---
title: "Newsletter and leads"
description: "The lead list, how confirmation and unsubscribing work, and what sending does and does not cover."
updated: "2026-08-18"
verifiedAgainst:
  - packages/shared/src/index.ts
---

Readers who share an email address become leads on that Project.

## Email consent states

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `pending_confirmation` | Subscribed, not yet confirmed |
| `active` | Confirmed and receiving |
| `unsubscribed` | Opted out |

## Confirmation

Subscription supports double opt in: the reader receives a message and confirms
before becoming active. It costs a fraction of your signups and buys you a list
that actually belongs to you, plus a defensible record of consent.

## Unsubscribing

Every subscribed lead holds a token that unsubscribes them without signing in, and a
preferences page they can reach the same way. Tokens are single purpose and can
expire or be revoked.

<Callout variant="danger" title="Never remove the unsubscribe path">
  It is a legal requirement in most jurisdictions and the difference between a
  list and a complaint.
</Callout>

## Sending

Newsletter and campaign sending is deliberately kept separate from the
transactional email Blogged sends about your own account, so a campaign
complaint cannot degrade the deliverability of a message like "your card was
declined".

## Exporting

Your leads are yours. The list is visible in the workspace with the
attribution that came with each contact.