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January 30, 2023What is Double Opt-In in Email Marketing ?
Double opt-in is a process used in email marketing to confirm that the person who has provided their email address actually wants to receive emails from the sender. It is a two-step process where a potential subscriber first submits their email address, then they receive an email with a link to confirm their subscription.
The first step is when the person fills out a form on a website or gives their email address to a business, for example in a physical store or at an event. The second step is when the business sends an email to the provided address containing a link or a button that the person has to click on to confirm their subscription. Once the person has confirmed, their email address is added to the sender’s list of subscribers.
Double opt-in is considered to be a more secure and effective way of building email lists, as it ensures that only people who are genuinely interested in receiving emails will be added to the list, and it also helps to reduce the risk of email addresses being added to a list without the owner’s consent.
Double Opt-in vs. Single Opt-in
Double opt-in and single opt-in are two different methods of collecting email addresses for email marketing campaigns.
Single opt-in is a process where a person provides their email address and is immediately added to the sender’s list of subscribers without any additional confirmation. This method is simpler and quicker, but it also carries a greater risk of email addresses being added to the list without the owner’s consent.
Double opt-in, as I explained earlier, is a two-step process where a potential subscriber first submits their email address, then they receive an email with a link to confirm their subscription. This method is considered to be more secure and effective as it ensures that only people who are genuinely interested in receiving emails will be added to the list.
Both methods have their own pros and cons, and the choice between them will depend on the specific needs and goals of your email marketing campaign. Double opt-in is generally considered to be a best practice as it helps to ensure that your email list is composed of people who are genuinely interested in your content and are less likely to mark your emails as spam. Single opt-in, on the other hand, can be a faster way to grow your email list but it can also lead to a higher number of unengaged or unqualified recipients.
How to Set Up Double Opt-In ?
Setting up double opt-in for your email marketing campaign involves a few steps:
- Create a sign-up form: This can be a simple form on your website or a more advanced form using a service such as Mailchimp, Aweber, etc. The form should include fields for the person’s name and email address.
- Send a confirmation email: Once a person submits their email address, an automated confirmation email should be sent to their email address. This email should include a link or a button that the person needs to click to confirm their subscription.
- Confirm the subscription: Once the person clicks the link in the confirmation email, their email address is confirmed and added to your email list.
- Add a confirmation page: After the person clicks on the confirmation link, you can redirect them to a page that confirms that their subscription has been successful and also give them an option to unsubscribe.
- Keep an unsubscribe link in all emails: it is important to include an unsubscribe link in all of your emails, so that people can unsubscribe easily if they no longer wish to receive emails from you.
It’s important to note that, you should always comply with email laws and regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) when setting up double opt-in and sending out email campaigns.
What are the advantages of double opt in ?
Double opt-in has several advantages in email marketing:
- Increased email list quality: With double opt-in, only people who are genuinely interested in receiving emails will be added to the list, which means that the list will be more engaged and more likely to open and click on the emails.
- Reduced spam complaints: Double opt-in helps to ensure that only people who want to receive emails are added to the list, which means that there will be fewer spam complaints and your email deliverability rate will be higher.
- Greater compliance with laws and regulations: Double opt-in is considered a best practice and is often required by laws and regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), ensuring that you are compliant with these regulations.
- Increased trust and credibility: Double opt-in demonstrates that your business takes data protection seriously and respects the privacy of its customers, which can increase trust and credibility with your audience.
- Greater email engagement: Double opt-in ensures that your email list contains only interested people who are more likely to open and engage with your emails, leading to higher open and click-through rates, and ultimately, more conversions.
- Reduced list churn: With double opt-in, you can be sure that only people who are genuinely interested in your content will be added to your list, thus reducing the number of unengaged or unqualified recipients, and ultimately reducing list churn.
