# What is opt-in?

Opt-in is permission to email someone, given by their own action: they fill in a form or tick an empty box to say they want your emails, and only then join your list. A box ticked for them in advance, or an address copied from somewhere else, is not an opt-in.

Last reviewed 30 October 2026. Web page: https://chapbook.ink/glossary/opt-in/

## What it means in practice

Say what the person is agreeing to, right beside the form, and keep a record of it. The rules differ by place, and this page is not legal advice:

- **GDPR.** Consent needs "a clear affirmative act", and whoever relies on it must be able to show it was given.
- **US CAN-SPAM.** The FTC's guide centers on the right to opt out, which you must honor within 10 business days.
- **Gmail.** Google's sender guidelines ask senders to make sure recipients opt in, whatever the local law.

Opt-in is a single step. [Double opt-in](/glossary/double-opt-in/) adds a confirmation email after it.

## How Chapbook uses it

On a paid plan, a book's public page has a sign-up form. Under it the reader sees "You'll get emails from" your pen name, then "Unsubscribe anytime." That line, its version and the time are stored with the sign-up, as [the manual explains](/manual/publish-on-chapbook/), and they export with [your Readers list](/manual/readers/#export-csv).

On a children's activity pack, the form is for a parent, guardian or teacher, who ticks a box to say so. Chapbook sends no email to readers, so it records every address as unconfirmed. Your email tool can ask a reader to confirm, but Chapbook hears nothing back: its Readers list and CSV still say unconfirmed, so check confirmation in your email tool.

The sample on this page opens just after an opt-in: "Someone found your sign-up form, typed in their address, and pressed the button."

## Made with Chapbook: The Welcome Sequence

The Welcome Sequence: Seven emails that turn a subscriber into a reader, by Dana Okafor. Lead magnet, 3,626 words, 17 pages. A sample generated from one brief and exported unedited; it is not a customer's book. Read every page: https://chapbook.ink/examples/newsletter/

The brief:

> A seven-email welcome sequence for a new newsletter: what each email does, what to write, and when to send it. Promise: By the end you have a complete seven-email welcome sequence drafted, with a send schedule. Reader: Someone with fewer than a thousand subscribers who writes the newsletter themselves. Voice: Second person, warm and direct, worked examples with fictional newsletters, no invented open-rate statistics.

The outline the planner proposed:

1. Introduction (282 words)
2. Email 1: The one they actually open (681 words)
3. Emails 2 and 3: Who you are and what to expect (729 words)
4. Emails 4 and 5: Your best two pieces, reframed (669 words)
5. Emails 6 and 7: The ask, and the door left open (743 words)
6. The schedule and the template (478 words)

## Questions

### Does a pre-ticked box count as an opt-in?

Not under the GDPR: Recital 32 says silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity should not count as consent. Google's sender guidelines, checked on 30 October 2026, also tell senders to avoid opt-in forms that are checked by default.

### Does Chapbook keep a record of the opt-in?

Yes. Each sign-up on a Chapbook book page stores the exact line the reader saw, its version and the time. All three go out with the CSV export of your Readers list.

## Sources

- [Google, “Email sender guidelines”, section “Make it easy to subscribe”](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126)
- [GDPR, Recital 32, “Conditions for consent”](https://gdpr-info.eu/recitals/no-32/)
- [GDPR, Article 7, “Conditions for consent”](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-7-gdpr/)
- [US Federal Trade Commission, “CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business”](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business)