Summary: Empower your members to easily opt in or out of communications from your church! By combining Forms, Profile Fields, and Smart Tags, you can create a seamless, self-serve communication preferences system so members can manage their own subscriptions.
Before You Begin
Exact Matching: In order for your form to automatically update a person's profile, the form field and the new profile field you create must match exactly (spelling, field type, and option order).
Existing Tags Warning: If you plan to use an existing tag for your active mailing list, ensure current members in that tag have the new "opt-in" profile field checked before setting up the Smart Tag. Otherwise, the automation will accidentally remove them! You can use the "Update People" bulk action to update your current list beforehand.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Create a Communication Preferences Form
Create a public form so members can change their preferences themselves without you needing to do it manually.
Navigate to Forms on the top bar menu and create a new form.
Include a Name and Email field to ensure the form associates correctly with their database profile.
Add a Multiple Choice field with clear options for opting in and opting out of communications.
2. Create a Matching Profile Field
Navigate to Gear Icon > Profile Fields.
Create a new Multiple Choice profile field that matches your form field exactly (e.g., "I want to opt in to receiving notifications" and "I want to opt out").
3. Set Up Your Smart Tag Automation
Now, tell the system to automatically move people into your mailing list Tag based on their profile field choice!
Click Account Settings (⚙️) > Automations.
Click + Add Task and select Smart Tag.
Under "Select Filter", choose your newly created profile field and check the box for your "opt-in" response.
Select the specific tag(s) you'd like this filter to automatically assign people to.
Choose whether or not you'd like anyone who does not match that filter to be removed from the tag. (Note: Choosing this option will place a "locked" icon next to the tag, meaning people can only enter or exit the tag based on this form's automation).
Click Add Task.
4. Add the Form to Your Newsletters
Navigate back to your form and copy the Form Address link.
Add this link to the bottom footer of your email communications (e.g., hyperlinking the text "Click here to update your communication preferences").
Save this format to your email templates for easy future use!
Troubleshooting & FAQs
How do I fully block emails for people who opt out? If someone selects the opt-out option on your form, the Smart Tag automation will successfully remove them from your mailing list tag. However, as an extra best practice, you can periodically search your database for everyone with the opt-out profile field selected and use the Update People bulk action to officially check the system's Do Not Email field on their profiles.
How do I send my newsletters now? Your opt-in/opt-out system is fully functional! From now on, simply select your designated Smart Tag when choosing the recipients for your bulk emails.