A double opt-in process adds an extra layer of confirmation by requiring subscribers to click a link in a confirmation email to verify they want to receive your emails. This helps ensure your contact database is filled with engaged and interested subscribers and protects it from being cluttered with invalid addresses, bots, or accidental sign-ups.

When you create a sign-up form directly in Brevo, you can enable the "Double confirmation" option to automatically set up a double opt-in process. However, if you're using a form created outside of Brevo with a third-party tool, you'll need to create an automation in Brevo to manage the double opt-in process.

How does the double opt-in process for sign-up forms created outside of Brevo work?

To set up a double opt-in process for a sign-up form created outside of Brevo, you need to create an automation. Contacts will then go through the following steps:

1. A contact submits the sign-up form with their email address and is added to a temporary list in Brevo.
2. They enter a double opt-in process and a confirmation email is sent.
3. The contact confirms their subscription by clicking the button in the email.
4. They are moved to a final list in Brevo, such as the list where you store all your subscribers or customers.
5. (Optional) A confirmation email can be sent to inform them that their subscription was successful.
6. Contacts who don’t confirm within a certain timeframe are automatically blocklisted.

Before you start

Since you're using a sign-up form created outside of Brevo, make sure that all contacts who submit it are added to a list in Brevo. This list should be clearly labeled as a temporary list (e.g., TEMPORARY_DOUBLE_OPT-IN), and no communications should be sent to the contacts stored in it.

You can automatically add those contacts to Brevo using one of our plugins, the API, or Zapier.

Create your automation

1. Go to Automations.
2. Click Create an automation.
3. Create an automation from scratch using the new editor.
4. Click the name of your automation in the top bar to update it.

Step 1: Define who will go through the double opt-in process

The automation will start when a contact is added to your temporary list after submitting your sign-up form.

1. From the Triggers tab, drag and drop the Contacts - Contact added to a list step into the canvas.
   
2. Select your temporary list.
   
3. Click Save to save your trigger.

Step 2: Send the double opt-in confirmation email

You can now set up the double opt-in confirmation email that will be sent to contacts who have submitted your sign-up form. This email should contain a double opt-in link that contacts have to click to confirm their subscription.

1. From the Actions tab, add the Messaging - Send an email step into the canvas.
   
2. Select an email template. You can choose one of Brevo's pre-configured templates, your own template, or you can create your own design from scratch.
3. Design your email template by updating its content and adding any extra content or blocks as needed. To learn how to use the Drag & Drop editor, check our dedicated series of articles.
4. Make sure you include:
   1. A button that clearly invites the contact to confirm their subscription (e.g., "Yes, I confirm my subscription").
   2. The URL of your confirmation page or website homepage linked to the button as an "Absolute link". We will track this URL to monitor when contacts confirm their subscription as explained in Step 3: Wait until contacts click the link in the confirmation email. In this example, we used the URL https://xxx.sibpages.com.
      
      
      ❗️ Important

      The automation will not function correctly unless you include both the button and the URL linking to your confirmation page or website homepage.
5. Once you're done, click Use this design in automation in the top bar of the email editor to save your email template and return to the automation editor.
6. Configure the settings of your email template:
   

   Event data Subject line and preview text Sender email address and name Additional settings, including email sending time, email copy, reply-to address, tags, attachment, profile update form, unsubscribe form, and more.

   ➡️ To learn more about the settings available, check the dedicated section in our article Send an email from an automation.

7. Click Save.

Step 3: Wait until contacts click the link in the confirmation email

Then, add a delay to see which contacts click the link in the email to confirm their subscription before adding them to the final list. Since you linked the button to your confirmation page or website homepage, we can track who has clicked it and been redirected to this page.

1. From the Rules tab, add the Wait until an event happens step into the canvas.
   
2. From the Event dropdown, select Link clicked in an email.
3. Next to Email filters, click Add.
   
4. Click Add filters.
5. We'll define which link to track:
   1. Under Any type of emails, click Add filters.
   2. Select Link URL > Contains > the URL of the confirmation page or website homepage you linked in the button of your double opt-in email.
      
      
      ❗️ Important

      We recommend using the "Contains" or "Starts with" operators instead of "Is exactly", as the end of your URL may change due to link tracking. To learn more, check our dedicated article Why is the URL of my links different from what I have chosen?.
   3. Click Add filters to save the conditions.
6. Under Wait time, select how long we should wait before considering that a contact hasn’t confirmed their subscription.
   
7. Click Save.

(Optional) Step 4: Send a final confirmation email

Now, you can send a final confirmation email to notify the contact that their subscription has been successfully confirmed after they click the confirmation link. This step is optional as you can simply redirect to your confirmation page when the client clicks the button.

1. From the Actions tab, add the Messaging - Send an email step under the Yes branch.
   
2. Select an email template. You can choose one of Brevo's pre-configured templates, your own template, or you can create your own design from scratch.
3. Design your email template by updating its content and adding any extra content or blocks as needed. To learn how to use the Drag & Drop editor, check our dedicated series of articles.
4. Make sure your final confirmation email clearly states that the contact has been successfully subscribed and that they will now begin receiving your communications. You can also suggest that they return to your website, for example.
5. Once you're done, click Use this design in automation in the top bar of the email editor to save your email template and return to the automation editor.
6. Configure the settings of your email template:

   Event data Subject line and preview text Sender email address and name Additional settings, including email sending time, email copy, reply-to address, tags, attachment, profile update form, unsubscribe form, and more.

   ➡️ To learn more about the settings available, check the dedicated section in our article Send an email from an automation.

7. Click Save.

Step 5: Add the contact to your final list

Now that the contact has confirmed their subscription, you can add them to your final list. This list will gather the contacts who have subscribed through your double opt-in process.

1. From the Actions tab, add the Contacts - Add contact to a list step under the Yes branch.
   
2. Select your final list.
   
3. Click Save.

Step 6: Remove the contact from your temporary list

Now that the contact has been moved to your final list, you can remove them from your temporary list. 

1. From the Actions tab, add the Contacts - Remove contact from a list step under the Yes branch.
   
2. Select your temporary list.
   
3. Click Save.

Step 7: Blocklist the contacts who didn't click the double opt-in link

If a contact didn't click the button in your double opt-in email after the delay specified in Step 3: Wait until contacts click the link in the confirmation email has passed, it means they haven't confirmed their subscription and you shouldn't send them any emails. To prevent sending emails to them inadvertently, we recommend blocklisting them.

1. From the Actions tab, add the Contacts - Blocklist contact step under the No branch.
   
2. Select Marketing campaigns.
   
3. Click Save.

Your automation is now set up to manage the double opt-in process for your sign-up form created outside of Brevo.

Activate your automation

After setting up your automation, activate it to start letting contacts go through your double opt-in process.

1. In the top bar, click Activate automation.
   
2. Activate the Allow contact re-entry after exit option to let contacts go through your double opt-in process again in case they unsubscribe and re-subscribe through your form.
3. Click Activate automation to confirm.
   

Your automation is now active. Your contacts will go through your double opt-in process after they submit your sign-up form.

🤔 Have a question?

If you have a question, feel free to contact our support team by creating a ticket from your account. If you don't have an account yet, you can contact us here.

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