Expiry of implied consent for Canadian contacts is a major contributor to list churn. In this article you'll find a collection of settings and options to get express consent from your contacts.
There is no silver bullet. No single solution converts amazingly but using a combination of features will have a measurable impact on the size of your confirmed subscribers.
Obtain express consent when contacts first interact with you
This is the most obvious suggestion, of course. This way you have non-expiring consent and don’t have to chase contacts to confirm their subscription.
Just add a consent checkbox to every form. Simple, isn’t it? Sort of. There are two notable exceptions:
Dedicated subscription forms: you don’t need to display a consent checkbox as long as you clearly indicate that contacts are subscribing to your list and they have the option to unsubscribe. This way you can assign express consent to anyone who completes a subscription form.
Direct sales inquiry forms: it's more important to get the sales inquiry than obtaining express consent and a consent request checkbox can dilute the effectiveness of your carefully optimized sales form. Leads will have implied consent for six months. This is not a major issue since they are already leads at this stage.
Related article: Tips about subscription forms optimization and related consent settings.
Audit your forms and email messages
This step is discussed in detail in a separate blog post: Useful tips which you can use to maximize consent and subscription on your forms under CASL.
Find out if any CASL exemptions are applicable
CASL provides a number of exemptions such as mandatory messages sent to association members, members of alumni organizations, recall notices, etc. It’s worth to investigate if any of the exemptions apply to (some of) your contacts
Get the country field right
Mark contacts who are outside Canada. (you can do this using the country field.) Expiring implied consent only applies to Canadian contacts and you don’t want to lose non-Canadians simply because they are assumed Canadian. You should also review your “default country” setting - it is used when contacts don’t have a country designation and we can't determine it based on their IP addresses either.
Envoke will handle US, Canada and EU contacts automatically. This is how location of contacts is determined.
Use the consent request banner
The consent request banner is used to automatically solicit express consent over time: it appears on top of every email for contacts who haven’t yet provided "express consent". Read more about the consent request banner.
Automate consent expiry reminder emails
From your Envoke account you can send automated reminders to contacts whose implied consent is about to expire.
Send dedicated consent request emails
You can periodically send dedicated consent request messages. These emails should only be sent to contacts who didn't already provide consent so be sure to use the correct filter for this and most importantly position your request for consent as a benefit to your contacts rather than a chore. Learn more.
Don’t use legal jargon and explain what’s in it for your contacts
When asking for express consent avoid using legal terms. For example a button called "confirm your subscription" works better than "provide express consent".
You also need to “sell” express consent. Include benefits / provide a reason why anyone should confirm the subscription. For example “Confirm your subscription and be the first to hear about product releases, contests and industry insights”.
Offer multiple subscriptions
This way your contacts have a choice to opt in and out of various subscriptions without revoking consent altogether. When subscription preferences are updated we require contacts to confirm or revoke consent. Most people confirm it at this point.
One-time setup
Many of these suggestions require only a one-time setup. Envoke automates the rest from then on. In the end there will always be contacts who won't give you their express consent (confirm subscription) no matter what you do but you can sleep better knowing you did everything you can to prevent expiry of consent from too many contacts