Why Explicit Permission Is Required for Email Marketing

Gaining explicit permission for email marketing is not only a best practice — it is required by Keap and most reputable email service providers. Sending marketing emails without explicit permission damages your sender reputation, lowers email deliverability, and ultimately costs you leads and customer trust. Contacts who did not ask to hear from you are far more likely to mark your emails as spam, which signals to inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook that your emails are unwanted — affecting inbox placement for your entire contact list.

What Explicit Permission Means

Explicit permission means a contact has voluntarily and knowingly requested to receive marketing emails from your business. Explicit permission requires two elements to be present:

1. Clear consent — The contact actively agrees to receive your marketing emails. The agreement must be voluntary, not assumed or implied.
2. Proper expectations — The contact understands what kind of content they will receive and how often they will receive it.

Example of explicit permission on a web form: "Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter with product updates, special offers, and event invitations."

Double opt-in is the process of sending a confirmation email to a new subscriber after they sign up, asking them to click a link to confirm their email address and consent. Double opt-in — also called email confirmation — reduces spam and bounced emails and improves deliverability for your campaigns by ensuring only valid, consenting contacts are added to your marketing list.

How to Obtain Explicit Permission

• Web forms — Use a checkbox that is unchecked by default so the contact actively chooses to opt in. Do not pre-check the box on their behalf. Clearly describe the type of emails they will receive and the expected frequency — for example, "weekly tips" or "monthly updates."
• In-person or phone interactions — If you collect email addresses at an event, over the phone, or through direct messages on social media, ask explicitly whether the contact wants to receive ongoing marketing emails. Collecting an email for one purpose — such as sending an event confirmation — does not constitute permission to add that contact to your marketing list.
• Follow-up confirmation (double opt-in) — After a contact signs up, send a confirmation email asking them to click a link to confirm their subscription. This verifies consent, sets expectations immediately, and reduces the risk of invalid or mistyped email addresses entering your list.

What Is Not Considered Explicit Permission

The following scenarios do not qualify as explicit permission for email marketing. Sending bulk marketing emails to contacts in these situations violates Keap's email policies and damages your sender reputation.

• Collecting an email address for a one-time purpose — such as sending a receipt or providing a download — and then adding that contact to your marketing list without their agreement.
• Assuming that a contact who purchased a product automatically consents to receive ongoing marketing emails.
• Purchasing or renting email lists from third parties.
• Using borrowed or shared lists from other businesses.
• Requiring a contact to provide their email address in exchange for a discount, account access, or gated content without offering a clear, unchecked opt-in for marketing emails.

Key point: Permission is only explicit when it is both voluntary and informed. A contact must choose to receive marketing emails and must know what they are agreeing to.

What to Do with Contacts Who Have Not Given Permission

• Do not send bulk marketing emails to contacts who have not explicitly opted in. Send only transactional or one-to-one communications until explicit permission has been obtained.
• Seek permission directly — Ask in person, by phone, or in a one-to-one message whether the contact would like to receive ongoing marketing emails from your business.
• Never assume consent — Past purchases, inquiries, or casual business interactions do not qualify as explicit permission for email marketing.

Example: How to Write Explicit Permission Language on a Signup Form

On your signup form, include a statement like the following next to an unchecked checkbox:

"Yes, I'd like to receive [weekly tips / product updates / special offers]. I understand I'll get about one email per week, and I can unsubscribe anytime."

The signup form displays an unchecked checkbox next to the opt-in statement. The statement names the content type (weekly tips and product updates), the expected frequency (about one email per week), and the ability to unsubscribe at any time. Including all three elements sets clear expectations and constitutes explicit permission when the contact checks the box voluntarily.

Email Marketing Best Practices

For additional guidance on email collection practices, deliverability, and compliance, see the Email Marketing Best Practices Handbook. Setting clear expectations and gaining explicit permission protects your sender reputation, improves deliverability, and builds lasting trust with your audience.

Need Additional Help with Email Deliverability?

If you would like professional guidance on email practices or tools to improve your email deliverability, the following trusted partners offer specialized services.

Email Deliverability Training, Consulting, and Software

• EmailSmart — email deliverability specialist training, consulting, and software

List Cleaning

• SpamClean — email list cleaning service
• ListDefender — email list cleaning and form security
• Klean13 — email list cleaning service
• EmailSmart Pro Tools — email list cleaning and deliverability tools

Form Security

• Spamkill — form security to prevent spam contact submissions
• ListDefender — form security and email list protection