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Creating Double Opt-In Processes for Forms

Article: 000050237
Updated: July 17, 2024

Enable Double Opt-In on a form to let your contacts confirm that they want to hear from you

Double opt-in refers to a method of collecting contact information. With double opt-in, contacts must take two actions to confirm their willingness to provide personal information.


Article Contents

 
Users:
Administrators 
Company Managers 
Marketing Managers 
Sales Managers  
Salespersons  
Jr. Salespersons  

Light Bulb IconTip: Are you looking for information about Constant Contact’s Email and Digital Marketing product? This article is for Constant Contact’s Lead Gen & CRM product. Head on over to the Email and Digital Marketing articles by clicking here. Not sure what the difference is? Read this article.

 

The Importance of Opting In

Double opt-in helps to ensure that the contacts filling out forms are the actual contacts themselves. Without a double opt-in process, an individual could fill out our form with erroneous information (or others' information), and that information would then be used on mailing lists. If the email address provided was inaccurate, this could impact the hard bounce percentage when sending emails.

If a client is not double opted-in, they will still receive communication from you. This does not prevent your recipients from receiving emails. It only indicates that they have explicitly stated they want to receive your emails. When contacts do not want to receive information on services or products, they often unsubscribe from the emails. Worse still, contacts mark such emails as spam.

Since a double opt-in is tied to a contact clicking on an email after filling out the form to confirm their information is correct, this helps to mitigate the risk of sending email campaigns to those who never wished to receive the information.
 



Creating a Double Opt-In Form

Note: Double opt-in processes can use a Constant Contact, native, or third-party form. The steps below apply to Constant Contact forms only. To set up a double opt-in process for native or third-party forms, set up a custom opt-in process.

To create a double opt-in form, create or edit a form: 

  1. Within the Form editor, click the Settings tab.

    Form Settings
     
  2. Scroll down to the Lead Status section and click the Send contact an email that allows them to explicitly opt-in to receiving emails checkbox .
    Form Settings Set up Double Opt In
     
  3. Click Save Changes.

    Save Changes to Form
     

Opt-in confirmation emails attributed to these forms should plainly state that the recipient has a choice in continuing to receive your email communication.

For more information on creating emails, refer to Creating Emails from Templates.



Creating a Double Opt-In List

To attribute a double-opt in form to a list of contacts, create or edit a list:

  1. If you are:
    • Editing an existing list - click  cog.png Options > Change List Settings.

      Change List Settings
       
    • Creating a new list - skip to step 2.
  2. If you are:
    • Editing an existing list - click + Add Rule.

      Add Rule to Existing List
       
    • Creating a new list - click Create Rule.

      Create Rule for new List
       
  3. Add the following rule: is explicitly opted in to receive email in the Lead section.

    Opt In List Rule
     
  4. Click the Form Double Opt-In checkbox.
  5. Click Save.


    List Rule Form Double Opt In

 



Checking for Opt-In in the Contact Record

You can see if a lead has opted in through a contact's Life of the Lead and through the Memberships tab. To check to see if a contact has opted in:
 

  1. Click Contacts in the left toolbar.
  2. Click the desired contact.

    Select Contact
     
  3. Click:
    • The Life of the Lead tab and locate the  OptedInToReceiveEmail.png  Email Opt-in event.

      Life of the Lead Opt In Event
       
    • The Memberships tab and locate any available  thumbs-up.png Opt-in entries under Engagement and Consent Statuses.

      Memberships Opt In Status

 


Manually Opting In Contacts

To manually double opt-in contacts that have expressed that they want to receive communication, do the following: 
  1. Click Contacts in the left toolbar.
  2. Click the desired contact.

    Select Contact

     

  3. Click  12more.png More Options > Double Opt-in to Emails in the contact record.

    Double Opt In a Contact
 


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