Opt-In
A recipient's explicit permission to receive messages — the consent that separates permission-based marketing from cold outreach.
An opt-in is the affirmative action by which someone agrees to receive communication: checking a box, submitting a form, texting a keyword. It establishes consent, which is the legal and ethical basis of permission marketing and a sharp contrast to cold outreach, where no prior relationship exists.
Opt-in quality matters as much as quantity — a clearly worded, single-purpose opt-in produces an engaged list that converts and stays clean, while a vague or bundled one breeds complaints and opt-outs. For SMS especially, documented opt-in consent is a hard regulatory requirement, which is why serious operators record when and how each contact opted in.
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