What are Smart Links?

Smart Links are links that you can insert into emails and your Cloze email signature that allow a recipient to unsubscribe, update their communication preferences, grant you consent to contact them in the future, or give them an option to withdraw this consent. 

There are four Smart Link options that you can use:

  1. Unsubscribe
  2. Update Preferences
  3. Grant Consent
  4. Withdraw Consent
  5. Booking Link

Inserting a Smart Link is easy. Simply highlight the text you wish to link, tap on the template icon, and select the appropriate Smart Link. 


 

When an email recipient clicks on any of the above links, they will be directed to a landing page where they may review their current communication preferences with you. These landing pages have been translated into 30 different languages.  

The recipient's click on your Smart Link will immediately update the Do Not Contact Field and Lawful Basis Field in your Cloze account. Please be sure to enable these fields so they are visible in your Cloze account. 

Smart Link Type Do Not Contact Field Values Updated Lawful Basis Field Values Updated  On Click? 
Unsubscribe Regular Email: No Emails and No Mass Emails. Mail Merge: only sets No Mass Email Unsets the  Consent Field  Yes
Update Preferences

Regular Email: The recipient may set No Emails

Other contact: The recipient may set No Contact (at all) 

 The recipient may set or unset the Consent Field  No
Grant Consent  N/A Sets Consent Field  Yes
Withdraw Consent   No Contact (at all) is set Unsets Consent Field  Yes

 

Where is this information logged?

When an email recipient clicks on any of the above links or makes changes on a landing page their changes will be recorded in their profile in your Cloze account.

To see these changes you will need to enable two Custom Fields in Settings. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to enable these Custom Fields to help you comply with the GDPR and other regulations:

If you do have EU citizen customers you can also enable enforcement of Do Not Contact for anyone that has no Lawful Basis set. 

Unsubscribe

You can use the "Unsubscribe" Smart Link to give recipients the ability to opt out of receiving your emails in the future and comply with laws like CAN-SPAM, Canada Anti-Spam Law (CASL), and others. 

Cloze email example with unsubscribe in email signature.
Cloze email example with unsubscribe in email signature.

When the recipient clicks on the Unsubscribe Smart Link, they will be taken to a landing page where they can see that they have opted to no longer receive emails from you.  

  1. Send me an email like this one has been set to No. After they tap on the Save Changes button, they will be opted out.
  2. They can also make changes (e.g., set it back to Yes) and then tap on the Save Changes button.
Cloze Unsubscribe landing page.
Cloze Unsubscribe landing page.
  1. Timeline Audit Trail is updated - When the recipient saves their preferences (e.g., they opt out), you will see an audit trail message in their Cloze timeline.
  2. Email sending disabled - The email icon will be grayed out, disabling email sending and indicating they no longer wish to receive email from you. This prevents accidental outreach from within Cloze.
  3. Do Not Contact field is updated - The Do Not Contact field is also updated.
Cloze Profile example: Person who has opted out of email.
Cloze Profile example: Person who has opted out of email.

Update Preferences

The Update Preferences Smart Link gives recipients the ability to change how they wish you to contact them in the future.

Note: When a recipient clicks on this Smart Link, no Cloze fields are updated until the recipient changes their preferences on the landing page. 

Cloze email example with update preferences in email signature.
Cloze email example with update preferences in email signature.
  1. The recipient can make changes as needed.
  2. When they tap on the Save Changes button the changes are applied.
Cloze Update Preferences landing page.
Cloze Update Preferences landing page.
  1. Timeline Audit Trail is updated - When the recipient saves their preferences (e.g., they update their preferences), you will see an audit trail message in their Cloze timeline.
  2. Communication icons enabled or disabled - The phone, text, or email icon may be grayed out if the recipient changes their preferences indicating they do not wish to be contacted. This will disable calling, messaging, or sending, preventing accidental outreach from within Cloze.
  3. Do Not Contact field is updated - The Do Not Contact field will also updated with any changes.
  4. Lawful Basis field is updated - The Lawful Basis field will also updated with any changes. Important for GDPR compliance.

You will need what is called a Lawful Basis for the processing of personal information of EU citizens. A great place to start is this guide on consent under the GDPR. And read about some GDPR consent myths as well.  

If you don't have a lawful basis to contact someone under the GDPR or are unsure, you'll need to obtain their consent through a re-permission campaign. Without the proper consent, you will no longer be able to contact them in the future. 

A re-permission email may look like this:

Cloze e-permission email example to get consent for future outreach.
Cloze re-permission email example to get consent for future outreach.
  1. The recipient can make changes as needed.
  2. When they tap on the Save Changes button the changes are applied.
  3. Changes have been saved by the recipient.
Cloze landing page: Consent granted example.
Cloze landing page: Consent granted example.
  1. Timeline Audit Trail is updated - When the recipient saves their preferences (e.g., they update their preferences), you will see an audit trail message in their Cloze timeline.
  2. Communication icons enabled or disabled - The phone, text, or email icon may be grayed out if the recipient changes their preferences indicating they do not wish to be contacted. This will disable calling, messaging, or sending, preventing accidental outreach from within Cloze.
  3. Do Not Contact field is updated - The Do Not Contact field will also updated with any changes.
  4. Lawful Basis field is updated - The Lawful Basis field will also updated with any changes. Important for GDPR compliance.


You may wish to also use the "Withdraw Consent" Smart Link to give recipients the ability to fully withdraw their consent. When clicked, this will remove all consent to contact them in the future by any means.

In the same email as in the previous example, the recipient says "No,"  then the consent is withdrawn.

  1. The recipient can make changes as needed. In this example, No is selected for both options.
  2. When they tap on the Save Changes button the changes are applied.
  3. Changes have been saved by the recipient.
Cloze landing page: Consent withdrawn example.
Cloze landing page: Consent withdrawn example.
  1. Timeline Audit Trail is updated - When the recipient saves their preferences (e.g., they update their preferences), you will see an audit trail message in their Cloze timeline.
  2. Communication icons enabled or disabled - The phone, text, or email icon may be grayed out if the recipient changes their preferences indicating they do not wish to be contacted. This will disable calling, messaging, or sending, preventing accidental outreach from within Cloze.
  3. Do Not Contact field is updated - The Do Not Contact field will also updated with any changes.
  4. Lawful Basis field is updated - The Lawful Basis field will also updated with any changes. Important for GDPR compliance.
Cloze person consent withdrawn example.
Cloze person consent withdrawn example.
When you connect Calendly to Cloze, it is easy to add your booking link to Cloze templates and your Cloze email signature.

Any text can be selected to insert a booking link.

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