code for Ongage unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{unsubscribe}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Pepipost unsubscribe tag
[UNSUB] or [UNSUBSCRIBEURL]HTML Code for Pepipost unsubscribe link:
<a href="[UNSUB]">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Newsman unsubscribe tag
##NEWSMAN:unsubscribe##HTML Code for Newsman unsubscribe link:
<a href="##NEWSMAN:unsubscribe##">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Sabarcane unsubscribe tag
{{unsubscribe}}HTML Code for Sarbacane unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{unsubscribe}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Mail250 unsubscribe tag
[UNSUBSCRIBEURL]HTML Code for Mail250 unsubscribe link:
<a href="[UNSUBSCRIBEURL]">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>OneSignal unsubscribe tag
[unsubscribe_url]HTML Code for OneSignal unsubscribe link:
<a href="[unsubscribe_url]">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>WoodPecker unsubscribe tag
{{UNSUBSCRIBE}} HTML Code for WoodPecker unsubscribe link:
<a href="{{UNSUBSCRIBE}}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Emarsys unsubscribe tag
Emarsys has an embedded unsubscribe tag system. But you can do the following:
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:list-unsubscribe-stage+2188885_1039207_1_96YmQy0K@emarsys.net>, <https://list-unsubscribe-stage.eservice.emarsys.com/api/unsubscribe/248345885_1456063207_1_96YmQy0K>
Dotmailer unsubscribe tag (dotdigital)
Dotdigital has an embedded unsubscribe tag system
SparkPost unsubscribe tag
Sparkpost has an embedded unsubscribe tag system
Hubspot unsubscribe tag (embedded, they don’t have)
Hubspot CRM has an embedded unsubscribe tag system
MailKitchen unsubscribe tag (embedded)
Mailkitchen has an embedded unsubscribe tag system
Bronto unsubscribe tag (Oracle NetSuite)
Bronto email platform closed down on May 31st, 2022
Self-Hosted
Mailwizz unsubscribe tag
[UNSUBSCRIBE_URL] (most commonly) OR [DIRECT_UNSUBSCRIBE_URL]HTML Code for Mailwizz unsubscribe link:
<a href="[UNSUBSCRIBE_URL]">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Mautic unsubscribe tag
{unsubscribe_url}HTML Code for Mautic unsubscribe link:
<a href="{unsubscribe_url}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Mumara unsubscribe tag
%%unsubscribelink%%HTML Code for Mumara unsubscribe link:
<a href="%%unsubscribelink%%">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Sendy unsubscribe tag
[unsubscribe]HTML Code for Sendy unsubscribe link:
<a href="[unsubscribe]">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>WordPress plugins
Mailpoet unsubscribe tag
'.$unsubscribeUrl.'HTML Code for Mailpoet unsubscribe link:
<a href="'.$unsubscribeUrl.'">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Shopify plugins
Klaviyo unsubscribe tag
{% unsubscribe %}HTML Code for Klaviyo unsubscribe link:
<a href="{% unsubscribe %}">Unsubscribe from this list.</a>Generate unsubscribe link in PHP
In PHP, things are more technical. In order to generate an unsubscribe link, the developer needs to create a script for this:
<?
$link = "unsubscribe.php?id=$user['id']&validation_hash=".md5($user['id'].$SECRET_STRING)
<a href="<?=$link?>">Unsubscribe</a>After that, you can proceed with script processing:
function unsubscribe() {
$expected = md5( $user['id'] . $SECRET_STRING );
if( $_GET['validation_hash'] != $expected )
throw new Exception("Validation failed.");
sql("UPDATE users SET wants_newsletter = FALSE WHERE id = " . escape($_GET['id']);
}Conclusion
Why Every Email Marketing Campaign Needs to Rely on an Effective Unsubscription Service
Email marketing campaigns have been around for decades, and in that time, they’ve become an essential part of any company’s marketing strategy.
Over the years, email marketing has evolved to account for new technologies and trends. In the past few years, we’ve seen a surge in email marketing campaigns that use automation to send out personalized messages to subscribers based on their behavior or preferences. The result is a more personal customer experience with less of a chance of coming across as spam.
However, email marketing is still at risk of being criticized as spam by recipients if it’s not done correctly. One way to avoid this is by using an effective unsubscription service that makes it easy for your customers to unsubscribe from your emails without having to search through your website or contact support.
