Email Marketing in Turkey: A Practical Guide to İYS Compliance

Done right, email marketing is one of the lowest-cost, highest-return channels a business has. You reach customers directly with campaigns, new products and exclusive offers, with no ad platform or algorithm in between.

But if you send marketing emails to recipients in Turkey, there are rules to follow, and at the center of them is İYS, the Message Management System. Whether you're a Turkish business or an international brand marketing to Turkish customers, this guide explains what İYS is, which emails require consent, how consent should be collected, and what to look for in İYS-compatible email marketing software.

What is İYS?

İYS (İleti Yönetim Sistemi, or Message Management System) is Turkey's national system for recording consent for commercial SMS, calls and emails. It was established under Turkey's electronic commerce legislation.

The idea is simple: individuals can see in one place which businesses they've given marketing consent to, and withdraw any consent they no longer want. Businesses, in turn, must make sure a recipient's consent is registered in İYS before sending commercial messages.

Which emails fall under İYS?

It's important to separate two types of messages.

Commercial electronic messages

Emails sent to promote a product or service, increase sales or market your brand: discount announcements, campaigns, new product launches, promotional newsletters and greetings with embedded promotions. These require the recipient's prior consent.

Transactional messages

Emails related to an existing transaction with a customer: order confirmations, shipping notifications, invoices, password resets, membership or subscription updates. These don't require marketing consent. But be careful: adding a promotion to a transactional email turns it into a commercial message that requires consent.

How should consent be collected?

Consent must be given freely, explicitly and in a way that can be recorded. In practice:

• Consent checkboxes must not be pre-ticked; the user must tick them.
• The consent text should state clearly which channels (email, SMS, calls) will be used.
• Marketing consent shouldn't be buried in terms of service or privacy notices; it should be collected separately.
• When, where and how consent was obtained should be recorded.
• Consents must be uploaded to İYS within the period required by the regulations.

What about sending to businesses?

An important exception concerns merchants and tradespeople. Under Turkish regulations, prior consent isn't required to send commercial messages to merchants and tradespeople. However, they still have the right to opt out; you can't continue sending to a business that has opted out, and opt-out records in İYS must be respected.

This distinction matters for B2B companies emailing dealers or corporate customers, but you should be confident your recipients actually qualify as merchants or tradespeople.

Opt-outs and unsubscribing

Every commercial email must include an easy, free way for the recipient to opt out, usually an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom.

When an opt-out is received, you must stop sending within the period set by the regulations. Opt-outs can also be made through İYS directly, so your own list must be synced regularly with consent status in İYS.

Is İYS the same as KVKK?

No. KVKK is Turkey's personal data protection law and governs data processing in general. İYS specifically covers consent for commercial electronic messages. Processing a customer's email address to fulfill an order may be lawful under KVKK, but that doesn't mean you can send them campaigns. Both need to be complied with separately.

How to choose İYS-compatible email marketing software

Many international email platforms are powerful, but may not connect directly to İYS. That means uploading consents and tracking opt-outs by hand, which increases the risk of errors. When choosing software, check:

1. 1İYS integration: can it automatically upload new consents and pull opt-outs from İYS?
2. 2One-click unsubscribe: is a working opt-out link added to every email automatically?
3. 3Consent records: does it store the date, source and wording of each consent?
4. 4Separating commercial and transactional emails: can you define separate lists and rules for each?
5. 5Segmentation and automation: can you group customers by behavior and set up automated flows?
6. 6Deliverability: does it support SPF, DKIM and DMARC and report on sender reputation?
7. 7Data location and KVKK: where is personal data stored, and are cross-border transfer requirements met?
8. 8Integrations: does it connect with your online store, CRM or ERP?

Keeping your emails out of the spam folder

İYS compliance covers the legal side, but reaching the inbox is a separate challenge. Major providers like Gmail and Yahoo have tightened their rules for bulk senders in recent years. The basics:

• Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for your domain correctly.
• Send from your own domain, not free email addresses.
• Offer one-click unsubscribe.
• Regularly remove long-term inactive and invalid addresses from your list.
• Monitor your spam complaint rate.

Building a good email marketing strategy

Once you have a clean, consented list, the real work begins:

• Welcome series: send new subscribers a short sequence introducing your brand.
• Segmentation: instead of sending the same email to everyone, group recipients by interest and purchase history.
• Automations: set up flows such as abandoned cart and repeat purchase reminders. Since these contain marketing content, they require consent.
• Frequency: emailing too often drives unsubscribes. Send as often as you have value to offer.
• Measurement: track opens, clicks and sales to keep improving subject lines and content.

Frequently asked questions

Is İYS registration mandatory?

Businesses that send commercial electronic messages and collect consent for them are required to register with İYS. We recommend confirming your specific situation with a local accountant or legal advisor.

Can I send campaigns to existing customers?

Having bought from you doesn't mean a customer can receive your campaigns. Without marketing consent, you can only send them transactional messages about their orders.

Does İYS only apply to SMS?

No. İYS covers SMS, voice calls and email. Consent is required separately for each channel.

Do these rules apply to foreign companies emailing Turkish customers?

If you're sending commercial messages to recipients in Turkey, you should assume Turkish rules are relevant and get local legal advice on how they apply to your business.

Conclusion

With a consented, well-structured list, email marketing can be one of your most efficient sales channels. İYS compliance is its foundation: collecting consent properly, keeping records, honoring opt-outs on time, and using software that manages all this automatically.

We help businesses across Turkey and abroad set up İYS-compliant email marketing, integrate it with their online store and build automations. Let's review your setup in a short call.