Customize Your Footer Content

The footer at the end of your email layout includes content that's critical to the health of your audience. Make your footer as simple or elaborate as you want, and be sure to include information that's required by anti-spam laws and our Terms of Use.

In this article, you'll learn about the different ways to customize your footer content.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

• You must include an unsubscribe link and physical address with every marketing email you send. To learn more about the required footer content, read About Email Footers.
• The footer content in Mailchimp is in English by default. To translate your footer content into another language, read Translate Footer Content.
• When you use merge tags in your footer and elsewhere, it's important to Preview and Test Your Email before you send.

Ways to edit footer content

Whether you use the content block in our templates or a custom HTML template, you can change the footer just like any other part of your email. Use merge tags to pull in audience-specific data, or manually add your own details.

Use the Footer content block

Our email templates include a Footer content block with merge tags that populate required and recommended content from your audience data.

Use Footer Content Blocks in the New Builder
Use Footer Content Blocks in the Classic Builder

Custom code your footer

If you custom code your emails and templates, it's important to design a clean, readable footer that includes all the information required by anti-spam laws and our Terms of Use.

This sample HTML code contains the required unsubscribe link, physical address, and Referral badge, as well as optional details like the audience name, copyright year, Forward to a Friend link, and Update Your Preferences link.

If you need some help with your custom code, copy and paste this into your template code and modify it as needed.

<p>*|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* <br />

<br />

<a href="*|UNSUB|*">Unsubscribe</a> *|EMAIL|* from this list.<br />

<br />

Our mailing address is:<br />

*|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|*<br />

<br />

Copyright (C) *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|* All rights reserved.<br />

<br />

<a href="*|FORWARD|*">Forward</a> this email to a friend<br />

<a href="*|UPDATE_PROFILE|*">Update your preferences</a><br />

<br />

*|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*</p>

If you use the sample code, the footer should look something like this.

Add footer merge tags

These merge tags pull in important information about your audience from the Required email footer content and elsewhere. This information is typically included in the footer section, but you can use these merge tags anywhere in your email.

Getting Started with Merge Tags
Troubleshooting Merge Tags
All the Merge Tags Cheat Sheet

Required footer merge tags

Recommended footer merge tags

Change the required email footer content

Required footer content appears in default audience information throughout your Mailchimp account, including email footers and your signup forms and response emails. When we use merge tags to add your physical address, permission reminder, and other details, information is pulled from a section in your audience called Required email footer content.

You can view or change this information from your audience settings or in the email builder.

From the audience settings

To edit your contact info in the footer from the audience settings, follow these steps.

1. Click Audience, then click Audience dashboard.
2. Click Audience dashboard.
3. If you have more than one audience, click the Current audience drop-down and choose the one you want to work with.
4. Click the Manage Audience drop-down and choose Settings.
5. Click Required email footer content.
6. Make your changes, and click Save.

From the email builder

To edit your contact info in the footer in the email builder, follow these steps.

1. Click the Footer content block to edit it.
2. In the Footer Text panel, click Edit Contact Info.
3. Make your changes in the Edit List Contact Information pop-up modal.
4. Click Save.

Troubleshooting the extra footer

Our system checks your email to make sure you've included the required merge tags. If they're missing, we'll automatically add a default footer that contains the merge tags, which will look something like this.

If an extra footer was added to your email, here are a few possible reasons.

• There's no unsubscribe merge tag, or the unsubscribe tag isn't linked.
  You're required by law and Mailchimp's Terms to include the *|UNSUB|* merge tag in all emails. Write an unsubscribe message, such as "Unsubscribe from this list," highlight the text, and use the link tool to add the *|UNSUB|* tag instead of a URL.
  
• There's no Referral badge.
  If you're on the Free plan, your emails must include the *|REWARDS|* merge tag. To learn how to change the look of your Referral badge, read about how to Set the Default Badge.
• Microsoft Word added excess code to your HTML.
  We don't recommend that you use Microsoft Word or other rich text editors to create content. They can add extra code that interferes with our system's ability to recognize merge tags. If you must copy and paste from a rich text editor, use the Clear Styles button to remove extra HTML code. Then re-apply styles in the email builder.
• An HTML tag or merge tag was left open.
  If any tag is left open in a custom HTML template, the system may not see your *|UNSUB|* merge tag. Review your code and be sure that all tags, including both HTML and merge tags, are closed.