Okay, so once upon a time, you could set a checkout setting that would "disable" the "subscribe to email list" checkbox in the checkout. Customers wouldn't see it, wouldn't have a choice not to subscribe, and were automatically added to your email list. You could set this regardless of whether or not the offer was a free or paid offer.

Oops

That option no longer no longer exists.

There is still a "disabled" checkout setting that will hide the "subscribe to email list" checkbox in the checkout (see below image), but now instead of everyone being automatically subscribed, if you have that setting on, no one is subscribed. 

They will still get added to your Contact list but their marketing status will show as "never subscribed". Not ideal if you want to follow up with a nice email sequence after purchase. 

So what do you do?

The best option (IMO) that you can set is to have:

1) Pre-checked opt-in box enabled (the box for subscribing to the email list will show but will be pre-checked and customers would need to uncheck if they don't want to be on your email list

2) Custom Messaging updated (what is written beside the pre-checked box). I personally put something like "Email is my preferred communication method on this purchase" - something the customer would agree with

3) Additional Options checked. to automatically sign up customers to your email list when they purchase a PAID offer. This means only in the case of paid offers the subscribe to email list checkbox will not show and customers will automatically be subscribed to your list.

See image below for reference:

But what about FREE offers?

Sometimes I like using a checkout even on something free like a short mini-course as it allows students to set their own password at point of sign up, but this change to the checkout settings is too big of a risk to my business, so I won't personally be having people sign up through free checkouts any longer.

Instead, I will simply have them sign up through a Kajabi form and then set an automation in the form to grant access to the free offer. That way, using the single opt-in option in the form, I can continue to add students of free courses as subscribers to my email list. 

Form automation image below for reference:

But what about GDPR?

It's a grey area for sure, and I am no lawyer, but if you're nervous about automatically subscribing people to your email list who have signed up for your mini-course, I suggest one of two things:

1) In the Kajabi "form" you could add a checkbox that people need to tick before they can sign up for the free training (they're agreement will get recorded against their profile that they checked the box) - example below

2) You could add appropriately worded disclaimer text under the form so that the person opting in knows they'll be added to the email list for the delivery of the freebie/details on the course (not as watertight but looks nicer 😉)

And then it becomes a matter of what you do with their information. I'm sure no one signing up for a course/freebie is going to mind being sent information that pertains to that but once you start sending them information on everything else you do they might not be too happy.

Phew! That can be so confusing. I hope this clears it up a bit.

Until the next time!

Meg xx