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

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);