Subscribing to a list

On this page:

• Specifying first name and last name
• Adding regular attributes
• Adding extra attributes
• Checking if someone is subscribed
• Getting the status of a subscriber
• Getting all list subscribers
• Skipping opt in when subscribing
• Skipping sending a welcome mail

This is the easiest way to subscribe to a list:

$emailList->subscribe('john@example.com');

Alternatively you can create a subscriber via the Subscriber model.

Subscriber::createWithEmail('john@example.com')->subscribeTo($emailList);

Specifying first name and last name#

There are attributes named first_name and last_name on the Subscriber model itself. When subscribing you can fill them by passing a second argument to subscribe.

$subscriber = $emailList->subscribe('john@example.com', [
    'first_name' => 'John', 
    'last_name' => 'Doe'
]);

Alternatively you can create a subscriber with attributes via the Subscriber model.

Subscriber::createWithEmail('john@example.com')
   ->withAttributes([
       'first_name' => 'John', 
       'last_name' => 'Doe'
   ])
   ->subscribeTo($emailList);

Adding regular attributes#

If you need more attributes on a subscriber you can create a migration that adds a field.

Schema::table('mailcoach_subscribers', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->string('job_title')->nullable();
});

To fill the field just add a key to the second array passed to subscribe.

$subscriber = $emailList->subscribe('john@example.com', ['job_title' => 'Developer']);

$subscriber->job_title; // returns 'Developer'

Adding extra attributes#

The email_list_subscribers table has an json field called extra_attributes. You can use this field to add unstructured data to a subscriber.

When subscribing pass unstructured data as the value of the extra_attributes key . This data will be saved in extra_attributes.

$subscriber = $emailList->subscribe('john@example.com', [
    'extra_attributes' => [
        'key 1' => 'value 1',
        'key 2' => 'value 2',
    ],
]);

$subscriber->extra_attributes->get('key 1'); // returns 'value 1';
$subscriber->extra_attributes->get('key 2'); // returns 'value 2';

You can read more on extra attributes in this section of the docs.

Checking if someone is subscribed#

You can check if a given email is subscribed to an email list.

$emailList->isSubscribed('john@example.com'); // returns a boolean

You can use a subscriber to check to if it is subscribed.

$subscriber->isSubscribed() // returns a boolean;

Getting the status of a subscriber#

To get the status of a subscriber

$subscriber->status;

This property can contain three possible values:

• unconfirmed: when the list uses double opt in and the confirmation link wasn’t clicked yet
• subscribed: when the subscriber is subscribed.
• unsubscribed: when the subscriber was unsubscribed.

Getting all list subscribers#

To get all subscribers of an email list you can use the emailList you can call subscribers on an email list.

$subscribers = $emailList->subscribers; // returns all subscribers

To get the email address of a subscriber call email on a subscriber.

$email = $subscribers->first()->email;

Calling subscribers on an email list will only return subscribers that have a subscription with a subscribed status. Subscribers that have unsubscribed or are still unconfirmed (when using double opt in) will not be returned.

To return all subscribers, including all unconfirmed and unsubscribed ones, use allSubscribers.

$allSubscribers = $emailList->allSubscribers;

Skipping opt in when subscribing#

If double opt-in is enabled on a list, then subscribeTo won’t result in an immediate subscription. Instead, the user must first confirm, by clicking a link in a mail, before their subscription to the new list is completed.

To immediately confirm someone, and skipping sending the confirmation mail, use subscribeSkippingConfirmation:

$emailList->subscribeskippingConfirmation('john@example.com');

Alternatively you can use this syntax:

Subscriber::createWithEmail('john@example.com')
   ->skipConfirmation()
   ->subscribeTo($emailList);

Skipping sending a welcome mail#

If your list is configured to send a welcome mail, you can skip sending a welcome mail for a particular subscriber.

Subscriber::createWithEmail('john@example.com')
   ->doNotSendWelcomeMail()
   ->subscribeTo($emailList);