FAQs – List-unsubscribe header and list-help header (Inxmail Commerce)

You need to take action: Store a List-Unsubscribe header or a List-Help header as an additional unsubscribe alternative for all your mailings. This applies both to mailings that you create from scratch and send out. But also for mailings that you have already created and that you keep sending out based on events.

What do I have to do?

See also: Distinction: Transactional emails and promotional emails

How can I do that?

See Store list-unsubscribe header or list-help header (Inxmail Commerce) to find out where to store the list-unsubscribe header or list-help header in Inxmail Commerce.

Enter the List-Unsubscribe header or List-Help header in angle brackets. When implementing the List-Unsubscribe header, use the placeholders from your event configuration.

List-Unsubscribe header with example placeholders from the event configuration.

Copy 
<https://example.com/unsubscribe.html?optin=${Data.OptIn!}&userid=${Data.UserId!}>

Resolved List-Unsubscribe header in the technical header of the email as it will be received by your recipients:

Copy 
<https://example.com/unsubscribe.html?optin=123456789&userid=987654321>

We incorporate the mail header into the mailing as follows:

Copy 
List-Unsubscribe: <https://example.com/unsubscribe.html?optin=123456789&userid=987654321>
List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click

When your recipients click the unsubscribe button in the email client, the email client automatically sends a post request to your source system. Your source system must trigger an unsubscription by processing the following post request:

Copy 
POST /unsubscribe.html?optin=123456789&userid=987654321 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: 26
List-Unsubscribe=One-Click

Not all email clients can perform an unsubscription via HTTPS. Therefore, we recommend you to additionally add a mailto link, which your recipients can use to unsubscribe via email. This way you have the greatest possible unsubscription potential covered.

Add the mailto link comma-separated and in angle brackets after the HTTPS link:

Copy 
<https://example.com/unsubscribe.html?optin=${Data.OptIn!}&userid=${Data.UserId!}>, <mailto:listrequest@example.com?subject=unsubscribe>

Important: You as the sender must monitor this mailbox and then manually exclude the recipients in your source system from future mailings.

What is a List-Unsubscribe-Header and how is it structured?

You can find all information about the List-Unsubscribe-Header under: List-Unsubscribe header.

What is a List-Help-Header and how is it structured?

You can find all information on the List-Help-Header under: List-Help header.

How can I tell if I have a List-Help or List-Unsubscribe header?

If you have already stored a List-Help header or a List-Unsubscribe header, it is visible in the technical header of your e-mail. Here you can see an example of how to view the technical header in the e-mail program Outlook.

  1. Open an email that you have sent via Inxmail Commerce or Mail Relay from your inbox by double-clicking on it.

  2. Switch to the "File" tab.

  3. Open the "Properties".

  4. You can see the technical header in the "Internet headers" area.

  5. Select the text and copy it into a text file

  6. Search for the terms "list-unsubscribe" or "list-help".

    • List-Unsubscribe header:

      You have correctly stored the List-Unsubscribe header if:

      • the line List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click is also specified

      • the URL under List-Unsubscribe contains parameters by which the current recipient can be uniquely identified and immediately unsubscribed.

  7. Carry out these steps for all mailings that you send via Inxmail Commerce or via Mail Relay.

Can I put include both headers in one mailing?

A mailing can only contain one header. Either List-Unsubscribe header or List-Help header. Decide what type of mailing your mailing is and store one of the two headers.

Why do I have to store a List-Unsubscribe header or List-Help header?

In order to guarantee optimum deliverability for your emails at all times, Inxmail adheres to the strict guidelines of the CSA(https://certified-senders.org/de/). This includes the requirement that e-mail recipients must always have the option of quickly and conveniently unsubscribing from your e-mail list. The two unsubscription alternatives according to CSA guidelines are the List-Unsubscribe header for promotional mailings and the List-Help header for purely transactional mailings, see also: Distinction: Transactional emails and promotional emails.

If you do not provide either of these unsubscription alternatives, you may be classified as a suspicious sender and your emails may be marked as spam.

What are the benefits?

By setting up a List-Unsubscribe header or List-Help header, recipients who no longer wish to receive your emails can easily and conveniently unsubscribe from your mailing list.

Your benefits:

  • Each email sent will cost you money, so it's better to weed out recipients who don't want to receive your emails. This means, you'll only have high-quality contacts in your mailing list who actually want to receive your e-mails.

  • You will increase your reputation as a sender and the trust in your brand - with mailbox providers and recipients alike.

  • By making it as easy as possible to unsubscribe, you prevent recipients from marking your emails as spam in their inboxes.

  • It is a requirement that you store the List-Unsubscribe header for promotional emails and the List-Help header for transactional emails.

What will happen to my old mailings?

All the mailings that you have created in Inxmail Commerce to date will be given the mailing type “Transaction emails”.

If you have already stored a list-unsubscribe header, this information will not be lost, but will be transferred to the new “List-unsubscribe header” field, regardless of the mailing type.

The following also applies to all old mailings:

You can only dispatch your mailing (in compliance with legal regulations) if you enter one of the unsubscribe alternatives, depending on the mailing type:

  • Mailings with promotional content: List-Unsubscribe-Header

    Mandatory field: The list-unsubscribe header is a mandatory field for mailings with promotional content. You cannot change the mailing type to “Mailing with promotional content” without adding a list-unsubscribe header.

  • Transactional mails: List-Help-Header

Any questions?

Still have questions about customizing the List-Unsubscribe header or List-Help link? At the bottom of this page you will find more information.

Get in touch with your Inxmail contact person or , if you have any additional questions.

Related topics