We would like to create a subscription management center. I understand how to set up a form to allow people to specify their preferences going forward. But, I am wondering: how do we get this information to track on the Marketo lead? Do we need to create custom fields to track subscription preferences?
Also, is there a way to import a list of people who have previously opted in to emails and have them all marked as opt-in for a particular type of email?
These are my favorite instructions for how to create a subscription center in Marketo: Subscription Center
It includes instructions on which fields you'll need to create, as well as the accompanying Smart Lists and Campaigns.
As far as importing a list: yes, this is possible. First, you'll need to create your custom fields in Marketo using the instructions above. Make sure these fields are set to Checkbox.
Next, create a Static List in your Lead Database for the import. I'd call this something like, "DATE - Subscription Center Import".
In a spreadsheet, have the email addresses and other identifying information of the leads you'd like to import. Then, insert as many columns as you have subscription preferences (for example: if I have someone who wants to subscribe to shoe-related emails, I'd have a column called SHOE - or whatever I named my custom field for SHOE subscribers).
For those who have subscribed to the SHOE list, I'd type TRUE in that column of their row; else, I'd type FALSE.
When that's done, you're ready to import your list and map any fields to column headers as needed.
It's still a bit manual, but definitely possible.