Just complete these 46 fields to unsubscribe

As a webmaster who is involved in sending marketing emails to customers, it is rightly believed that we should make it as easy as possible for recipients to unsubscribe from our maillist. Not only is it in the interests of the recipient who will get a much better impression of your website/company if you do, but as an email sender it also helps you keep a good quality maillist full of people who actually want to read and response to your mailouts, and helps you stay off blacklists.

“Click here to unsubscribe”

It wasn’t that long ago that an unsubscribe request involved replying to the email, normally with the term ‘unsubscribe’ in the title, and from the address the email was sent to (often easier said than done if you had an email forwarding or catch all email account). Maillists are now generally very easy to remove yourself from. Most emails have a ‘click here to unsubscribe’ link at the bottom, and with a simple click of the mouse, you’re unsubscribed. Email recipient happy, company happy.

The worst unsubscribe page ever!

Imagine my absolute amazement though when I came across an unsubscribe page that required me to complete not one, not five but forty-six form fields in order to leave.

Diageo Unsubscribe Page

Diageo, owners of some of the biggest drinks brands in the world have obviously designed their unsubscribe form to obstruct people, and stop them leaving. And it nearly worked, but I was so incensed that I forced myself to complete the thing. The worst thing though is that my impression of the brands involved has gone downhill, so much so, that I am going to boycott buying them from now on.

Well, maybe not Guinness, or Gordons, and probably not Pimms, Baileys or Bells, but definitely Archers. Although with ice…

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What Does a Webmaster Do?

October 10, 2007