Learning Objective

By the end of this guide, you'll know how to access and manage the Unsubscribe section, manually unsubscribe emails or domains, restore manually unsubscribed leads, export unsubscribe data, and use filters to understand why leads unsubscribed, all to maintain compliance and protect your sender reputation.

Why This Matters

The Unsubscribe section is your compliance and reputation safeguard. Sending emails to people who requested to stop receiving them, or to addresses that bounce, damages your:

Sender reputation – Email providers flag you as spam if you ignore unsubscribes or continue emailing bounced addresses
Legal compliance – CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and other regulations require honoring unsubscribe requests
Brand reputation – Continuing to email someone who opted out creates negative impressions

Properly managing unsubscribes ensures you only contact engaged, willing prospects while staying compliant and protecting your email deliverability.

Prerequisites

Before managing unsubscribes:

You have access to Settings – Some team roles may have restricted access
You understand unsubscribe types – Manual, bounce, and link-click unsubscribes are handled differently
You know which leads need unsubscribing – Have email addresses or domains ready if manually adding them

What the Unsubscribe Section Contains

The Unsubscribe section is a centralized list of all emails and domains that should never receive campaigns from your lemlist workspace.

Three types of unsubscribed leads:

1. Manually unsubscribed

Leads you added manually after they requested removal (e.g., via phone call, social media message, or direct email)
Can be restored if added by mistake

2. Unsubscribe link clicks

Leads who clicked the unsubscribe link in your emails
Automatically added by lemlist
Cannot be restored (honoring their explicit opt-out)

3. Bounced emails

Email addresses that bounced (hard bounce = mailbox doesn't exist)
Automatically added by lemlist to prevent future sending to invalid addresses
Cannot be restored (address is invalid)

💡 Key distinction: You can only restore leads you manually added. Leads who clicked unsubscribe or bounced cannot be restored.

Core Lesson: Managing Unsubscribes

Phase 1: Access the Unsubscribe Section

Step 1: Open Settings

Click on your profile name or avatar (bottom-left) → Settings.

Step 2: Navigate to Unsubscribe

In the Settings sidebar, click Unsubscribe to open the Unsubscribe section.

Step 3: Review the unsubscribe list

You'll see a table showing:

Email or domain unsubscribed
Date added to the unsubscribe list
Details/Type (e.g., manually unsubscribed)
Added by (which user manually added it, if applicable)

Phase 2: Manually Unsubscribe an Email or Domain

Step 4: Open the unsubscribe modal and enter emails/domains

In the Unsubscribe section, click Unsubscribe leads, then enter one or more emails or domains (one per line).

To unsubscribe a specific email:

Type the full email address (e.g., [email protected])

To unsubscribe an entire domain:

Add @ before the domain (e.g., @company.com)
This blocks all emails from that domain (e.g., [email protected])

💡 When to unsubscribe a domain: Use this when a company requests that all their employees stop receiving your emails, or when you know an entire domain is invalid (e.g., a defunct company).

Multiple entries: You can add multiple emails or domains at once (one per line).

Example:

[email protected]

@competitor.com

Step 5: Confirm the addition

Click Unsubscribe leads to confirm.

You'll see the new emails/domains added to the list.

Step 6: Verify the addition

Return to the Unsubscribe section and confirm the new entries appear in the list with “Manually unsubscribed” in the details.

Phase 3: Restore Manually Unsubscribed Leads

Step 7: Identify restorable leads

Only leads you manually added can be restored. Look for entries where the details indicate a manual unsubscribe.

⚠️ Important: Leads who clicked the unsubscribe link or bounced emails CANNOT be restored. This protects your compliance and sender reputation.

Step 8: Select leads and remove them from the unsubscribe list

Select the checkbox next to the email(s) or domain(s) you want to restore, then click Remove leads.

Step 9: Confirm removal

A confirmation dialog may appear asking if you're sure. Confirm the action.

The selected leads are removed from the unsubscribe list and can now receive campaigns again.

Step 10: Verify removal

Check that the leads no longer appear in the Unsubscribe section.

If needed, you can now re-import them to your campaigns.

Phase 4: Export Unsubscribed Leads

Step 11: Export to CSV

In the Unsubscribe section, open the actions menu (⋯) and click Export all to CSV.

Step 12: Download the file

lemlist generates a CSV file containing all unsubscribed leads with details:

Email or domain
Date added
Reason/Type
Added by (user)

The file downloads to your computer.

Step 13: Use the export

Common uses for the export:

Compliance reporting – Document unsubscribe requests for legal purposes
CRM updates – Mark leads as "unsubscribed" in your CRM to prevent other team members from reaching out
Analysis – Identify patterns (e.g., high bounce rates from specific domains, common reasons for unsubscribes)

Phase 5: Filter Unsubscribed Leads

Step 14: Use the filter options

The Unsubscribe section includes filters to help you analyze and manage the list:

Filter by Date:

Select a date range to see leads who have unsubscribed during a specific period
Example: "Show all unsubscribes from the last 30 days"

Filter by Type/Source:

API
Not delivered (Bounced)
Lead
User
Abuse

Filter by User:

See which team member added specific leads
Useful for auditing or understanding team processes

Step 15: Apply filters and review

Select your filter criteria to update the list and review the results.

Use cases:

Find all bounces to identify data quality issues
Review recent unsubscribes to spot concerning trends
Check manual additions by teammates to verify the right leads were added

Practical Application / Real-Life Example

Sales Team Manages Competitor Domain Unsubscribe

A B2B sales team receives a legal request from a competitor company asking that all employees from their domain (@competitor.com) stop receiving outreach emails.

Their workflow:

Step 1: Comply immediately

Sales manager goes to Settings → Unsubscribe
Clicks Unsubscribe leads
Enters @competitor.com (the entire domain)
Confirms addition

Result:

All 15 leads from competitor.com currently in campaigns are automatically stopped
Future imports with @competitor.com emails are automatically blocked
Legal compliance maintained

Step 2: Document for compliance

Export the unsubscribe list to CSV
File includes the date, domain, and user who added it
Attach to compliance records

Step 3: Notify the team

Send internal email: "competitor.com domain has been unsubscribed per their request"
Team members know not to manually reach out via other channels

Key takeaway: Domain-level unsubscribes protect your workspace from legal issues and ensure entire organizations can opt out when requested.

Understanding Unsubscribe Types

Manual Unsubscribes

When added:

You manually add them after receiving a request outside of lemlist (phone, social media, direct email)

Can be restored? ✅ Yes – If added by mistake, you can remove them from the list

Example: A prospect emails you saying, "Please remove me from your list." You manually add their email to the unsubscribe section.

Unsubscribe Link Clicks

When added:

Lead clicks the unsubscribe link in one of your emails
lemlist automatically adds them to the unsubscribe list

Can be restored? ❌ No – This is an explicit opt-out request and must be honored for compliance

Example: A lead receives your email, clicks the unsubscribe link at the bottom, and is immediately added to your unsubscribe list.

Bounced Emails

When added:

An email hard bounces (mailbox doesn't exist, domain invalid, etc.)
lemlist automatically adds them to prevent future sending to invalid addresses

Can be restored? ❌ No – The email address is invalid and will continue to bounce

Example: You send an email to [email protected], but the domain oldcompany.com no longer exists. The email bounces, and lemlist automatically unsubscribes it.

Troubleshooting

Issue: I can't restore a lead from the unsubscribe list

Root cause: The lead was added via unsubscribe link click or bounce, not manually

Fix:

Check the details/type. If it indicates an unsubscribe link click or bounce, you cannot restore it
This is by design for compliance and deliverability protection
If you believe they should be re-added (e.g., they reached out asking to be back on the list), treat them as a new lead and manually import them (lemlist will override the unsubscribe)

Issue: I unsubscribed a domain, but leads from that domain are still in my campaigns

Root cause: Existing leads in campaigns are not automatically removed when a domain is unsubscribed

Fix:

Domain unsubscribe prevents future sends, but doesn't retroactively remove leads
Manually go to each campaign, filter leads by that domain, and remove them
Example: Filter by companyName or email containing @competitor.com, select all, remove

Issue: I don't see the "Unsubscribe leads" button

Root cause: Your user role may not have permission to manage unsubscribes

Fix:

Contact your workspace admin to request unsubscribe management permissions
Admins can adjust team member permissions in Settings → Team

Optimization Tips

Regularly review bounce unsubscribes: Export the unsubscribe list filtered by "Bounce" monthly. High bounce rates indicate poor data quality—address this by improving lead sourcing or using email verification before importing.

Monitor unsubscribe link clicks: Track how many people click unsubscribe each month. If the number is high (>2-3% of sends), review your messaging. It may be too aggressive, irrelevant, or poorly targeted.

Use domain unsubscribes strategically: If you're targeting large companies and one lead unsubscribes, consider whether to unsubscribe the entire domain. Sometimes one unsubscribe indicates the whole company isn't a fit.

Document manual unsubscribes: When manually adding someone, include a note (if lemlist allows) or in your CRM about why (e.g., "Requested removal via LinkedIn DM on 12/3/24"). This helps with audits.

Export quarterly for compliance: Keep quarterly CSV exports of your unsubscribe list for legal compliance records. Store these securely in case of audits or disputes.

Educate your team: Make sure all team members know how to manually unsubscribe leads when requests come in. Create a quick guide: "If someone asks to be removed, go to Settings → Unsubscribe → Unsubscribe leads → Add their email."

Check before importing: Before importing a new lead list, cross-reference it with your unsubscribe list (use the CSV export) to avoid re-adding people who previously opted out.

Set up alerts: If possible, set up a notification when unsubscribe rates spike. Sudden increases may indicate a problem with your messaging or targeting.

Use filters for analysis: Monthly, filter by unsubscribe source/type to see which campaigns are generating the most opt-outs. This helps you identify messaging that's not resonating.