How to Write Unsubscribe Copy That Names What They Lose

Anyone shipping an email settings page can write unsubscribe copy in 10 minutes that names the list they leave and what stops arriving. Run it in ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini before "We're sad to see you go" trains people to hunt for the button.

Unsubscribe copy is a label for a leave, not a goodbye card. If the page says we'll miss you, you wrote a toast. If it sells the product, you wrote a hero.

Do not write this leave like cookie banner copy that names the cookies. A banner names categories. This page names one list. Do not write it like form error copy that names the missing field. An error is a blank box. This is a chosen exit. It is not empty-state copy when the table is empty. An empty table is zero rows and one create. This screen already has a list they can leave. Save the four-line shape as a skill prompt you can rerun.

Write unsubscribe copy that names the list they leave

1. Paste the real list name. Do not draft we're sad

Instruct ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini: "Do not draft a goodbye. Do not draft a hero. Name the list label I paste. If I did not paste a label, write UNKNOWN and stop. No we're sad. No you'll be missed. No are you sure."

Paste the label as it appears on the settings page. "Friday vendor digest" is a label. "Our newsletter" is a different, worse label. "Sad to see you go" is not a label.

Banned: we're sad to see you go, you'll be missed, stay in the loop, we hate goodbyes, are you sure, last chance, don't miss out, please reconsider, we'd love to keep you, your inbox will miss us, before you go, wait, one more thing.

If a list is not on the page, write UNKNOWN. Do not invent "Ops weekly." Invented labels are how people hunt.

2. The leave names the list, then what stops

Send the label back. Instruct: "Line one is the list label verbatim. Line two is what they lose in eight words or fewer: Friday vendor digest stops, weekly stock alerts stop, the Monday ops brief stops. Do not pun. Do not open on sorry."

Good: "Friday vendor digest." / "This list stops. No Friday vendor email." Bad: "Our beloved newsletter." Beloved is a toast.

If two lists sit on the page, write two blocks, each next to its toggle. A single paragraph that lists four nouns is a lecture at the top. People leave the first noun and miss the rest.

Use the same words as the label. If the page says "Friday vendor digest," do not switch to "our vendor love letter" to sound human. Human is the label they already read.

3. One stay action. One leave action. Not a win-back essay

Instruct: "Line three is Stay: keep Friday vendor digest, or keep weekly stock alerts. Line four is Leave: unsubscribe from Friday vendor digest. If I named no stay label, write UNKNOWN. Do not invent a 20-percent coupon. Do not say contact support as the first stay."

Good stay: "Keep Friday vendor digest." Bad: "Stay in the loop, you can always leave later." Later is a shrug wearing a hug.

Good leave: "Unsubscribe from Friday vendor digest." Bad: "Continue" as the leave and "Go back" as the stay. Continue is how people unsubscribe by accident.

Do not add Tell us why on the first screen.

4. Force four lines, then stop the model

Hard cap: four lines labeled List, Lose, Stay, Leave. Or three spoken lines if List and Lose share a sentence: "Friday vendor digest stops." / "Keep Friday vendor digest." / "Unsubscribe from Friday vendor digest."

Tell the model: "Name the list. Name what they lose. Give one stay and one leave. Sit the copy next to the toggle, not only in a modal. If a banned phrase appears, rewrite. Do not add we're sad. Do not add a slogan. Do not apologize for the product."

ChatGPT will write "We're sad to see you go!" Claude will hedge "you may wish to stay connected." Gemini will invent a friendlier list name so the line sounds warm. Cut all three.

A modal that says "Are you sure?" with no list name is still a treasure hunt. The inline line has to name the list even if a modal exists.

5. One human pass on the real settings page

Open a private window. Load the real settings page. Click unsubscribe. Read the copy out loud before you click anything else.

Check three traps:

• A line that could sit on a toast or a 404: we're sad, you'll be missed, are you sure
• A list name that does not match the label, or a modal with no inline name
• A stay that is a coupon, a survey, or a second essay about how good the digest is

Fix the words yourself. Then tell the model: "Replace only the lines I changed. Do not add a goodbye."

One pass. Paste into the settings strings. Ship. If Are you sure is still the only heading, you never named a list. Stop.

Reusable skill card

Trigger: You are drafting an unsubscribe page and the first string still says we're sad, are you sure, or you'll be missed.

Input: The real list label from the settings page, one true stop per list, one stay and one leave, plus the banned-phrase list.

Output: Unsubscribe copy that names the list, names what they lose, and gives one stay and one leave, sitting next to the toggle. UNKNOWN where a label was not pasted.

Stop: After one read-aloud on the real settings page. No modal-only scold. No invented label. No we're sad. No coupon as the first stay.

Takeaways

• Name the list. Name what they lose. Give one stay and one leave. Then ship.
• We're sad is a greeting card. Unsubscribe copy is a noun plus a stop.
• Use the label on the page. A friendlier noun is a treasure hunt.
• Two lists is two blocks. A pile at the top is a lecture.
• Test the real leave. If you still have to guess which email dies, rewrite.