Email Channel Subscription Management

Traditionally, email addresses are used as the primary identifier for sending email campaigns. While this approach suits many use cases, it can present challenges for businesses aiming to unify customer interactions across multiple channels.

This guide explains how to use the Insider's Email product with either an email address or a UUID as the identifier when working with the email channel.

Email Channel Subscription Management Flows

Using the Email Product with Email as the Identifier

Using the email address as the identifier is the most common and default approach when working with Insider’s Email product. This method provides a simple and efficient way to manage communications via the Email channel.

Key Business Use Case

Newsletters and Promotional Campaigns: For businesses running regular newsletters or promotional emails, using the email address as the identifier is both straightforward and effective. It enables marketers to reach subscribers quickly, without the need to manage complex profile structures.

This flow allows you to manage your email database with ease—no additional setup or configuration is required. Each profile is assigned a single email address, and all email activity is directly associated with that address. This simplifies tracking, targeting, and the overall management of your email marketing strategy.

Using the Email Product without Email as the Identifier

Profile-Based Subscription Flow

When the “Profile-Based Subscription Flow” is selected, customers subscribe or unsubscribe based on their UUID rather than their email address.

Key Business Use Cases

• B2B & Enterprise Systems: Some organizations use internal customer IDs (such as UUIDs) instead of emails or phone numbers. This approach enables seamless integration with CRM, ERP, or other backend systems where email may not be the primary identifier.
• Multi-Brand or Multi-Region Management:In businesses operating across multiple brands or regions, a single email address may belong to distinct customer profiles—each with unique preferences, purchase histories, and engagement levels. Using UUIDs allows you to tailor marketing and operational messaging to each context, avoiding overlap and improving customer experience.

As shown in the table, actions such as subscribing, unsubscribing, or updating preferences apply only to the specific profile the customer is interacting with. Other profiles that share the same email address or phone number remain unaffected, allowing for fully independent profile management.

Email-Based Subscription Flow

When the “Email-Based Subscription Flow” is selected, subscription status is managed at the email address level. This means that if a user unsubscribes, all profiles associated with that email address will also be unsubscribed automatically.

Key Business Use Cases

Cross-Profile Subscription Management: For compliance and to avoid unintended outreach, businesses may need to ensure that unsubscribing one profile effectively unsubscribes all other profiles using the same email address or phone number.

Limited Personalization and Targeting: When multiple profiles share the same email address, traditional systems may struggle to deliver personalized experiences. In cases where businesses want to target profiles based on distinct attributes—such as department, location, or role—email-based identification limits the ability to segment and personalize at a granular level.

As detailed in the table, actions apply to all profiles associated with the same email address, treating the email as a single entity. This means that any changes made to one profile—such as subscribing, unsubscribing, or updating preferences—will automatically apply to all linked profiles.

User Opt-in / Reachability Statuses Across Profiles

Using the Email Channel with Email as the Identifier

When email is used as the identifier, each profile's email consent status is tied directly to its assigned email address. Since each profile has a unique email, determining reachability is straightforward, and no additional logic is required. This approach ensures simple and reliable consent management.

Using the Email Channel without Email as the Identifier

When email is not used as the identifier, email communications can still be sent using either a Profile-Based or Email-Based Subscription Flow, depending on how you want to manage consent and reachability.

Profile-Based Subscription Flow

In this flow, each profile maintains its own opt-in and reachability status, even if multiple profiles share the same email address. This enables businesses to manage each profile independently, ensuring that communication preferences and consent are handled at the individual profile level—without requiring complex logic.

Email-Based Subscription Flow

With this configuration, the email consent status is shared across all profiles that use the same email address. If one profile unsubscribes, all other profiles associated with that email will automatically reflect the same opt-in status. This approach treats the email address as a single, unified contact point, simplifying communication management when a shared email is used across multiple profiles.

API Usage

Refer to the documentation for detailed instructions on how to use the unsubscribe and resubscribe APIs, depending on your selected subscription flow:

Email as Identifier

Use the standard Data Governance APIs.

Pass the email address in your API request to unsubscribe or resubscribe users. If the email address does not exist, a new profile will be automatically created.

Email or Profile-Based Subscription Flow

Use your custom identifier (e.g., UUID) in API requests. If the identifier does not exist, the system will not create or update a profile automatically.

Endpoints:

• Unsubscribe API – UUID Usage
• Resubscribe API – UUID Usage

Make sure to use the correct identifier (email or UUID) based on your selected subscription flow to ensure proper handling of user profiles.

FAQ

Can I use any identifier other than UUID when using email/profile-based subscription flows?

Currently, only UUID is supported as the identifier for email/profile-based subscription flows. While you may use other identifiers in your system (excluding email addresses), they cannot be used with unsubscribe/resubscribe APIs or suppression uploads. These processes require UUID specifically.

Can I select both subscription flows?

No, you cannot select both. The profile-based and email-based subscription flows are designed for distinct business needs and are not compatible for simultaneous use.

What happens if neither subscription flow is selected and email is not the identifier in my Inone account?

If no subscription flow is selected and email is not used as the identifier, please contact the Insider One team or submit a support ticket. The Insider One team will assist in enabling the required flow(s) so you can use the email channel effectively.

What happens to unsubscribe/resubscribe events? How are they reflected across profiles?

Unsubscribe and resubscribe events are not currently reflected in the activity section. These events are recorded only on the profile where they originate and are not inherited by other linked profiles.

Can I use other identifiers besides UUID?

Yes, you can use other identifiers in addition to UUID (excluding email addresses) and adjust their priority as needed. However, all email suppression actions—including unsubscribes and resubscribes—must still be managed using UUID.