Junk Mail Magic

Check a professional journal before requesting removal

A professional journal arriving at your office may be tied to a paid subscription, a membership benefit or a free controlled-circulation list. The route for stopping it differs in each case, and a removal request for advertising will not cancel a paid subscription or a membership.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

How to find out why a journal arrives

  1. Read the label and wrapper for text saying the journal is a membership benefit, a controlled-circulation publication or a paid subscription. This text is often near the address block.
  2. If it looks like a membership benefit, contact the professional association about your mailing preferences. A removal request will not change your membership.
  3. If it looks like a free controlled-circulation publication, look in a recent issue for a qualification or renewal card or a circulation contact, and use that route to stop it.
  4. If it has no connection to a membership or subscription and reads as unsolicited advertising, photograph the label so the sender and your address are visible, and submit a request. If you are still unsure, ask the sender which list produced the mailing.

What a removal request cannot do here

Check whether the publication is advertising, a paid subscription or a membership benefit before choosing a removal route. Search your receipts or membership records, then ask the publisher if you are unsure. For a subscription, request its cancellation or delivery-change instructions directly. A marketing opt-out does not establish that a subscription has ended.

Match the journal to an account first

Search the office’s subscription and membership records before you submit anything. If you find a matching record, use that account’s publication preferences. If the source remains unclear, ask the publisher or circulation office which list produced the mailing before choosing a removal route.

Tell a membership renewal from an appealAsk about a digital association magazineCancel a subscription through its actual providerAt workAll practical mail guides

Choose the route that matches the mailing

Use the official route described in this guide for this kind of mail. For a separate ordinary advertisement, Junk Mail Magic can help prepare a sender-specific removal request.

Compare removal routes