Double Opt-In

Updated

Introduction

This document will guide you through the basics of setting up double opt-in functionality for your users. A double opt-in is a good practice to follow in order to improve your deliverability and/or comply with local laws like CASL in Canada.

Ingredients

  • A double_optin attribute to track each profile’s status
  • A data-driven segment, either for profiles without the double_optin attribute or for new users depending on your strategy
  • A segment-triggered automation where we’ll send an email with a link profiles can click to opt in
  • Another data-driven segment for profiles that have clicked the opt-in link link

Method

Create a segment to trigger the automation

First and foremost, we’ll need an attribute for each profile that tracks whether or not they’ve been through the double-opt in process, and what they’ve chosen. Let’s call this attribute double_optin.

Then, we’ll need a segmentA group of people who match a series of conditions. People enter and exit the segment automatically when they match or stop matching conditions. to trigger the double opt-in automation. For this example, we’ll use a condition of “double_optin does not exist”. You can use a different segment if you want—like a data-driven segment for new users.

A data-driven segment with the condition attribute double_optin does not exist
A data-driven segment with the condition attribute double_optin does not exist

Start creating your double opt-in automation

Create a segment-triggered automation:

  1. Go to Automations.
  2. Click Create Automation.
  3. Click Choose trigger.
  4. Select Segment change.
  5. Use the segment you created in the previous step.
    The first step of the automation creation where we define the condition as profiles matching conditions and the condition being that they're in the segment we just created
    The first step of the automation creation where we define the condition as profiles matching conditions and the condition being that they're in the segment we just created
  6. Drag an email into your workflow. Add your content including a link that your audience can click to confirm that they want to opt-in.
The workflow at this stage, with an email action as the first workflow action
The workflow at this stage, with an email action as the first workflow action

 Make sure the double opt-in URL is unique

You can use any URL for the link, as we’ll track the clicks on a link matching a specific URL. Make sure it’s a unique URL either by creating a dedicated page to link to, or by adding a URL variable such as ?double_optin=true to the URL.

Now that we have the email created, we’ll need a second data-driven segment for profiles that clicked the opt-in link. Create your new segment before you finish setting up your automation.

Our second data-driven segment where we define the condition of the email we just created having been clicked
Our second data-driven segment where we define the condition of the email we just created having been clicked

Finish creating your double opt-in automation

Now that we have that second segment, we can complete the setup of our automation.

We’ll add a Wait Until workflow action and use the segment we just created as the condition that we want to wait for. We’ll also add a maximum wait time of 1 week before moving to the next action. This lets us consider profiles that haven’t clicked within 7 days of receiving the email as not opted-in.

Thanks to Wait Until conditions we can define different flows based on which condition is matched first. If the user enters the segment we created (and therefore has clicked the email), we’ll set the attribute to true. If they haven’t entered the segment after 1 week, we’ll assume they haven’t perform double opt-in and set the attribute to false.

To do that, we’ll add a Create or Update Profile action in each branch to update the double_optin attribute.

Our branches with a Create or Update Profile workflow actions in each branch
Our branches with a Create or Update Profile workflow actions in each branch

Overview of the final result

Your automation should look like this! When you’re done, activate your automation to begin processing double opt-ins.

An overview of the whole automation, from trigger to exit, with our email, wait until, branch, and create or update profile actions
An overview of the whole automation, from trigger to exit, with our email, wait until, branch, and create or update profile actions

Use the double opt-in attribute to filter messages

The double_optin attribute is a custom attribute on a profile. Customer.io doesn’t automatically check this attribute before sending messages—setting the attribute alone doesn’t prevent messages from going to profiles that haven’t opted in.

To enforce double opt-in across your messaging, create a data-driven segment for profiles where double_optin equals true. Then use this segment to control who receives your automations and one-time sends:

  • Automations: Add the segment as a filter in your automation’s entry criteria so that only profiles that completed double opt-in can enter the automation.
  • One-time sends: Set the segment as the recipient of your one-time send to make sure you only send to profiles that opted in.
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