How to set up an effective opt-in chain

Account admins and program admins

Opt-in messages are for programs that have auto-enroll enabled. For more information on auto-enroll and why you might want it enabled click here.

What is an opt-in message?

An opt-in message allows you to capture key information from unknown contacts who text into your program. Opt-ins are set up on a per program basis.

What if I don’t have opt-in enabled but I have auto-enroll on?

If a contact texts into your program but auto-enroll is enabled then the system will save the contact as Name Unknown (pictured below). And the contact will not receive a message.

Having an opt-in chain puts a name to the number. And gives you an opportunity to let the contact know who they are texting and what to expect.

Setting up an effective opt-in chain

There are three key parts to an effective opt-in chain.

1. Introduction - This should thank the contact for texting in and let them know who they are texting and that there will be a few questions that’ll need to answer in order for their profile to be completed.
2. Essential questions - Every opt-in chain should ask for the contact’s first name and the contact’s last name.
3. Custom questions - These are other questions that might be necessary for users to better interact with the contact. In the sample below the users needed to know if the contact was a student and parent, which then created a new layer of responses. You'll want to let Message know where you'd like questions saved for your custom questions.

Our best practice is to keep opt-in chains short and sweet - around five questions. If your chain will be longer it might help to let contacts know in the intro how many follow-up questions they’ll need to answer.