How does unsubscribing from my emails work?
Every marketing campaign sent through Bernard includes a visible unsubscribe link and the matching one-click signal used by email apps that offer an Unsubscribe button. Both routes record the same decision for the site that sent the message.
The prompt
“Explain how unsubscribing works for [my site or campaign], including which future messages stop and what the person must do if they want to hear from me again.”
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Two controls, not one
On a site that records opens and clicks, the reader’s preferences page carries two separate switches: whether they hear from you at all, and whether you may see which of your emails they open. They are independent, and each has its own record. Unsubscribing naturally ends the recording too, because there is nothing left to record, but turning the recording off does not unsubscribe anybody. On a site that does not record opens and clicks the second switch is not shown. How do people agree to opens and clicks being recorded? covers that side, and Who can see that I opened this email? is the version written for your reader.
What changes after the click
The person stays in Contacts, along with legitimate history such as purchases or course access. They are removed from future marketing audiences for that site. The next eligible count reflects the block automatically.
Practical messages are separate. An order receipt, access email or other message needed to provide something the person asked for is not a marketing campaign. Bernard keeps those purposes distinct rather than treating unsubscribe as deletion.
The boundary is one site
An unsubscribe from one business does not change another business’s list. It is tied to the exact site, recipient and sending record. The link continues to work even when older campaign content is later cleaned up, because Bernard keeps the minimum record needed to honour the decision.
It cannot be quietly reversed
The business owner cannot lift an unsubscribe, and Bernard will refuse a request to do so. The old link cannot turn itself into a resubscribe button either. If the person wants to hear from you again, they must use a fresh signup or consent route and give a new recorded yes.
Seeing who has left, and blocking someone yourself
Every unsubscribe appears on your do-not-email list under Your customers, then Email campaigns, with its date and, where Bernard knows it, the campaign the person was reading. The same place lets you block an address yourself, and undo only the blocks you made. Who is on my do-not-email list, and why? walks through the four reasons an address ends up there and which of them you can change.
That fresh permission is evaluated in the same way as any other. See When do I need someone’s permission to email them? for the difference between a purchase and marketing permission, and Who will receive my email campaign? for how suppressions affect a live audience count. The unsubscribe link appears in the exact saved preview described in Preview and test my email campaign before I send it, before you approve the audience send.
Questions people ask
- Does every campaign have an unsubscribe link?
- Yes. Bernard adds the working unsubscribe route to every marketing campaign. It is part of the final rendered message, so you see it before approving the send.
- Does unsubscribing delete the contact?
- No. It blocks future marketing for that site but keeps the contact and legitimate records such as purchases. Practical messages needed for an order or account can still be sent when appropriate.
- Can I put someone back after they unsubscribe?
- You cannot remove their unsubscribe yourself or ask Bernard to lift it. They must give fresh permission through a real signup or consent route. An old unsubscribe link cannot resubscribe them.
- Is there anything else on that page?
- Yes, on a site that records opens and clicks. The same preferences page carries a second, separate switch reading Let this business see which emails I open. The two are independent: turning one off does not touch the other, and neither needs anyone’s approval to take effect. On a site that does not record opens and clicks the switch is not shown at all.
- Does it affect another business using Bernard?
- No. The block belongs to the exact site that sent the email. Each business has its own audience and permission record. Any later campaign still needs your approval.