Overview
The most common set up for opt-out list management requires no exchange of opt-out information between you and Extole. We maintain an opt-out list specific to your program. All messages sent by Extole contain an unsubscribe link, and if an advocate or friend clicks it, they will be opted out from future emails from the program. We make available the list of opt-outs as a CSV file of emails on the Extole SFTP server. This list can be hashed if desired. All exchanges of opt-out lists are transferred through the Extole SFTP server. For details on how to use the Extole server, refer to our article on Using Extole’s SFTP Server.Opt-out Lists
Our platform maintains three opt-out lists for Extole-powered programs.- Transactional: These are the reward emails that get sent from our platform to program participants containing their rewards.
- Promotional: All other emails in our system (e.g., welcome email, mail after purchase, stats email).
Updating the Extole Opt-out List
Extole will automatically process opt-out list files from the SFTP server. The emails in the opt-out lists will be added to the advocate opt-out list. Since Extole checks both the advocate and friend opt-out list before sending any email communication, it is fine to send both sets of lists to Extole to add to the Extole advocate list.Synchronizing Opt-outs
There are two methods for keeping these lists synchronized:- One-way pull (full lists)
- One-way push (incremental lists)
One-way Pull from Extole
One-way pulls, also known as full lists, differ from one-way pushes in that they treat the referral program as a separate opt-out list from the master list. Under this system, opting out of referral email communications is directly handled by Extole. Emails generated by the referral platform will contain all required information pointing to Extole and the Extole opt-out system. You are responsible for pulling Extole’s opt-out lists as required to incorporate them into your larger lists.One-way Push to Extole
One-way pushes, also known as incremental lists, are the default setting for your account. With one-way pushes, opting out of email communication is directly handled by your system, and only new additions to your opt-out lists are sent to Extole. Emails generated by us will contain all required information pointing directly to your business address and opt-out system. You are responsible for pushing your opt-out lists to Extole at least once every ten days.Technical Specifications
The opt-out file you upload must be:- Placed in the /optouts directory of the SFTP server.
- The filename should be
clientid_optout_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.csv - Formatted as a list of lowercased emails with all whitespace removed (this is the format recommended by Unsub Central and the Email Sender & Provider Coalition [ESPC]).
Example plaintext opt-out list:
clientid_optout_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.csv
Example MD5 opt-out list
Updating your Master Opt-out List
If your system is using two-way synchronization, program participants can directly opt out of the Extole-hosted program. You are responsible for accessing these opt-outs and incorporating them into your master opt-out list. The opt-out files are incremental and will include all email addresses that have opted-out from Extole since the last run of the export process. Extole will configure the opt-out lists to be generated daily. Opt-outs are placed in the /optouts/exports directory of the SFTP server.
The export file format will match the input file format. If the input file is provided as an MD5 hash, the export will also be provided as an MD5 hash.