16 — Marketing permission
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What it is
At checkout, buyers can choose to hear from you about future events, by email and, if you turn it on, by text. This chapter covers what they're asked, where you can see who said yes, and how people change their mind.
Updates about an event someone already has tickets for aren't marketing. See Emailing ticket holders.
What buyers are asked
- "Email me about future events from [your organization]." Shown to buyers who haven't already agreed.
- "Text me about future events from [your organization]." Only if you turn it on (below), and only with a phone number.
The email box starts ticked; buyers untick it if they'd rather not hear from you. The text box always starts unticked, because US law requires an active yes before you text anyone about future events. Neither is ever a condition of buying. A buyer who agrees to hear from you has agreed to hear from you only, not from other organizers on COME TOGETHER, and not from us.
Someone who unsubscribed stays unsubscribed. A ticked box at a later checkout never signs them back up unless they tick it themselves while signed in.
We keep the exact wording each buyer agreed to, and when.
Emailing outside the US? A pre-ticked box isn't valid consent under EU, UK or Canadian law. If you sell to buyers there, check with your own adviser before you email them.
Turning on text permission
In your event's ticket settings, turn on Collect SMS Marketing Consent. It's off by default, because it adds another question at the moment someone is paying. Most events don't need it.
Seeing who said yes
Your Order Items export has a Buyer Email Marketing column: Yes for buyers who currently agree to hear from you by email, No for everyone else.
Only send marketing to people marked Yes. Every buyer's email address is in the export, because you need it to run your event, but that isn't permission to promote future events to them.
How people change their mind
- From their account: Account → Communication preferences lists everyone they've agreed to hear from, each with a Stop button.
- From an unsubscribe link in a marketing email.
Once someone stops, they show as No in your next export. Messages about tickets they already hold still reach them.
Good to know
Keep a clean list. If you market from your own email tool, re-export before each send so people who stopped are removed.
Ticking again later counts. If someone stops and later agrees again at another checkout, they're back to Yes.
Un-ticking isn't unsubscribing. A buyer who agreed at an earlier event and leaves the box unticked next time is still subscribed. Stopping is always a deliberate choice.
The rules are yours to follow. Marketing laws differ by country and channel. Texts in particular need clear permission. When in doubt, ask your legal adviser.