The importance of email marketing consent in QuickBooks

When you use QuickBooks to send marketing emails to your contacts, you must always ask for their permission first. This is required by law and protects your business.

How do we define email marketing consent?

In marketing terms, consent means you have a customer's clear, verifiable permission to email them.

Proper email marketing consent must meet the following requirements.

• It must be clear: You must use a separate checkbox that explicitly states, "I want to receive emails from [Your Business Name]." It can't be hidden or combined with any other agreement.
• It must be defined: Getting consent to email someone isn't consent to text them. You must ask for consent for each type of marketing separately.
• It must be verifiable: You should keep a record (like a signup form) that verifies a contact’s email marketing consent. Written consent is best.  

Why email marketing consent is essential

Sending marketing emails without consent can quickly lead to major problems like:

• Spam reports: Customers will report your email as spam.
• Denylist: Too many spam reports can get your business's email address placed on a blocked list.
• Blocked emails: If you're blocked, all of your emails are stopped—even important ones like payment reminders.

Following the rules builds customer trust and keeps your important business emails reliably delivered.

Best practices for email marketing consent

• Never assume: If you didn't ask clearly, don't send the email.
• Keep records: Use sign-up methods that save the date and time a customer consented.
• Don't buy lists: Never buy a list of email addresses. You don't have the required verifiable consent from those contacts.