Providing opt-out link for a publication e-blast

[Cathleen_LaFon2]

When purchasing an e-blast rental through a third party partner, what is the typical process for providing your company's opt-out link? Since we are not the ones deploying the email, do we need to provide our own opt-out? If the subscriber wants to opt-out, shouldn't they just opt-out from the publication?

Typically, we have provided it in the past if a publication requests it, but open to hearing more ideas on why or why not it is necessary.

[SanfordWhiteman]

It's required -- even in the US, which has very loose spam laws -- that you include an unsubscribe link.

You can't legally send this email without one. Surprised it would even be a question.

Of course it could link to their site (if you honor the opt-out as well, i.e. you do not send until you re-sync with them) but "they didn't give me an unsubscribe link" isn't a defense.

[Cathleen_LaFon1]

Well, yes, but why wouldn't the publications opt-out link suffice? The publication has their own unsubscribe option, if we're using their database, why do we need to provide ours in addition to theirs?

[SanfordWhiteman]

Do you honor their opt-out automatically? Will you not send to these people again before you've re-merged their list? (And they may simply omit opt-outs on the next list export, which isn't enough b/c you need to find and flip existing leads to opt-out on your side.)

[Grégoire_Miche2]

It all depends on how the emails appears to be branded. If it's branded as being your company sending it, you must have a way to honor the unsubscribes in both your system and in the publication's system, so that none of you will send an email branded from you to these unsubscribes in the future.

If the email appears to be branded by the publication referring to some of your content then they should track and honor unsubscribes. Whether it's automatic or not is just a question of how easy it will be to manage it.

Remember you can add unsubscribed to you Marketo instance without increasing your database and your cost. read this: Feeding the Durable Unsubscribe List without increasing the database

-Greg