1 Adding the newsletter option.
First define field Newsletter in Configuration > Affiliate signup > Fields . Remember the data field you've chosen (in this example we use the data10 field). Set it to either mandatory or optional. Then choose type CheckBox. You can choose ListBox if you wish to, but in this example we will use the CheckBox.
2 Defining filter
Now that affiliates can choose if they should receive the newsletter, we need to define a filter. We need to go to Affiliates > Affiliate manager and then you need to click on Advanced search. Then click on 'Add custom filter field' and choose Newsletter and type in Y as value (same as example below). You can add some additional filter options like Affiliate status (it's recommended to limit it to Approved and Pending only).
After you are happy with the filter you can save the filter by clicking 'Save filter'. Name the filter Newsletter for example.
3 Using the newsletter
Once you have the filter defined you can send your affiliates newsletter with Emails > Send message .
4 Changing the settings
Your affiliates can now change the newsletter settings anytime they want in My profile > Personal details .
5 Existing affiliates
When setting the field newsletter, the existing affiliates do not have their profiles updated, so they have either null or empty data field. So in case you have over 9000 affiliates it would be very impractical to go through each profile and enable the option (so it would be later disabled by the affiliate). Therefore it's better to save yourself time and do this directly in database.
THIS IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AND IF POSSIBLE IT SHOULD BE DONE BY EXPERIENCED USER OR ADMIN.
Use this SQL code in phpmyadmin or any other database interface:
UPDATE `qu_pap_users` SET data10='Y';Replace data10 with the data field you have used for newsletter.
This step should be done right after you set up the previous steps as it overwrites all settings in this field.