> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.outpost.pub/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Email preferences

> The page where readers choose which of your emails to stop, and what each choice does in Outpost and Ghost.

Every Outpost email links to an **Email preferences** page. There a reader can stop just the series the email belongs to, stop promotional emails, or unsubscribe from newsletters and all other emails. Unsubscribing from newsletters also stops promotional email.

You don't need to set anything up. The link is in the footer of every email Outpost sends to a member. If you use a [Custom HTML Template](/features/custom-html-email-template), your template has to include the link itself.

***

## What readers see

The page is headed **Email preferences** and asks "What would you like to stop?" When the email belongs to a series, the page first tells the reader which one, for example "This email is one of the Spring sale emails from Your Site."

Below that are up to three checkboxes:

| Row | When it shows | What it stops |
| - | - | - |
| **The series** | Only when the email belongs to a series | Just this series. The row shows the series' public name, or **Emails in this series** when it has none. For a failed payment reminder, the row reads **Reminders about this payment**. |
| **Promotional emails** | Always. It reads **Other promotional emails** when the series row is above it. | Your promotional emails from Outpost: campaigns, Advanced Autoresponder flows, and the Basic Autoresponder emails that aren't Account emails. |
| **Newsletters and all other emails** | Always | Your Ghost newsletters, and promotional email too. |

A series is any of these:

* An [Advanced Autoresponder](/features/advanced-autoresponder) flow
* A [campaign](/features/email-campaigns)
* The welcome emails for new free members, shown to readers as "Welcome emails", and the free trial emails, shown as "Free trial emails"
* The [Failed Payment Flow](/features/failed-payment-flow) reminders
* The reminders sent after a member cancels, the reminder about an offer the reader viewed, and the gift reminders to givers and recipients

Choosing promotional emails also stops any ordinary series, so the series row is ticked and greyed out when promotional emails are ticked. The failed payment reminders are the exception: only their own row stops them.

The button at the bottom changes to match what the reader has ticked, for example **Stop promotional emails** or **Unsubscribe from all Your Site emails**.

### Turning emails back on

When a reader comes back to the page, anything they've already stopped opens ticked. Unticking a row turns those emails back on, and the button reads **Save my choices**.

After saving, the confirmation offers **Undo**, which puts everything back as it was. When the reader has unsubscribed from newsletters and all other emails, the button reads **Resubscribe** instead.

***

## What each choice does

| Choice | In Outpost | In Ghost |
| - | - | - |
| **The series** | Records that this member stopped this series. Nothing else changes, and they keep getting your other emails. | Nothing. No label is added. |
| **Promotional emails** | Turns off promotional email for the member. | Adds the `Marketing_OptOut` label. |
| **Newsletters and all other emails** | Turns off promotional email for the member. | Unsubscribes the member from your newsletters, and adds the `#Unsubscribe_Via_Outpost_Email` and `Marketing_OptOut` labels. |

When a member who was on at least one newsletter unsubscribes this way, Ghost tells Outpost, and the two emails in the **Unsubscribes** section of the [Basic Autoresponder](/features/basic-autoresponder) go out if you've turned them on. See the [label reference](/features/label-reference) for more on these labels.

***

## The stop link in the footer

An email that belongs to a series has a second footer link, such as "Stop getting Spring sale emails from Your Site". For a failed payment reminder it reads "Stop reminders about this payment". This link opens a short version of the page with a single button that stops only that series. After that, the reader can click **Manage all email preferences** to see the full page.

To put this link somewhere else in an email, use the `%STOP_FLOW_URL%` field. See [Email Templates](/features/email-templates#member-fields).

### Choices that cover only one payment, cancellation or gift

Some series stop for one occasion only:

* **Failed payment reminders** stop for the current failed payment. If a later payment fails, the reader gets reminders again.
* **Reminders after a cancellation** stop for that cancellation. If the reader cancels again later, they get them again.
* **Gift reminders** stop for that one gift. A giver with two gifts ending can stop the reminders for each separately.

The page tells the reader this when they stop one of these series.

***

## Account emails still arrive

None of these choices stops [Account emails](/features/basic-autoresponder#account-emails), such as renewal reminders and payment receipts. The page tells readers on a free trial or a paid plan that they'll still get emails about their account. When a reader unsubscribes from newsletters and all other emails, the page also tells them that this doesn't cancel a paid subscription.

***

## Unsubscribe buttons in email apps

Many email apps show their own Unsubscribe button next to the sender's name. Outpost supports this on its promotional emails to members: campaigns, Advanced Autoresponder flows and the Basic Autoresponder emails that aren't Account emails. Account emails and copies sent to you or your staff don't have it.

When a reader uses that button:

* Promotional email is turned off for them, and the `Marketing_OptOut` label is added in Ghost.
* Your newsletters keep going to them.
* The opt-out is recorded as the reader's own choice. Removing the `Marketing_OptOut` label doesn't undo it. Only the reader can turn promotional email back on, from this page.

If someone opens the unsubscribe link from that button in a browser instead, they see this page and nothing changes until they make a choice.

***

## Name your series

Readers see a series by its public name, in the footer link and on this page. Give each Advanced Autoresponder flow and campaign a **Public name**, written as a plural phrase such as "Spring sale emails". If you leave it empty, readers see a general description instead, such as "Stop getting these emails from Your Site". See [Advanced Autoresponder](/features/advanced-autoresponder#public-name) and [Campaigns](/features/email-campaigns#basic-settings).

***

## See who stopped what

Outpost shows the results in several places:

* **Advanced Autoresponder**: each flow's card shows how many members stopped it from the unsubscribe page, for example "3 members stopped this flow from the unsubscribe page".
* **Campaigns**: the **Statistics** cell in the campaign list includes **Unsubscribed**, the number of members who stopped that campaign. See [Statistics](/features/email-campaigns#statistics).
* **Failed Payment Flow**: the statistics include **Members who stopped the reminders from the unsubscribe page**. See [Statistics](/features/failed-payment-flow#statistics).
* **Members**: a member's record has a **Stopped email series** card listing each series they stopped, and when. See [Members](/features/members#stopped-email-series-card).
* **Activity Log**: each stop is logged as an entry such as `Member jane@example.com unsubscribed from "Spring win-back"`, using the name you know the series by in Outpost. See [Activity Log](/features/activity-log).

***

## Related features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Basic Autoresponder" icon="envelope" href="/features/basic-autoresponder">
    Pre-built email actions, including which ones are Account emails.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Advanced Autoresponder" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/features/advanced-autoresponder">
    Custom flows, each with its own public name.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Campaigns" icon="paper-plane" href="/features/email-campaigns">
    Campaign sends and their unsubscribe counts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Label Reference" icon="tags" href="/features/label-reference">
    What `Marketing_OptOut` and the other system labels mean.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can a reader stop one flow or campaign without unsubscribing from everything?">
    Yes. When an email belongs to a flow, campaign or other series, the footer has a link that stops only that series, and the **Email preferences** page offers it as its own row. The reader keeps getting your newsletters and your other emails.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I turn a series back on for a member who stopped it?">
    No. Only the member can, by unticking the series on the **Email preferences** page. Their record shows the series they stopped on the **Stopped email series** card.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does unsubscribing from promotional emails stop my newsletters?">
    No. Stopping promotional emails, from the page or from the Unsubscribe button in an email app, leaves your Ghost newsletters on. Only **Newsletters and all other emails** unsubscribes a reader from your newsletters, and that choice stops promotional email too.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will a reader who unsubscribed still get renewal reminders and receipts?">
    Yes. Account emails, such as renewal reminders, receipts and failed payment reminders, aren't affected by these choices. A reader can stop failed payment reminders for one failed payment only, using the link in the reminder's footer.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


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