How to send a confirmation email to those who opted in to marketing communications from forms

[JCizek]

Hi there,

I'm still relatively new to HubSpot and am learning as I go, but how can I send a confirmation email to those who clicked the opt-in box at the bottom of forms I have created so that they receive marketing content?

I've been trying to read through the community help posts and online resources but am a little lost with all the information out there. Basically, I am looking to have an email automatically send once someone checks the box at the bottom of a form allowing marketing content to be sent to them. How can I go about doing this?

I am not looking to simply have a form submission confirmation email, that is something seperate that I have created -- solely if they signed up for marketing content. For transparency, I do not have a form specifically dedicated to marketing content. I just include it as an option at the bottom of existing forms such as reqests for quotes or forms signing up to be a product dealer.

[jolle · Accepted solution]

Hey @JCizek, thanks for reaching out! This is a great question.

If you need to comply with GDPR and are setting up a double opt-in email, you should check out these Knowledge Base articles from HubSpot (and absolutely consult a legal professional):

1. Understand opt-in consent for email — covers what is classified as an opt-in and how the process generally works
2. Set up double opt-in for emails — covers how to toggle and configure double opt-in emails to be sent to users who initially opt into communication from you on a HubSpot form

I'm not sure if this will fit your use case or legal requirements, but you can also also follow the same process for your form submission confirmation email workflow. The trigger would either be checking the consent checbox property or being opted into a certain email subscription. You could then send a confirmation email to let the contact know that they have been opted into marketing communications. If you need them to opt in again, then you'll likely have the easiest time with HubSpot's double opt-in feature above.

Hope this helps!!

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @JCizek,

When you say that you want to send a confirmation email, are you referring to an email that confirms to them that they are now subscribed or an email that asks for a confirmation?

The first could be quite easily set up. In a contact-based workflow (Menu > Automation > Workflows), enroll contacts who have submitted the specific form (filter category Form submissions) and who have checked the marketing consent checkbox (filter category Email subscriptions). You can then place an automated email after this enrollment, saying something along the lines of "Welcome and thank you for subscribing".

If however you need contacts to confirm they're email address first, you would go the route of setting up a double opt-in process. There is a great step by step instruction here: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/email/set-up-double-opt-in-for-emails

When enabled, HubSpot will send this email, asking for confirmation, first before contacts can receive anything else. In other words, someone submits a form, the check the marketing consent box, they receive a double opt-in email, they confirm their email address and only then will they receive what they requested.

Keep in mind that in most countries the email confirmation is not necessarily based on whether someone checks a marketing consent box or not. HubSpot doesn't differentiate either, the double opt-in email would be sent either way. The assumption here is that regardless of whether you want to be subscribed or not, you have to confirm your email address. Take for example the case of a whitepaper download. I can request the whitepaper, not give marketing consent but still have to confirm my email address for the whitepaper to be delivered and my request to be fulfilled. The fulfilment of the request does not require marketing consent. The further sending of emails does. If you want to better understand consent, this is managed through subscription types in HubSpot: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/contacts/how-do-subscription-preferences-and-types-work

If you're unsure what to do, I'd recommend working with your legal team or a legal consultant. (My reply does not constitute legal advice.)

Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

[gml_ljb]

Hey Karsten, I have a follow-up question on this related to forms + email automation. 

On the form, I have a box they can check to receive emails. If I set up automation to send emails, will it only send it to them if they check the box? I didn't see any step I could add to check for that. 

[jolle · Accepted solution]

Hey @JCizek, thanks for reaching out! This is a great question.

If you need to comply with GDPR and are setting up a double opt-in email, you should check out these Knowledge Base articles from HubSpot (and absolutely consult a legal professional):

1. Understand opt-in consent for email — covers what is classified as an opt-in and how the process generally works
2. Set up double opt-in for emails — covers how to toggle and configure double opt-in emails to be sent to users who initially opt into communication from you on a HubSpot form

I'm not sure if this will fit your use case or legal requirements, but you can also also follow the same process for your form submission confirmation email workflow. The trigger would either be checking the consent checbox property or being opted into a certain email subscription. You could then send a confirmation email to let the contact know that they have been opted into marketing communications. If you need them to opt in again, then you'll likely have the easiest time with HubSpot's double opt-in feature above.

Hope this helps!!