Which emails should an unsubscribe stop? A suppression rulebook for your app
After my transactional email checklist , a reader left a comment I keep thinking about. They had to decide what happens when they reply to someone's support message, and that person has switched all email off. Their answer: the reply still goes out, because the person wrote first. A bounced address still stops it. That's the right call, and it points at something most apps get wrong. They keep…
When deciding which emails an unsubscribe should stop, it's important to recognize that an unsubscribe, a bounce, and a spam complaint are not treated the same way. Each signal provides different information about the recipient's preferences and the best course of action for sending future emails.
Marketing emails, such as newsletters, launches, and promotions, should be stopped for recipients who click the unsubscribe link. Transactional emails, like password resets, receipts, and verification codes, are triggered by the user's actions and should not be affected by an unsubscribe. Conversational emails, such as replies to messages sent by the recipient, are initiated by the user and should also not be impacted by an unsubscribe.
Hard bounces, which occur when the recipient's email address is invalid, should result in the immediate suppression of all emails to that address. Repeated soft bounces, indicating a temporary issue with the recipient's inbox, should also lead to suppression. Spam complaints are the strongest signal that a recipient does not want to receive emails from you, and should result in the immediate cessation of all emails, including transactional ones.
It's crucial to recheck suppression rules just before sending an email, as bounces or complaints can occur between the time an address is queued and when it's actually sent. Transactional emails should not be transformed into marketing content by adding promotional material, as they should remain focused on the user's original request. By following these rules and storing the reason for each suppression, apps can effectively manage email lists and maintain a positive relationship with their users.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.