Create workaround for unsubscribe failure for those using tracking blockers

[Anonymous]

We have a very tech-savvy lead database, and many of our leads use tracking and ad blockers like Ghostery and Disconnect. Marketo's unsubscribe option is therefore unable to load for these leads, leading them to send us angry, aggressive, and even profanity-laden emails regarding our "unethical email practices".

Although we have a workaround by adding a disclaimer, it would be nice if people could unsubscribe without having to email us.

* I am posting this on the advice of Marketo support

update: perhaps something like including a non-javascript default unsubscribe option (on the advice of Sandy below)

[SanfordWhiteman]

If they can't reach your unsubscribe page and form even though both are running off your CNAME (not a Marketo-owned domain), and you've turned off tracking (mktNoTrack) on your links, what kind of workaround are you envisioning?  At a certain point they could just check to see that you're posting to a Marketo-owned IP range.  Fun as it is to try to ethically deal with ad/privacy blockers, past a certain point, it's a losing battle.

[SanfordWhiteman]

BTW there's also the List-Unsubscribe header in every email, which if they're tech-savvy they could look for.

[Anonymous]

We've gone back and forth with Marketo on this, and they recommended it be suggested as an idea.

Most people do just block/report us as spam or use the unsubscribe options Gmail and other mail clients provide. A portion of leads are simply annoyed that it isn't as easy as just clicking on a link we provide, and in theory the unsubscribe process should be that simple.

We do have tracking active for all our other links in the emails, but we have disabled it for the unsubscribe.

Anyways, just posting here as recommended  by Marketo support. They suggested there might have been something else going on.

[Kenny_Elkington]

Are you not using a Marketo landing page as your unsubscribe page?  The noscript version of the form from a direct-embedded form should work just fine regardless of whatever script-blocker a user may be using.

[SanfordWhiteman]

Hi,

...annoyed that it isn't as easy as just clicking on a link we provide, and in theory the unsubscribe process should be that simple.

It is that simple, but if their plug-in won't let them even open http://unsubscribe.amywang.com because it's on a Marketo-owned IP address and/or because it is CNAMEd to a Marketo-owned domain (you did say "Marketo's unsubscribe option is unable to load for those leads," which suggests that the LP with the form will not even load for them, let alone post) how could Marketo work around that from their end?

If that's what's really happening -- links to your LP domain won't load, even with the class="mktNoTrack" so the branding domain is never used -- the only practical workarounds are to [1] host the unsubscribe page on http://www.amywang.com or [2] host your http://unsubscribe.amywang.com LP domain via a CDN (so the browser would not be directly connecting to Marketo-owned assets).

We do have tracking active for all our other links in the emails, but we have disabled it for the unsubscribe.

Can you send me a sample email to sandy@figureone.com that has the tracking off?

[Anonymous]

Sure, I'll send you a sample now.

We're just going off information given to us by people who have asked to be unsubscribed. Marketo support has deduced that this is the primary issue.

I believe we are using the default Marketo unsubscribe landing page, hosted at info.h2o.ai (our own domain).