Promotional Emails (Unsubscribe Link)

In compliance with federal regulations, you must include an unsubscribe link on any promotional/commercial emails sent via Lawmatics. Learn more about FTC regulations here.

This is not to be confused with emails that are transactional in nature, which do not require an unsubscribe link. Transactional emails are directly related to a specific individual, and contain relevant and pertinent information to their matter and/or their professional relationship with your firm.

It is important to note that you are not required to allow your contacts to opt out of these transactional emails, so even if someone has opted out of your promotional emails, they can still receive your transactional emails.

Transactional emails can still be templated and automated. Some examples of transactional emails that you might create a template for are as follows:

• Appointment confirmation and reminders
• Post-appointment follow up
• Sharing forms and documents
• Requesting files
• Check-ins & alerts relating to their matter

All of those emails can be automated using Lawmatics, and they do not require an unsubscribe link.

On the other hand, emails that do require an unsubscribe option are as follows:

• Newsletters
• Long term nurture/drip
• Current firm promotions
• Other miscellaneous advertising/solicitations

Again, these emails can also be automated with Lawmatics, but you will need to include an unsubscribe option for your contacts to be able to opt out of these types of emails.

Either plain text or HTML emails can be made promotional, this option does not apply only to one or the other. Learn more about when to use a plain text vs HTML email for your various email templates.

To add the unsubscribe option to an email, you will need to turn on the Promotional Email toggle for that particular email. Begin by going to the Emails page, found under the Assets tab. You will then click on the email name or the edit pencil icon to edit that email. Then, in the top right corner you will see a toggle labelled Promotional Email.

The example above displays a sample promotional plain text email. Below you will see a sample of an HTML email.

Once you turn on the Promotional Email toggle, you will not see the Unsubscribe link added to the email editor. But when the email is sent, this link will automatically be included at the very bottom of the email, as shown below. Your firm name will be replaced with our sample firm name, Lawmaticon, below.

Note that if you send your self a test email, you will not see the unsubscribe button. This button will only be there when the email is sent not using our test email function.

Once the recipient clicks on the unsubscribe link, they will be taken to a page shown below. They will click the toggle, as we have done in the image below, and then they will see a confirmation message pop up that they are unsubscribed.

When someone unsubscribes, the system will automatically prevent them from receiving any future promotional emails. You do not need to filter them out of any audience lists. Remember, they still could receive your transactional (non-promotional) emails.

For that reason, it is essential that you are marking your promotional emails appropriately using the promotional email toggle, since if you don't, people who have unsubscribed could be viable to receive that email.

When someone unsubscribes, they will automatically be tagged in your system via the Unsubscribed? field, that comes built-in to your CRM. This field will automatically turn to True when they unsubscribe.

You can easily use the Unsubscribed? field, shown above, to filter a report of contacts who have unsubscribed, or even to trigger an automation alerting you when someone has unsubscribed.

You can also manually unsubscribe someone, if needed. For example, even though you have included the unsubscribe link on an email, you may still receive a reply from someone asking to unsubscribe from time to time. If this happens, you can simply go into their contact details page, shown above, click the edit button in the bottom right, and manually turn the Unsubscribed? field to true.

FAQ's

Can I see a list of everyone who has unsubscribed?

Yes, simply create a report of contacts and add a filter for if Unsubscribed? is equal to True.

Does unsubscribing remove someone from being able to receive text messages as well?

No, unsubscribing from text messages is a separate function. If they have unsubscribed from promotional emails they could still receive your text messages. To unsubscribe from text messages, they simply need to reply STOP in the text thread. They can also reply START at any time to resume text messaging with your firm after they have unsubscribed.

What happens if I forget to mark a promotional email accordingly?

First of all, you would not be in compliance with FTC regulations. Second, sending that email will result in anyone who has previously unsubscribed receiving the email, which could be damaging to your relationship with that individual. For that reason, it is important to make sure you are marking promotional emails accordingly.