Most businesses collect contact details without ever properly collecting permission to market to them. I know, because I was once guilty of it too.
It goes like this. A customer fills your quote form so you can send a price. Six months later, that same number gets your Black Friday broadcast at 7am on a Saturday. The customer never agreed to it and doesn’t even remember you. They press “Block” and go back to sleep.
It feels harmless. It’s also exactly how WhatsApp business numbers get restricted, how email domains end up in spam folders, and how businesses fall short of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
The fix happens at the moment you collect the details, with a few lines of clear wording. This page gives you ready-to-use consent wording for every common situation, the principles behind it, and what to record. We use the same approach on our own forms.
Contact and Consent Are Two Different Things
Someone who gives you their email so you can send a quote has agreed to receive the quote. Your newsletter is a separate matter. Treating the first as permission for the second is the most common consent mistake there is, and businesses make it with the confidence of a danfo driver going the wrong way down a one-way street. Our email newsletter guide covers what to send once you have that permission.
In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the vampire can’t enter a house unless he’s invited in. Marketing law works the same way, and a phone number on your quote form isn’t an invitation.
Collect contact details for the purpose you need them for. Then ask separately, clearly and optionally for permission to market.
Six Tests for Valid Consent
Valid marketing consent passes every one of these.
- Active. The person has to do something, like tick a box, reply YES or sign a form. Silence, inactivity and pre-ticked boxes don’t count.
- Separate. It can’t be bundled into accepting your terms and conditions, and it can’t be a condition of getting the thing they asked for.
- Specific. It says what they’ll receive and through which channels.
- Informed. It’s clear who is asking and how to stop.
- Easy to withdraw. Unsubscribing should be as easy as subscribing, and it should apply across every channel you market through.
- Recorded. You can show when, where and how each person agreed.
What Doesn’t Count
| Common practice | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| Pre-ticked opt-in box | Not an active choice |
| “By submitting this form you agree to receive marketing” | Bundled with the service they actually wanted |
| Assuming a purchase means permission to market | Buying something isn’t agreeing to promotions |
| Buying or renting a contact list | Those people never agreed to hear from you |
| Adding numbers from a WhatsApp group or business cards | Having a number isn’t permission to use it for marketing |
| Required consent checkbox to see a result or quote | Consent that isn’t optional isn’t freely given |
WhatsApp’s own business policy requires active opt-in for business messaging and rules out implied consent. Messaging people who never agreed is a leading reason business numbers get restricted, and losing your number can take down your whole customer messaging operation overnight. Picture explaining to your customers that the number they’ve saved for five years no longer works.
Wording Templates
Adapt the wording to your business and your voice. Keep the structure, which tells people what they’ll get, which channels you’ll use and how to stop.
Website Forms
General marketing opt-in (unticked checkbox)
Yes, send me [updates, offers and tips] from [Business] by email and WhatsApp. I can unsubscribe at any time.
Separate checkboxes for each channel
☐ Email me [updates and offers]
☐ Send me [updates and offers] on WhatsApp
☐ Text me [updates and offers] by SMS
You can change your preferences or unsubscribe at any time.
Quote or enquiry form (transactional notice plus optional opt-in)
We’ll use your details to respond to your enquiry.
☐ I’d also like occasional [tips and offers] from [Business]. Unsubscribe anytime.
Free guide, quiz or diagnostic
We’ll email you your [guide / result].
☐ Also send me a short series of related [insights] by email. Unsubscribe anytime.
Opt-in inside a conversation
Would you like us to send you [new arrivals / booking reminders / offers] here on WhatsApp? Reply YES to opt in. You can reply STOP at any time.
Confirmation after they reply YES
Thanks, [Name]. You’ll now receive [what] from [Business] here. Reply STOP anytime to unsubscribe.
WhatsApp click-to-chat link on your website
Chat with us on WhatsApp. We’ll only send you marketing messages if you ask us to.
SMS
Keyword opt-in
Text JOIN to [number] to get [offers / updates] from [Business]. Text STOP anytime to unsubscribe. [Network charges may apply.]
Checkout and Offline
E-commerce checkout (unticked)
☐ Keep me updated on new products and offers by email. Unsubscribe anytime.
Paper form, event or in-store sign-up
I agree to receive [updates and offers] from [Business] by: ☐ Email ☐ WhatsApp ☐ SMS. Signature: ______ Date: ______
QR code landing page
Scan to join our [list / community]. Tick the box below to confirm you’d like to receive [what] from us. Unsubscribe anytime.
Unsubscribing and Preferences
Unsubscribe confirmation
You’ve been unsubscribed and won’t receive marketing messages from [Business] on any channel. If you ever change your mind, you can [resubscribe here].
Preference centre introduction
Choose what you’d like to hear about and where. Your choices apply straight away.
What to Record for Every Opt-In
Consent you can’t prove is hard to rely on if anyone ever asks, and eventually someone asks. Keep a simple record for every contact, ideally as fields in your CRM.
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Consent status | Subscribed / Unsubscribed |
| Channels agreed | Email, WhatsApp |
| Source | Website quote form, event sign-up, WhatsApp reply |
| Date and time | 21 Sep 2026, 14:32 |
| Wording version | The exact text they agreed to, or a version reference |
| Date withdrawn | If and when they unsubscribed |
One Unsubscribe Should Stop Everything
If someone unsubscribes from your emails and then receives a WhatsApp broadcast, they won’t care which system you used. They’ll just conclude you don’t listen. Keep one central record of who has opted out, and have every channel check it before sending. That’s the simplest way to respect a “no” across email, WhatsApp and SMS.
Clean Consent Is Good Marketing
I’d take a small list of people who asked to hear from you over a big list of people who didn’t, every time. They open more, reply more, report you as spam less and buy more. Clean consent protects your email deliverability and your WhatsApp number, and it gives you an audience you can market to without looking over your shoulder.
The list-building guide covers how to grow that audience, and the NDPA guide covers your wider data protection obligations.
Ask First, Then Market
The customer who blocked your 7am broadcast never told you why. Neither did the forty others who muted you that week.
A list built without permission tends to show up as a Retain problem. Run the free 2-minute diagnostic to see where your weakest wall really is.
And if you spend ₦1M or more a month on marketing, ask for the free Leak Check while you’re there. It’s a 30-minute call with no card and no obligation, and we’ll only stay in touch if you tick the box.
These templates are general information to help you write clear consent wording, not legal advice. Requirements depend on your circumstances and change over time. Take qualified advice on your obligations under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, and check current Meta WhatsApp Business policies before sending marketing messages.
This article covers one part of a bigger system. Our guide to digital marketing in Nigeria shows how the four walls fit together, and the order to build them in.
