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Obtaining permission from your subscribers
Obtaining permission from your subscribers

A quick overview of what permission is and how to obtain permission from your subscribers the right way

Petra Molnar avatar
Written by Petra Molnar
Updated over a week ago

At Flodesk, we want to help you have the most successful, highest converting email marketing possible. Your hard work deserves to be seen by your audience, and we are here to work with you to make sure this happens.

The best starting point is to always get permission from your subscribers to send them marketing emails.


What Is Permission?

Permission is a very specific term in the world of email marketing. It means the recipient gave express, first-party consent to receive your marketing emails.

Let’s take a look at these terms in detail.


Express Consent:

The simplest way to understand express permission is that the consent to receive your marketing email isn’t tied to anything else. For example, if you’re selling a product, a customer doesn’t have to subscribe to your marketing emails in order to complete their purchase.

First-Party Consent:

The subscriber must have requested to be on your email list themselves. This means:

  • The subscriber submitted the request on their own behalf.

  • The request was specifically for your list alone, and not to be shared among others.

Keep in mind; this permission needs to be verifiable. When you use Flodesk forms for permission, we keep these records for you! Just create forms in your Flodesk account to share, and you will be off to the perfect start.

If you are obtaining permission outside of Flodesk, be sure that you keep written and/or digital records that show the date, time, IP, and method of opt-in, as we verify all manually imported lists to ensure subscribers’ consent.

What About “Implied” Permission?

Flodesk requires that subscribers from implied sources confirm marketing permission in order to be included in your audience. This will help to increase your engagement and deliverability.

Examples of implied permission include:

  • Membership in an organization or group

  • Making a purchase

  • Filling out a contact form for more information

Obtaining express permission only takes a few steps, and we are here to help!

Why Is Obtaining Permission So Important?

When it comes to email marketing, we are truly all in this together.

Emailing recipients that have not given you permission is likely to lead to spam complaints and low engagement. Your business (and bottom line) benefits from express permission by increasing deliverability to those who want to hear from you.

When spam complaints are marked on your emails, it can lead to being blocked by spam filters and even “blacklisting” by ISPs. This means even your raving fans may not receive your emails.

It can also jeopardize Flodesk’s sender reputation, which can have a negative impact on all of our members.

How To Obtain Permission The Right Way

So how can you make sure you’re building your audience in a way that’s going to lead to success? Keep in mind the following three things, and you’re good to go.

Is It Clear?

When your subscriber is signing up, make sure it’s obvious that they’re agreeing to receive marketing communication from you.

For example, when you’re offering a freebie to build your audience, be sure the phrasing indicates that in addition to the freebie they will be receiving additional emails from you (e.g., Download your guide here and receive regular updates).

Linking to a Terms and Conditions or Privacy Policy at the point of opt-in is not considered express consent and will require a confirmation of marketing permission.

A small disclosure has a big impact when it comes to minimizing spam complaints and increasing engagement. It also ensures your forms are GDPR compliant.

Is It First-Party?

The simplest way of understanding first-party is that the decision to sign up was done by them, for you. The best way to do this is by creating forms in your Flodesk account and sharing them with your audience.

Keep in mind that any email address acquired from a third-party (regardless of claims about quality or permission) does not fall under our compliance guidelines.

Some examples include:

  • Shared lists acquired through a joint giveaway or promotion.

  • Trade show attendee lists shared among vendors.

  • Any purchased or scraped list.

  • Lists of agents, representatives, members, students, employees.

  • Lists obtained from third-party list building services such as contest and giveaway platforms.

These sources typically have poor engagement with high complaints anyway, so putting resources towards a list that gave permission is a much better way to build a profitable email marketing strategy.

Is It Verifiable?

The most reliable methods of subscribing will have easy ways to export records that show the date, unique timestamp, and IP address of the subscriber.

Let’s Sum It Up!

You have fans out there that want to hear from you! The best way to make sure that they get your content is to build the best sender reputation you can.

By following these steps, your list is going to be off to a rocking start. You can use these guidelines to get a new list going or even to edit an existing list and increase your engagement.

As always, you can reach out to us, and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

More to learn:


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