It\u2019s kind of like \u201cWhich came first? The chicken or the egg?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Double Opt-in (aka Confirmed Opt-in) vs. Single Opt-in has been the debate for as long as I can remember when it comes to list building and email marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The email service provider always wants the double opt-in for better list quality, few complaints & spam traps, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOTE: <\/strong>If you take a moment to review the ISP best practices, many of them ALSO recommend confirmed opt-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The email marketer feels they are losing out on valid subscribers if they use double opt-in since a certain percentage won\u2019t ever click the confirmation button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, the battle rages on\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n First things first, I\u2019m certain we can all agree that you\u2019ll get MORE subscribers if you use single opt-in. In other words, every email address that is entered into your web form now becomes a \u201clead\u201d. So naturally, by not requiring them to take an additional action, you\u2019re going to have MORE subscribers that you can send your messages to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, let\u2019s also agree that you\u2019re going to wind up with higher QUALITY subscribers if you require a confirmed opt-in as part of your subscription process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PLUS, these leads are much less likely to complain about your emails, will have little to no spam traps, and are valid addresses. This helps with your overall deliverability. These confirmed opt-ins are also much MORE likely to engage with your messages by opening your emails and clicking your links, which translates to higher inbox placement across the board. So, while you\u2019ll wind up with fewer subscribers, you\u2019ll have better subscribers and better deliverability with a double opt-in list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even after having said that, most marketers will argue AGAINST double – or confirmed \u2013 opt-in because they feel like they\u2019re not getting all the subscribers they could be getting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most likely, you have some sort of \u201cfreebie\u201d or \u201cbribe\u201d that people get in exchange for giving you their email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should absolutely deliver the item of value in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words,<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to RECEIVE this item, they need to check their email to download the PDF, get the video link, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This forces them to give you a real email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If they\u2019re not even willing to do that, what\u2019s the likelihood that they\u2019re going to really want your related emails and offers? Chances are, they\u2019re just trying to rip off an idea or get some free content from you if they aren’t even willing to give you a good email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, don\u2019t give them the gift on the next page. Make them go to their email and click the link to access it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this doesn’t guarantee you won\u2019t wind up with some bad addresses in your list, it increases the odds of them giving you a real address if they truly want the information. Again, if they won\u2019t even give you a valid email address, they\u2019re really not interested in what you have at all and are just poking around for freebies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you require a valid email address, it causes a subconscious anchor (and generates a real email address).<\/p>\n\n\n\n What it also does is forces the new subscriber to interact with you via email right off the bat. This not only increases deliverability due to higher engagement, but it also instantly connects you with quality content. And it gets them used to engaging with you via email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, requiring the subscriber to take an extra action to get the information starts the engagement process early. You\u2019re conditioning your subscribers to open your emails and click the links in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This way, when you send out your next email, they won\u2019t be wondering who you are and why you are emailing them, and in turn, clicking the spam button. They\u2019ll be more likely to actually open your emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above example clearly demonstrates the benefit of sending your gift, freebie, or bribe via email. And while some may argue that it\u2019s better to keep them on thank you page and sell the something, the benefits of sending to their email straight away far outweigh the benefit of staying on the confirmation page, or sales page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TIP: <\/strong>Have another version of your sales page with the link to the free gift at the top, so when they click on the link to redeem their PDF, video, or other, they\u2019ll have another opportunity to see your sales message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on the email software you\u2019re using, you can simply create this identical flow where the confirmation link is simply the link to download the special report, checklist, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So instead of saying \u201cConfirm Your Subscription and allow me to send as much mail to you as I want\u201d, you\u2019re saying, \u201cHey, here\u2019s that link I promised. Let me know what you think!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The end result is the same for you, but the experience for the subscriber is much different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your email marketing program will reap a number of benefits when you start using a double opt-in process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to email marketing, the game is always changing. What was working years ago is not necessarily working the same way (or even at all) anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ISPs continue to get more and more sophisticated and focus more on their user experience. Their primary goal is to deliver the email messages that their customers want and filter out the email messages they don\u2019t want. As a result, they look at mountains of data from senders, from IP addresses, even general message content when making their filtering decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While moving from single opt-in to double opt-in may represent a shift in your way of thinking, it\u2019s definitely worth testing due to the massive increase in importance on engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Email List SIZE is not the important metric. It all comes down to list QUALITY. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n QUESTION: <\/strong>Would you rather have 20,000 subscribers that open your email messages and want<\/em> to hear from you or 200,000 subscribers that have tuned you out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ANSWER: <\/strong>20,000 engaged subscribers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s Why:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have 200,000 subscribers that aren’t opening your messages or, worse, are clicking the spam button, they\u2019ll cause your emails for most, if not all, of your subscribers to wind up in the spam folder due to lack of engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, not only are 180,000 people on your list \u201cdead weight\u201d to begin with, they\u2019re also hurting deliverability for the other 20,000 GOOD subscribers. If the ISPs see that most people that are getting your emails are simply uninterested, then they\u2019re going to lump all of it together and toss your emails in the junk folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people will be dead set on marketing to the people that didn’t confirm the opt-in. If this is you, then here are a few considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good. Better. Best.<\/strong> <\/strong> So, look at your email marketing program regularly and see what that right balance is for you\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good: <\/strong>All single opt-in\u2026 your email marketing program is \u201cgood enough\u201d. You\u2019re making sales and you\u2019re happy with the results. If this is you, keep a close eye on your deliverability and as that part of the scale starts to tip, consider making some modifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better: <\/strong>Use a hybrid of confirmed opt-in along with single opt-in implementing some of the strategies above for handling your non double opt-in subscribers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best: <\/strong>Move to a complete double opt-in process and realize that your deliverability and, more importantly, your inbox placement rates will be higher across the board. If you\u2019re just starting out\u2026 this is DEFINITELY the place to start!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s kind of like \u201cWhich came first? The chicken or the egg?\u201d Double Opt-in (aka Confirmed Opt-in) vs. Single Opt-in has been the debate for as long as I can remember when it comes to list building and email marketing. The email service provider always wants the double opt-in for better list quality, few complaints […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-email-delivered"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Psychology of Your Initial Interaction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Double Opt-in (or Confirmed Opt-in) Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Benefits of Implementing A Double Opt-in Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Confirmed subscribers are much more likely to recognize your email messages in their inbox because they’ve already had to go and find you once to get the free offer you provided.<\/li>
<\/strong>In your initial email, you can also provide them with steps to whitelist your email address, how to change their preferences within your email program, etc.<\/li>
<\/strong>This is an important feedback metric for the ISPs. By requiring them to click on the link, in most clients, they will have to move the message TO the inbox in order to click the link and get the bribe. Once they’ve moved it to the inbox, they\u2019re not likely to put it back in the spam folder! THIS type of engagement is highly effective in improving your inbox deliverability. It demonstrates to the ISPs that people want to receive email from you.<\/li>
<\/strong>While you\u2019ll have somewhat fewer subscribers, the quality of your subscribers will be better and they are more likely to open subsequent messages ASSUMING that your content is great!<\/li>
<\/strong>Since you\u2019re only mailing to people that have confirmed, you\u2019ll be mailing to fewer bad addresses, which improves deliverability and inbox placement, and reduces the number of ISP blocks and blacklists you run into.<\/li>
<\/strong>Since a spam trap won\u2019t confirm, you won\u2019t be mailing subsequent messages to these bad addresses.<\/li>
<\/strong>Because of all of the factors above, your email marketing program, in general, will have better inbox placement rates.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n“But I\u2019ve been using single opt-in for YEARS with no problems”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What to Do with the “NON Confirmed”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>This way you\u2019re not mailing to them day in and day out, and the majority of your messages are going to subscribers who actually DID take the step to confirm (see the above process for the best flow)<\/li>
<\/strong>When you do this, you can quickly find out who\u2019s opening your emails and interacting. You\u2019ll find a large percentage of the single opt-in folks simply won\u2019t ever open an email. After 5-7 consecutive emails without opening, drop them or add them to an external marketing campaign.<\/li>
<\/strong>Similar to the previous one, you\u2019ll either get them to confirm or get rid of the dead weight.<\/li>
<\/strong>Email marketing is but one marketing channel. It is important to have multi-channel marketing mix. Consider uploading these leads to Facebook and running targeted campaigns to them in hopes that they\u2019ll opt-in for something else (and confirm). You may also consider a data append service when you get enough of these leads. You may find that a percentage of physical mailing data attached to them and can reach them in other ways.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The battle of whether to use single opt-in or double opt-in will most likely continue for years to come. There\u2019s not necessarily a \u201cright\u201d or \u201cwrong\u201d answer. It\u2019s more of a good, better, best scale\u2026 And that scale continues to shift constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n