What to include in your email footer

Most email designers focus all their attention on the header and main content. The footer is often treated as a legal requirement, unsubscribe link, done. But your footer has real estate that many senders underuse. Getting it right protects your legal compliance and gives your most engaged readers somewhere useful to go after they've finished reading.

What's legally required

Under GDPR and anti-spam law, every marketing email must include a clearly visible, functioning unsubscribe link, and your organisation's name and postal address. Flexmail adds the unsubscribe link and an update link automatically to your footer. Your organisation's address needs to be included manually or configured in your header/footer settings.

GDPR Removing the unsubscribe link from your footer without replacing it elsewhere in your message will prevent Flexmail from sending the campaign. The unsubscribe option must always be present and functional. Your organisation's postal address in the footer is also a legal requirement, not optional.

What adds value

Update preferences link

An update link lets contacts manage their interests and profile data. This reduces unsubscribes, instead of opting out entirely, contacts can narrow down what they receive. The #update# placeholder generates this link automatically. This is one of the most useful things you can add to your footer.

Your footer is a natural place for social media icons. Contacts who enjoy your content often want to follow you on other channels. Keep the icons small and only include platforms you're actually active on. Inactive social profiles linked from your emails leave a poor impression.

View in browser

A browser view link lets contacts who have rendering issues see a clean version of your email in a browser. Flexmail adds this to the header by default, but some senders also include it in the footer for visibility.

Contact information

A phone number, email address, or link to your contact page makes it easy for interested readers to reach out. This is especially relevant for B2B senders where a conversation is more likely to convert than a click.

Forward to a friend

A simple "forward this email" call to action encourages readers to share your content. It's one of the cheapest ways to grow your list organically.

Support tip Think of your footer as a second chance to engage contacts who've scrolled to the bottom of your email. If they've read that far, they're interested, give them somewhere useful to go next.

Common mistakes to avoid

Leaving out your organisation's postal address. This is a legal requirement, not optional. Include it in your footer or in your header/footer template settings.
Making the unsubscribe link very small or hiding it in light-coloured text. This is a dark pattern that violates anti-spam law and damages trust. The unsubscribe link must be clearly visible.
Adding social media icons for platforms you're not active on. A LinkedIn link that leads to a dormant page with no recent posts undermines your credibility.
Forgetting the update preferences link. Many contacts who would stay subscribed if they could reduce frequency or narrow their topics will unsubscribe entirely if the only option available is "unsubscribe". Always offer the update link alongside it.

Next steps

Check your current footer, does it include your organisation's postal address and a visible unsubscribe link?
Add the #update# placeholder as an "Update your interests" link if it's not already there.
Configure your social media URLs once in Settings > Social Media so they populate automatically in all future messages.