Overview

Alchemer Survey is a survey and data collection platform used by organizations to gather feedback, conduct research, and collect structured data at scale.

The Alchemer Survey initiator lets contacts unsubscribe from Alchemer emails using a link. When a contact clicks the unsubscribe link, the initiator starts a workflow run that unsubscribes the contact by email address, and can optionally suppress them for a set duration. The contact then sees a confirmation page, which you can customize with your own HTML.

Common uses for the Alchemer Survey initiator

Add a one-click unsubscribe link to survey invitations and other Alchemer emails
Respect contact communication preferences automatically, without manual list updates
Temporarily suppress contacts for a set duration instead of removing them permanently
Show contacts a branded confirmation page after they unsubscribe

What can the Alchemer Survey initiator do?

Unsubscribe contact

You will need

An Alchemer email (such as an email campaign invitation) where you can add the unsubscribe link
An Alchemer plan that includes integrations with Workflow and the Integration Manager permission enabled.
- Contact us if you are unsure if your plan includes integrations.

Setup Alchemer Survey initiator in Workflow

Alchemer Survey | Unsubscribe contact

Unsubscribes a contact from Alchemer emails when they click the unsubscribe link you provide.

You will need:

An email query parameter on the link containing the contact's email address
A duration query parameter on the link if you want to suppress the contact for a set length of time (optional)

Configure the action

Open your workflow in Workflow Builder.
On the Select Initiator pop up select the Alchemer Survey initiator.
Select Alchemer Survey | Unsubscribe contact, then click Next on the initiator overview screen.
Alchemer Survey | Unsubscribe URL: Copy the public URL. You will add this link to your Alchemer email in the next section.
Alchemer Survey | Custom HTML: Enter the HTML for the page contacts see after they click the unsubscribe link.
Save the action.

Add the unsubscribe link to your Alchemer email

The initiator runs when a contact clicks the unsubscribe link, so the link needs to include that contact's email address. Use a merge code to fill it in automatically for each recipient. Which merge code you use depends on where you are sending the email and where the contact's email address is stored, so choose the one that is relevant to your setup.

Open the Alchemer email you are sending to your contacts, such as an email campaign message.
Add a link (for example, the text Unsubscribe) and paste the Unsubscribe URL you copied as the link address.
At the end of the URL, add ?email= followed by the merge code that contains the contact's email address. For example, in an email campaign you could use the contact email merge code [contact("email")]: https://your-unsubscribe-url?email=[contact("email")]
Optional: To suppress the contact for a set length of time, also add &duration= followed by the duration value.
Save your email. When it is sent, the merge code is replaced with each recipient's email address, so every contact gets their own unsubscribe link.

Note: [contact("email")] is just one example. Other merge codes, such as an invite custom field, a URL variable, or a question value, may be a better fit depending on where the email address comes from. Use the merge code helper to find the right one, and use straight quotes (") rather than curly quotes (“ ”), which break merge codes. For the full list, see Merge Codes.

Testing and Troubleshooting

Testing and Validation

How to test

Send the email to a test contact and click the unsubscribe link, or open the Unsubscribe URL in a browser with a test email address as the email query parameter.
- Monitor the run in the Monitor tab and click it to view the input and output metadata.

How to verify results

Confirm your custom HTML page displayed after opening the link.
Check the test contact in Alchemer to confirm they are unsubscribed or suppressed.

Monitoring Integration Activity

Where to find logs

Go to Monitor
Check the individual workflow steps

What logs display

Query parameters received from the link
Workflow output or returned status

Troubleshooting

Link issues

Missing email query parameter on the unsubscribe link
Merge code not replaced with the email address (check for curly quotes, a typo, or a merge code that is not available in that email)
Merge code that does not contain the contact's email address for that email type
Email address not URL-encoded (for example, a + in the address)
Invalid duration value

Contact issues

No contact found for the email address provided

Page display issues

Invalid or incomplete custom HTML

FAQs

What permissions do I need?
Integration Manager in Alchemer.

When does the integration run?
Each time a contact opens the unsubscribe link.

What does the duration parameter do?
It suppresses the contact for the length of time you set instead of unsubscribing them with no end date. It is optional.

Why isn’t my workflow triggering?
Check the Monitor tab and confirm the link uses the correct Unsubscribe URL and that the email query parameter is filled in by a merge code that contains the contact's email address.

What if I need additional functionality?
Contact Alchemer Support for enhancement requests.

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Feature	Included In

Alchemer Survey integration Initiators