INDY does not currently have a global unsubscribe link (i.e. a link that unsubscribes from all lists) and does not support the one in Customer.io. All unsubscribe links in Customer.io must be set up to redirect the user to a specific list. This means that a marketing email can only be sent to one marketing list* at a time (e.g. Newsletter OR Promotions list).
*Theaters with multiple cinemas should be aware that marketing lists are specific to individual cinemas. For example, the Showtimes list for Cinema 1 is not the same as the Showtimes list as Cinema 2. Each list has its own unique ID, which is used within an unsubscribe link. See our Marketing Lists article for more information about this.
The benefit of having an unsubscribe link which points to a specific list means that when a user clicks on the unsubscribe link, they remain opted into other lists.
Creating and Managing Email Footers
Email footers are where the unsubscribe and manage preferences links are stored. When onboarding a theater for Customer.io, INDY will set up the following footers…
Transactional Footer
No unsubscribe links required - this should be used at the bottom of any transactional emails
Broadcast Footer
This footer can only be used for API-triggered broadcasts
Marketing List Footer
We can also set-up at least one footer which allows users to opt out of a specific marketing list (e.g. Promotions or Newsletter)* which can be used for marketing emails that are not API-triggered broadcasts
*If we are aware of which marketing lists a theater plans to use for emails, INDY can assist with the set up of email footers. You can let us know by creating a support ticket (or continue reading this article to learn how to do this yourself).
Any footer INDY sets up will be saved as a row under the footers category. You can access saved rows when in Customer.io’s email content editor and selecting the “Rows” tab. You can also save rows yourself by hovering over a row and clicking the save icon. The image below shows how to access saved footers from the content editor.
Theaters setting up their own footer
For theaters planning to set up their own footer, we recommend creating a new content row within Customer.io and including the following information:
Cinema logo
Make this black and white, as well as smaller than the logo in the header
Cinema name
{{ customer.site.name }}
Company name
Theaters who operate as part of a chain may also include the name of the managing company (e.g. Example Cinemas)
Address
{{ customer.site.address }}
Email
{{ customer.site.email }}
Link to website
{{ customer.site.hostname }}
Social media icons
Customer.io has a block for this called Social
Unsubscribe message*
For theaters familiar with liquid code, the curly brackets contain the information needed to call those values automatically.
*Here is a sample unsubscribe message (underline signals where links should go):
You received this because you are signed up to receive [MARKETING LIST NAME] email. You can unsubscribe from this list or you can manage your notifications.
Once a footer has been set up, we recommend saving this row so you can easily add it to future emails which retarget this marketing list.
Structuring an unsubscribe link
An unsubscribe link should be structured like this:
https:// + cinema url + subscriptions + {{customer.user_marketing_subscriptions_token}} + marketing subscription ID + unsubscribe
Here is an example of an unsubscribe link set up for Yosemite’s promotions list:
The number 8 has been used because that is Yosemite’s promotion list ID. You can find out your lists' IDs by accessing the INDY Admin Tool and visiting Settings > Website And Marketing > Marketing Subscriptions.
If an unsubscribe link is working as expected, when clicked it should open up a page which looks similar to this and displays an unsubscribe successful message
Structuring a manage preferences link
Manage preferences are not linked to a specific marketing list. They are designed to take the user to a page containing all marketing lists, where they can select and de-select which lists they are opted into.
A manage preferences link should be structured like this:
https:// + cinema url + subscriptions + {{customer.user_marketing_subscriptions_token}}
Here is an example of an unsubscribe link set up for Yosemite:
If a manage preference link is working as expected, when clicked it should open up a page which looks similar to this one and displays all the available marketing lists
Theaters with multiple sites can replace the https:// + cinema url with the value {{ customer.site.hostname }} so that the manage preference link covers all sites. This does not work for unsubscribe links because they reference a specific marketing list's ID.
Testing an unsubscribe link
Theaters should test an unsubscribe link (as well as the manage preferences link) prior to send an email.
You can test these links when in Customer.io’s email content editor. Access the preview tab and filter the test data to your email address. Next, click on the links and confirm they are taking you to the expected destinations.
Theaters who need to send the same email to a different list... What should they do?
Theaters with multiple cinemas may wish to send the same email to a different list. This is not recommended for cinemas which operate from a single site and they should focus on the marketing list which best suits their message.
Clone newsletter and set new copy up for new marketing list
Set up an email which is targeted to go out to one specific list and include the relevant unsubscribe and manage preferences link in the footer.
Once that email has been scheduled, you can clone this email. You will need to amend the recipients to filter out users emailed in the previous newsletter. This will prevent users who are subscribed to both lists from receiving the same email multiple times.
Above is an example of how to filter out previously emailed segments when cloning a newsletter.
As well as filtering specific segments, you can "add newsletter condition" which filters out contacts which previously received a specific newsletter.
Above is an example of how to filter out users who previously received a specific newsletter
Before scheduling the email, remember to amend the footer so that the unsubscribe link (and potentially the manage marketing preference link) matches the right marketing list. This is why we recommend saving all the footers you intend to use in marketing emails.
A user has responded to an email asking to be unsubscribed
While users can amend their own marketing permissions, a user may ask a theater to do this on their behalf. Marketing permissions should only be amended from the INDY Admin Tool, and only with the user's expressed permission. When updated in the Admin Tool, this will also update in Customer.io.
To access the marketing permissions of a specific user, log into the INDY Admin Tool and go to Operations > Customers > Users. This tab can also be accessed by searching for "Users" in the search box.
In the tab's search box on the right-hand side, you can search for a user by name or email. We recommend searching by emails as it is a unique value. Once you have found the user, select them.
This will bring up a new menu which displays the Details tab. Select the Messages tab and deselect the relevant subscriptions. If the user has not specified which list, we recommend removing them from all marketing lists. Remember to save these changes before exiting the Edit User menu.