Regarding your customers, as these are people that you already have a working relationship with and will already have received correspondence from you, then no, you don’t need to obtain a fresh optin’ to continue to contact these people. Even if you are new to Email Blaster – your existing contacts with who you have supplied products or services don’t need to be re-opted in.
For all new contacts, these people will need to have opted in directly with you. These would be people who are hearing from you for the first time – they need to have consented to receive your communications.