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Opt-in & Double Opt-in

Before you can email a contact as part of a newsletter or list, the contact must be subscribed to a list on the email channel. How they get there — and whether they must confirm — is what opt-in covers.

This page focuses on the email specifics. For the full cross-channel picture of lists, keywords, deep links, and opt-in methods, see Getting subscribers.

Ways a contact opts in​

MethodHow it works
Signup widget / formA visitor enters their email in your newsletter widget or a form and is added to a list.
APIYou subscribe a contact you already have permission to email.
ImportYou import a list of contacts you already have consent for.

Whichever method is used, the contact ends up subscribed to one or more lists, which is what campaigns target.

Double opt-in (email confirmation)​

With double opt-in enabled on a list, a newly-subscribed email contact is not immediately mailable. Instead:

  1. The contact submits their address (widget, form, or API).
  2. Their subscription is created in a pending state.
  3. SendSeven sends a confirmation email containing a unique confirmation link.
  4. The contact clicks the link to confirm. Only then does the subscription become active and the contact become mailable for that list.

Key facts:

  • The confirmation link is valid for 24 hours. An unconfirmed subscription stays pending and receives no campaigns.
  • The confirmation email uses a system default template that you can customize in the dashboard under the email double-opt-in settings.
  • Double opt-in is the recommended default for newsletters — it protects deliverability and proves consent.

Subscribing a contact via the API​

Add existing contacts to a newsletter list with the Lists API:

curl -X POST "https://api.sendseven.com/api/v1/lists/list_newsletter/contacts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer s7_api_a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678abcdef00" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "contact_ids": ["contact_001", "contact_002"]
  }'

When importing new contacts you already have consent for, subscribe them in the same request via POST /api/v1/contacts/import with a subscriptions array — see Getting subscribers.

Import does not create consent

Adding a contact to a list records consent you have already obtained elsewhere — it does not create it. You are responsible for having genuine permission for every person you email. For a public signup, use the newsletter signup widget so the contact goes through double opt-in.

Next steps​