Configuring email in Rock involves more than just sending messages; it's about about balancing access to your people's inbox while maintaining a positive sender reputation. Why? Because when your emails are unsubscribed from, it can harm your reputation and impact whether your messages reach their intended recipients.

Consider this: even if someone signed up for your emails, they might still report them as spam if they can't easily find the unsubscribe option. Or worse, they might start to unsubscribe but then resort to marking your emails as spam if the process isn't straightforward. That's why it's crucial to make unsubscribing as effortless as possible.

This is especially true for Gmail accounts. Gmail specifies that everyone must “make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe” and “if you send more than 5,000 messages per day, your marketing and subscribed messages must support one-click unsubscribe.” Gmail also indicates that if your unsubscribe method involves sending an email, the request to unsubscribe must be processed within two days. Why all the focus on Gmail? Well, with over 1.5 billion active accounts, it’s probably used by many in your target audience, so we want to ensure we're sticking to their guidelines.

We also look to Gmail's rules because they will help cover you from a legal perspective. Gmail policies are more stringent than the US CAN-SPAM Act, which also has requirements related to unsubscribing. Adherence to the CAN-SPAM Act is crucial. Otherwise you expose your organization to potential legal action and hefty fines from the FTC.

Now, let's talk about how Rock can help you comply with these requirements. We've designed features to streamline the unsubscribing process. For more details on these settings, see the Communication Mediums section above.

1. Bulk Email Threshold - Automatically categorizes emails as bulk if the recipient list exceeds this threshold, ensuring unsubscribe links. This hides the bulk option for new communications.
2. Request Unsubscribe Email - Generates an email for unsubscribing, which must be processed within two days. If Enable One-Click Unsubscribe is set to “Yes” (which we recommend) this email address should never be used.
3. Enable One-Click Unsubscribe - Our recommended default setting of “Yes” is in line with Gmail's requirements.
4. Unsubscribe URL - Provides an alternative to one-click unsubscribing, directing recipients to a specified URL.

With the above configuration in place, your emails will have an “Unsubscribe” option as pictured below.

1. Header Unsubscribe - Supports one-click unsubscribe functionality, though it’s not universally supported by all email clients.
2. Unsubscribe Link - Directs recipients to the Rock Unsubscribe page on the external site. Some clients support one-click unsubscribe functionality, though it’s not universally supported by all email clients.

Set Subscription Preferences

The Email Preferences page is the single place to go to manage Communication Preferences and List Subscriptions.

When someone clicks an unsubscribe link, they’re taken to this page, which uses the Communication Preference block. This block lets recipients choose cherry pick which communications they want to receive and which to stop.

It can operate in two modes:

• Communication Preferences Mode - A page where people can navigate to update their email preferences.
• Unsubscribe Mode - Accessed through an email link when someone chooses to unsubscribe.

Communication Preferences Mode

All changes to Email Preferences are logged in the Person History section of the Person Profile.

For more control over what actions can be taken from the Email Preference block, head to the block settings.

You can also change the text in each section of the Communication Preferences block using the Customize Text tab. This helps you match your brand voice, personalize the experience, or explain what action was taken. Lava is supported for all text fields.

If you leave any text box blank, that text will not appear in the Communication Preferences block.

Next, let’s look at the other side of this block.

Unsubscribe Mode

If the Email Preferences block is accessed from an unsubscribe link, it will look a little different.

Unsubscribe Mode is typically reached from an Unsubscribe link in an email. It includes a header showing which list or flow the user unsubscribed from.

There are different levels of unsubscription. For example, if someone unsubscribes from a personal email, their Email Preference changes from All Email to Personal Email. If it’s already set to Personal Email, unsubscribing changes it to No Email. This approach respects each person’s choice while taking the smallest unsubscribe step possible.

There’s always a balance between organizations sending important updates and recipients wanting fewer irrelevant messages. The unsubscribe process helps reduce unwanted emails while avoiding a full disconnect between your organization and its people.

Most recipients secretly still want those key updates even after unsubscribing, but prefer control over what they receive. Giving them the option to resubscribe or unsubscribe from specific lists creates a better experience and keeps your communication relevant.

The Available Communication Channels section appears when someone unsubscribes from at least one channel. It lets them resubscribe or view other available channels they’re not currently subscribed to.

The following page displays when Deactivate is selected as an Opt-Out Option in Unsubscribe mode.