When do I need someone's permission to email them?
This is the question that matters most about your people list, and it's worth understanding properly rather than guessing — getting it wrong is how a good business ends up looking like spam.
The one rule underneath everything
Buying something is not the same as agreeing to be marketed to. A receipt, a delivery update, an answer to a question they asked you — that's all fine, always, because it's part of doing the thing they came to you for. Anything beyond that — "here's my new collection," "join my mailing list," "I'm running another course" — needs its own, separate agreement. Bernard tracks that agreement per person, not as one setting for your whole site, because what each person agreed to is genuinely different from the next.
The three ways someone can end up on your list, and what each allows
- They bought something. Covers their receipt and order updates only, unless they left ticked the ready-made box above the Buy button offering to hear about similar work from your shop — see Add a new product to my shop page. That box is ticked by default and they can untick it; if they leave it, you can email them about similar work only, never anything unrelated.
- They joined something specific — a waiting list (Tell people when my next course opens) or a registration (Sign people up for my fair, workshop or open studio). Covers only the thing they joined for. Waiting for the glazing course means you can tell them it's opened; it doesn't mean you can tell them about a different course, or about anything else you sell.
- They ticked a genuine marketing box, like the one on a PDF download form (Trade a PDF for someone's email address). Covers whatever the box actually said, for as long as they haven't unsubscribed. This is the only route to a general "hear about everything I do" — and it's the only one that needs an unticked, deliberately-ticked box.
The pre-ticked-box question everyone asks
It looks like an inconsistency, so it's worth spelling out: a pre-ticked box at checkout is lawful, and an identical pre-ticked box on a form is not. The difference isn't the tickbox — it's what's already true about the person filling it in. At checkout, they're already buying from you, and the law lets a past buyer be offered similar-product marketing with a real chance to say no. On a form, nothing has happened yet, so the only lawful yes is one they actively gave. Same widget, opposite rule, because the reason each is allowed is different.
What this means day to day
You don't need to remember any of this in detail — that's the point of keeping it per person rather than as one site-wide switch. Ask Bernard who you're allowed to email and about what, and it answers from what's actually recorded, rather than assuming everyone on the list is fair game. If nothing was ever agreed, it says so, plainly, rather than guessing yes.
The prompt
“Look at everyone in my people list and tell me who I'm actually allowed to email, what I'm allowed to email them about, and who I'm not — in plain English, no jargon.”
The [bracketed] parts are yours to fill in. First time? Connect bernard to your AI over MCP — a one-time setup in bernard → your site → Use your own AI — then paste the prompt above.
Questions people ask
- Someone bought a mug from me — can I email them about my new collection?
- Only if they said yes at checkout. Buying something is agreement to receive your receipt and order updates — nothing more — unless they also ticked the box offering to hear about similar work from you, which sits above the Buy button on every product page and is ticked by default (they can untick it). If they left it ticked, you can email them about similar work from your own shop; you still can't email them about something unrelated.
- Someone joined my waiting list or registered for an event — can I email them?
- Yes, about the thing they joined for. Waiting for the glazing course means you can tell them the glazing course has opened. Registering for the fair means you can tell them what they need to know about the fair. Neither extends to your general newsletter or anything unrelated — that needs its own separate yes.
- Why is a pre-ticked box fine at checkout but not on a form?
- Because they're doing different jobs. At checkout, someone has already bought from you — the ticked box is a chance to say no to hearing about similar work, and UK law allows that for past buyers of similar things. On a form, nobody has bought anything — the box has to be a genuine yes, so it must start unticked and be ticked on purpose. Same-looking checkbox, different rule, because what makes each one lawful is different, not the tickbox itself.
- What if I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to email someone?
- Ask Bernard to check before you send anything — 'who am I allowed to email about X' is a question it can answer honestly from what's recorded against each person, and it's built to refuse rather than guess. Every change bernard makes to your site still waits on your approval; the same care applies here — it won't quietly assume yes.