Opt-out List Management

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).
• Personal: The share email that the advocate or influencer sends to their friend.

Before sending an email on behalf of a client, Extole checks the email address against the appropriate list.

These lists are maintained separately so that when synchronization occurs, Extole is able to separate the customers (i.e., advocates, influencers, nominators) from the non-customers (i.e., friends, followers, family members).

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)

To change the way you synchronize opt-out lists with Extole, contact your Customer Success Manager.

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]).

Opt-out lists must also use SHA-1, SHA-256, or MD5 formats. Your Extole Customer Success Manager must configure the service to accept the correct hash format.

Example plaintext opt-out list:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Example MD5 opt-out list

5258277a4a594874c3ac26d4df66a015
68c00cdc19f221e2137d71596e29450f
0a26ae263ea829375870ca32e71a9fda
d43c917940592ace1095e369ee3c33c9
56dc55e0eaed38db7c30956cfbdc3b1f

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to make all characters lowercase?

This is the recommended format for storing and transmitting opt-out lists to make sure you have the highest rate of successful matches (email addresses sent between you and Extole must match each other). When an email is hashed, the encoded value is altered by the use of uppercase (see below). Converting all characters to lowercase ensures successful opt-outs.

"[email protected]" > 20c628ac26de39b5b8d7fe45d68447b9
"[email protected]" > 0a26ae263ea829375870ca32e71a9fda

Why do I need to remove whitespace?

To avoid incorrectly sending emails to an opted-out user, make sure that there are no "blank" characters at the start and end of an address. When an email is hashed, the encoded value is altered by the presence of spaces between characters (see below). Trimming off whitespace ensures successful opt outs.

"[email protected]" > 20c628ac26de39b5b8d7fe45d68447b9
"[email protected] " > 455d94ab6fba67f7f850bc9f2a5ddb87

Where can I learn more about opt-out lists?

Please consult the Email Sender & Provider Coalition's Best Practices Guidelines.