Magic links

What a magic link is

A magic link is a subscribe link with the reader's email address already filled in. You give it to another newsletter, for example in a cross-promotion or a paid placement. Their email platform puts each reader's own address into the link when it sends. A reader who clicks it joins your publication in one click, without filling in a form.

You build one under Tools, Magic Links.

Building the link

1. Under Newsletter platform, pick the platform the other newsletter uses to send its emails, such as Mailchimp, ConvertKit or Klaviyo.
2. Optionally, fill in the Advanced options (see below).
3. Click Copy to clipboard and send the link to the other newsletter.

The link appears under Your custom magic link and updates as you change things. Reset clears the advanced options.

Why the platform matters

Every email platform has its own code, called a merge tag, that it swaps for each reader's email address. Mailchimp uses *|EMAIL|*, for example, and ConvertKit uses {{subscriber.email_address}}. Picking the platform puts the right code into your link.

If the platform isn't in the list, choose Others. The link then contains <email>. Ask the other newsletter to replace it with their platform's email merge tag.

The link is built on your publication's website address: your verified custom domain if you have one, otherwise your Inkwave subdomain.

Advanced options

UTM Source, UTM Medium and UTM Campaign add standard tracking tags to the link. They are only recorded when double opt-in is on and the reader confirms by email in the same browser they clicked the link in. Spaces are turned into underscores.

Redirect URL is where the reader goes after subscribing. It has to be a page on the same website address as the link itself, for example /welcome or the full address of a page on your own site. A page on any other website is ignored, and the reader sees the standard confirmation page instead.

What the reader experiences

What happens on click depends on your publication's settings.

Double opt-in off: the reader is subscribed straight away and lands on your redirect page, or on the standard success page. The one exception is a reader who unsubscribed from you before: they are emailed a confirmation link and only rejoin once they click it.

Double opt-in on: the reader is asked to confirm first, and Inkwave emails them a confirmation link. It expires after 30 minutes. Once they confirm, they are subscribed and taken to your redirect page. If you didn't set one, they go to your signup flow if you have one, or the standard success page.

Already subscribed: nothing changes for them. They see the same page as a new subscriber, so the link never reveals who is already on your list.

Private publication: the link is refused with "This publication is private and is not accepting new subscribers." If you also require approval and double opt-in is off, the click becomes a request to join, and the reader is told it's waiting for review. With double opt-in on, the reader is asked to confirm their email first.

Publication unavailable: while your publication is suspended, the link is refused with "This publication isn't accepting new subscribers right now."

Referral links still count. If the reader arrived through one of your subscribers' referral links earlier, that referral is credited.

Troubleshooting

A reader says the link didn't work or asked for an email: the other newsletter's platform probably didn't fill in the address. Check that you picked their platform under Newsletter platform, or that they replaced <email> with their own merge tag.

Readers aren't sent to my Redirect URL: the address must be on the same website as the link. If you use a custom domain, use that domain in the redirect, not your Inkwave subdomain, or just use a path such as /welcome.

A reader says their confirmation link expired: confirmation links last 30 minutes. They can click your magic link again to get a new one.

People who clicked aren't receiving newsletters yet: with double opt-in on, they are only added once they confirm. See the "Why a send is held" guide.