Unsubscribe Handling

Broadcast emails from Benecaster include an unsubscribe link in the footer. Subscribers who no longer want to receive episode notifications or broadcasts can opt out in one click.

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How Subscribers Unsubscribe

Broadcast emails — episode notifications and broadcasts from the Email Editor add-on — include an unsubscribe link in the email footer. The exact link text can be customized. Transactional emails (welcome, feed URL delivery, token reset, token revoked) do not include an unsubscribe link; they are delivery-critical and are not subject to opt-out.

The process:

1. Subscriber clicks the unsubscribe link in the email footer
2. A confirmation page loads explaining what will be unsubscribed
3. Subscriber confirms
4. Done — no further emails are sent except transactional messages

The one-click POST method (RFC 8058) is also supported. Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple Mail surface a native “Unsubscribe” button in their email interface when this header is present — clicking that button does not require visiting a confirmation page.

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Two Levels of Unsubscribe

When a subscriber clicks the footer link, they are presented with a choice — or the link may be pre-scoped to one level depending on how it was generated:

Most footer links are scoped to broadcast opt-out — this is appropriate for subscribers who simply want fewer emails. The all level is available as an explicit choice on the confirmation page for subscribers who want a complete stop.

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What Still Sends After Each Level

Note on full opt-out: Suppressing transactional emails means subscribers won’t receive their feed URL if they reset their token. This level is for subscribers who want all email from your site stopped entirely — they understand they’ll need to visit the account page directly to get their feed URL.

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How to Re-subscribe

A subscriber who has opted out can re-subscribe at any time. The confirmation page shown when they click an unsubscribe link also includes a re-subscribe option if they are already opted out.

Alternatively, they can manage their preference via the Email preferences link that appears in place of the unsubscribe link once they have opted out.

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Referral Emails Have Their Own Preference Page

Referral credit notifications (a referral converting, and referral credit landing on an upcoming bill) are a separate, opt-in-by-default notification stream from the broadcast/full opt-out levels above. Their unsubscribe link points to benecaster.com/email-prefs/, a signed one-time link — not the same confirmation flow used for broadcast emails.

Opening the link is not enough to unsubscribe. The page asks “Stop referral emails?” and states that your account emails (billing, renewal, license status) are unaffected — you have to click Stop referral emails to confirm. This is deliberate: a mail scanner or link-preview bot that merely opens the link should not silently opt you out.

After confirming, the page tells you that you won’t receive referral credit notifications.

Turning referral notifications back on is not done on the email-prefs page — there’s nothing to click there once you’ve confirmed. It’s the Email me when referral credits are earned or applied checkbox on the Refer a Friend page in your own WordPress admin. See Refer a Friend.

For Podcasters: What You See

When a subscriber opts out, their engagement status in the Subscribers list is updated — the subscriber record remains, their subscription is unaffected, and their feed continues working. Only email delivery changes.

You cannot override a subscriber’s opt-out decision from the admin. This is by design.

If a subscriber has opted out but needs their feed URL (for example, after a token reset), the cleanest fix is to have them re-subscribe first — the confirmation page includes a re-subscribe option, or they can use the Email preferences link. Once opted back in, the reset email will deliver normally. If they prefer not to re-subscribe, they can retrieve their current feed URL directly from the subscriber account page.