The default Mailchimp footer contains ambiguous messaging that drives readers to unsubscribe from the entire audience when they actually intended to unsubscribe from just one specific newsletter.
As you can see in the screenshot, the message says “unsubscribe from this list,” but that link actually unsubscribes users from the entire Mailchimp audience.
When a reader clicks this link, they not only unsubscribe from all newsletters but are also placed into what Mailchimp calls a “compliance state.” While in this state, readers cannot resubscribe to newsletters through normal means. They can’t be resubscribed directly via API requests from the website to Mailchimp. Instead, they must be manually re-added to Mailchimp, after which they’ll receive a confirmation email to verify their intent to resubscribe.
This creates significant trouble: not only does your site lose subscribers, but there’s also a big overhead involved in winning those subscribers back.
Newspack solution
That’s why we have a recommended Footer for Mailchimp, which includes all the required links but with improved messaging to reduce confusion for readers and avoid unintentional unsubscribes. This is what it looks like:
Also, if you have Audience Management enabled, the footer will link users to manage their preferences on your site, and not in Mailchimp’s preferences page, keeping readers in a friendly environment.
How to activate it
Go to the Newsletters Settings page and enable the “Automatic append recommended Mailchimp footer to layouts” option.
Once you do that, the footer will be automatically appended when you create a new Newsletter.