Setting Up Double Opt-In

Double opt-in (DOI) sends an additional email to a user after they submit a subscription form. It helps verify the email address and confirm that the contact wants to receive future communications. A subscriber becomes confirmed only after clicking a link or button in this email.

In Reteno, you can configure subscription forms in three ways:

  1. Built-in forms (widgets) — created directly in your account.
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Note

Double opt-in for these forms requires no additional setup. System automatically creates the workflow and confirmation email.

To use a custom workflow and confirmation emails, follow the instructions to replace the default Double Opt-In workflow.

  1. Third-party forms integrated via API — use them for custom or self-built forms on your website.

Next, configure Double opt-in for a third-party form integrated via API.

Setting Up a Subscription Form

You can integrate subscription form via API method Subscribe contact. When a contact fills out the form, the following events are sent to your account:

  • subscribeFromApi (when a contact fills out a form for the first time);
  • subscribeUpdateFromApi (when filling again).

After setting up data transferring, create an email and two workflows. The first workflow sends subscription confirmation email, the second makes a contact active.

Setting Up Confirmation Email

Create an email that the subscriber will receive after filling out the form.

  1. Go to Messages → Messages → Email and click New Email.
Messages page with the Messages menu and New Email button highlighted, listing 1.0k messages
  1. Open the Gallery tab and select the Welcome email from the Lifecycle emails templates.
Create new Email gallery with the Gallery tab, Lifecycle emails category, and Welcome template highlighted

Email confirmation block with default text and button looks like this:

Email editor showing the confirmation block with a Hi firstName heading, confirmation text, and a Confirm my email button highlighted
  1. Design the email in your brand style and enter the required text.
  2. Link the event to the button or to the link in the email to launch the required workflow.

Select a block with a button in the email. In the left panel, in the corresponding field, select the pre-prepared event Confirmed subscription:

Email editor Button block settings panel with the Event type field highlighted and set to Confirmed subscription

In the left settings panel, you can specify a link to the subscription confirmation page.

Email editor Button block settings panel with the Link field highlighted showing a Site URL

Setting Up the Workflows

To send the confirmation email and change the contact status to active, you need to create two workflows.

Workflow for Sending Confirmation Email

Filling out the form can launch 2 types of events.

  1. subscribeFromApi — creating a new contact.
  2. subscribeUpdateFromApi — Contact update (re-filling the form).
Event types page with the subscribeUpdateFromApi and subscribeFromApi event types highlighted in the list

To create a workflow:

  1. Go to Automation → Workflows and click New workflow.
Automation menu open with Workflows highlighted and the New workflow button highlighted
  1. Enter the workflow name and add the Start, Task and End blocks.
  2. In the Task block parameters, set the following parameters:
  • Task name – Send obligatory (transactional) email.
  • Message – Select the required email: Confirmation email.
Workflow editor showing Start/Stop configuration, a Send obligatory (transactional) email Task block, and End, with Task name and Message set to Confirmation highlighted
  1. Click Save and exit.

Workflow to Confirm a Contact

This workflow launches after clicking the button in the confirmation email and makes a contact available for further campaigns.

To create the workflow:

  1. Go to Automation → Workflows and click New workflow.
  2. Enter the workflow name and add the Start, Task and End blocks.
  3. In the Task block parameters, set the Confirm contact task name.
Workflow editor showing Start/Stop configuration, a Confirm contact Task block, and End, with the Task name highlighted
  1. Click Save and exit.

Welcome Emails Chain After Confirm Contact Block

To send a welcome series, you need to supplement your Confirm contact workflow.

Workflow editor showing Start/Stop configuration, Confirm contact, an Email Welcome for all block, a 1 day Timer, and another Email block connected in sequence

Launching Workflow Conditions

  1. Go to Start/Stop configuration of created workflows.
Workflows list showing the Confirm contact and Filled form workflows with Start/Stop configuration links highlighted
  1. Select the following events:
  • subscribeFromApi: Filled form workflow
  • Confirm contact: Confirm contact workflow.
Start/Stop configuration panel with Event-based selected, Event set to subscribeFromApi, and Process repeated events set to Once

Learn more about creating events >

  1. Click Apply.
  2. Activate workflows.
Workflows list with the play icons highlighted to activate the Confirm contact and Filled form workflows

If needed, set up processing unique events(1 hour by default). You can opt that the contacts who fill in the subscription form several times a day still receive only one confirmation email. In case of re-subscribe, another event -subscribeUpdateFromApi - will be sent. The confirmation email won't be sent, and contact data will be updated.

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Important

The segment for contacts who have confirmed subscription is created in the system by default, but if you transfer data via the API, you can specify the name of the segment in the request.

If the subscribe request specifies a list of segments to which the contact should be added after subscribing, and then the workflow checks for membership in one of these segments, use a timer of at least 4 minutes between these actions. This will ensure the correct workflow operation and consistent execution of all requests in the system.

Follow-Up Welcome Series

You can add a welcome email or a series of welcome emails to your contact confirmation workflow. They will be sent after the contact confirms the subscription and gets active in the system. You can vary the number of welcome emails depending on your needs.

Workflow editor titled Welcome Series showing Start/Stop configuration, Confirm contact, Welcome email, timers, Follow-up 1 and Follow-up 2 emails, and End connected in sequence
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Note

A contact becomes available (active) for your campaigns only after they confirm their subscription in the confirmation email. You cannot send broadcasts to unconfirmed contacts.

After all the settings, run a test: fill in the form on the website and check if your email address gets to the segment Subscribers in the system. This segment is the default, but you can specify the segment name in the request if you send contact data via API.

If the subscribe request specifies a list of segments to which the contact should be added after subscribing, and then the workflow checks for membership in one of these segments, use a timer of at least 4 minutes between these actions. This will ensure the correct workflow operation and consistent execution of all requests in the system.

Notes

  1. If you have several forms assigned to different confirmation emails, you need to create separate workflows and events for each form.
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Important

For the event category Click, Key is a required field. The text is optional, but we recommend using Latin without numbers. For example: click, subscription, confirmation, etc.

  1. When creating a subscription form, add a checkbox with your terms of use. According to the GDPR rules, the user must check the box to confirm they agree to your terms of use and privacy policies and want to receive broadcasts from you.

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