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When to use topics

Let people opt out of one kind of email without leaving everything.

A topic is a kind of email, such as "Product updates", "Billing" or "Weekly digest". Contacts opt in or out of each topic. Without topics, someone who wants fewer emails has one option, unsubscribe from everything, and you lose them completely.

When topics help

  • You send more than one kind of marketing email: a newsletter, product news, event invitations.
  • You want a preference page where people tune what they receive.
  • Different kinds of mail have different audiences, and you want complaints to cost you one topic, not the whole list.

If you send one newsletter, you do not need topics: a normal unsubscribe is enough.

When not to

  • Transactional mail (receipts, password resets, security alerts) does not belong in a topic. It is not opt-in, and it should reach the person regardless of marketing choices.
  • Do not create a topic for every campaign. Use segments to choose who gets a one-off send.

How topics work in usend

  • A topic has a name, an optional description and a default subscription: opt_in (contacts must subscribe) or opt_out (everyone receives it until they leave). Use opt_in unless people clearly agreed to the whole set.
  • A contact follows the topic's default until it chooses. Contacts can opt in or out per topic.
  • A broadcast with a topic_id reaches only contacts subscribed to that topic. Its unsubscribe link leaves only that topic, and the page tells the person which one. A broadcast without a topic unsubscribes the person from everything.
  • You can have up to 20 topics per organization. A topic cannot be deleted while a broadcast uses it.

Example

Shell
# create a topic
curl -X POST https://api.usend.et/topics \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USEND_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "name": "Product updates", "default_subscription": "opt_in" }'

# set a contact's choice
curl -X PATCH https://api.usend.et/contacts/[email protected]/topics \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USEND_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "topics": [{ "id": "TOPIC_ID", "subscription": "opt_out" }] }'

Topics are also managed on the Audience page of the dashboard (the Topics tab).

Tips

  • Keep topic names plain and match what you told people at sign-up.
  • Link to a preference page from every marketing email, not only the unsubscribe link: Unsubscribe links.
  • People who left everything are unsubscribed, and imports never resubscribe them.