Keep your email subscribers happy, without losing leads, by allowing them to selectively unsubscribe from specific message campaigns using the following marketing automation workflows.
What You’ll Learn in This Article:
- Video Tutorial: Selective Unsubscribes in GoHighLevel
- Why full unsubscribes hurt your list health
- How to create a simple opt-out page in GoHighLevel (aka Marketecs Engine)
- Adding selective unsubscribe links to your emails
- Building automations to remove contacts from specific workflows
- How this process keeps your CRM cleaner and your audience engaged
One of the biggest frustrations in email marketing is losing valuable leads because they click “unsubscribe” after receiving a message that wasn’t relevant to them. Often, they’re not rejecting your company or your brand, they just don’t want updates about a specific campaign.
In this tutorial, Marketecs founder Kathrine Farris walks you through a smarter way to handle unsubscribes in GoHighLevel using selective opt-outs. You’ll learn how to give contacts more control, keep your CRM list clean, and protect engagement across future campaigns. Watch the full video below to see how to set up selective unsubscribes step-by-step in GoHighLevel.
Video Time Stamps
00:00 Introduction: Solving Email Opt-Out Issues
01:07 Creating the Opt-Out Page
05:36 Building the Opt-Out Email
09:03 Setting Up Automation for Opt-Outs
12:14 Real-Life Example and Best Practices
14:16 Conclusion and Future Insights
Links
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Check out our YouTube Channel for more tips and tutorials.
Why Traditional Unsubscribes Cost You Leads
When someone clicks “unsubscribe,” most systems automatically remove them from your entire email list. That might sound fine… until a qualified prospect who just wasn’t interested in one campaign disappears from all future communication.
Full unsubscribes can:
- Reduce your contact list quality
- Lower deliverability by skewing engagement data
- Eliminate leads who still want your core updates
Selective unsubscribes fix this problem by letting contacts opt out of certain topics or promotions while staying subscribed to your essential messages.
As Kathrine explains, “It’s a smart way to keep your CRM clean and your list health high while giving your contacts more control over what they receive.”
Step 1: Create a Simple Opt-Out Page
Inside GoHighLevel, navigate to Sites → Websites and create a new page. Name it something relevant, like promo-opt-out or unsubscribe-event2025.
This page doesn’t need to be elaborate. Keep it branded and simple:
- Add your logo at the top for trust
- Include a short confirmation message such as “Your preferences have been updated”
- Optionally, add a note like “If this was a mistake, contact us at [your email address]”
You can even use this opportunity to provide alternative options or links to other services if appropriate, but the goal is clarity. Confirm the opt-out and close the loop.
Kathrine recommends skipping SEO optimization on this page. It shouldn’t appear in search results; it only serves users who intentionally click the link.
Step 2: Add the Selective Unsubscribe Link to Emails
Once your opt-out page is live, it’s time to integrate it into your promotional emails. Go to Marketing → Emails → Templates and open the campaign folder for your launch or promotion.
By default, GoHighLevel includes a standard unsubscribe footer that removes contacts from your entire list. Instead, add a secondary option that looks something like this: “Not interested in this event? Click here to stop receiving updates about this campaign.”
You can link this sentence directly to your opt-out page or use a trigger link in GoHighLevel. Trigger links make it easier to update or track links across multiple emails without editing each one individually.
For best results:
- Include the opt-out link in both the header and footer of your message.
- Keep the wording friendly and clear.
- Use the same link in every campaign email so your automation stays consistent.
This method gives readers a clear option to leave the campaign without leaving your brand.
Step 3: Build the Automation
Next, set up an automation that removes anyone who clicks the selective unsubscribe link from your campaign workflow.
Inside Automations, create a new workflow and choose your trigger:
- Trigger Link Clicked (recommended)
- Or Page Visited (if you’re tracking visits to the opt-out page)
Once triggered, add a simple action: Remove from Workflow → [Your Promo Workflow Name]
This ensures that anyone who clicks the opt-out link will stop receiving further emails from that specific campaign but will remain on your general list.
You can also add optional steps, like tagging the contact with “Opted out of [Campaign Name]” for future reference.
Step 4: Manage Real-Life Scenarios
Sometimes, a contact might click the opt-out link accidentally. The fix is simple:
- Go to their contact record in Marketecs Engine.
- Manually re-add them to the campaign workflow.
- If you’re using tags, remove the “opted out” tag.
This flexibility gives you total control over each contact’s experience without losing valuable connections.
Step 5: Maintain a Healthy, Engaged List
Selective unsubscribes aren’t just about convenience, they’re a critical list management strategy. When contacts can easily opt out of irrelevant campaigns, your engagement metrics stay accurate, and your list remains full of active, interested subscribers.
You’ll also avoid high unsubscribe rates that can damage sender reputation and deliverability.
As Kathrine notes, “It’s always better to let contacts opt out of one campaign than to lose them entirely.”
Looking Ahead: Subscription Preferences in GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel is actively developing advanced subscription management options, allowing contacts to self-manage which types of messages they receive. While that’s a helpful feature, Kathrine’s approach remains valuable because it’s simple, focused, and prevents confusion.
When users land on a page with too many options, they often choose nothing, or unsubscribe completely. A single-purpose opt-out page keeps the process clear and effortless.
Final Thoughts
Selective unsubscribes give marketers the best of both worlds because contacts get control, and you keep a healthy, engaged list.
By following these steps, you can:
- Reduce unnecessary full unsubscribes
- Improve CRM list health
- Keep leads warm for future campaigns
This one-click solution is part of every promotional setup Marketecs creates for clients because it works. If you’d like personalized help setting up selective unsubscribes or optimizing your workflows, schedule a consultation with our team.
