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.
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 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, and they export with your Readers list.
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.”
In a real book
Related terms
- What is double opt-in? Double opt-in means a new subscriber confirms their address from an email before joining a list. Why lists use it, and how it works with Chapbook's sign-ups.
- What is a lead magnet funnel? A lead magnet funnel is the path from a free offer to a subscriber to a customer. The steps it takes, and which of them Chapbook handles and which your email tool does.
- What is list hygiene in email marketing? List hygiene means keeping an email list to addresses that work and people who still want your email. What to remove, why Gmail cares, and what stays in your tool.
Make one
Questions people ask
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.
Read a chapter of your own book before you pay for it.
The outline, one sample chapter up to 2,500 words and a watermarked cover are free: 60 Book Credits on sign-up, no card.