A double opt-in refers to a double confirmation for users who are interested in joining an email list. First, the user provides an email address via a subscription form, then the user receive a confirmation letter via email, which must be filled out to confirm his or her desire to be added to a mailing list. In this article, we’ll discuss the double opt-in in process in greater detail and explain its benefits.
A double opt-in is a confirmation process that is used for creating email lists. In this process, a person must follow two steps to confirm that he or she would like to be added to an email subscription. The two steps of the confirmation process are as follows:
- A person enters his or her email address via a subscription form found on a website or another location. After entering an email address, the user then clicks a button that reads “join our mailing list”, or something similar.
- The individual receives a confirmation letter via the email address that he or she provided. This confirmation letter asks the person to confirm his or her desire to be added to the mailing list. Typically, the person must click a link that is provided in the confirmation email to verify that he or she would like to be added to the mailing list.
What a Double Opt-In is Important
There are a number of reasons why this email subscription process is important. Some of the most notable reasons are as follows:
- It improves the quality of the people on your mailing list. The reason being that any person can enter their email for a mailing list; however, they may not actually want to subscribe to the email list. The double opt-in process confirms that individuals really do want to be added to the list. This ensures that you have a collection of emails for people who are truly interested in your products or services, thereby increasing the chances that you will make sales.
- It alleviates errors. Often, people input the wrong email address on an initial email subscription entry form; perhaps they misspell their email address or maybe they put in an address for an account that they do not frequently use. The double confirmation that a double opt-in allows ensures that users have provided the proper email address so that they can be reached.
- It reduces the chances of users unsubscribing to your email list. Statistics have found that the unsubscribe rate is less than 7 percent when they join mailing lists that have a double opt-in process.
- It allows for immediate communication. Since a confirmation form is sent to those who sign up to join your mailing list, the lines of communication are opened right off away. In your conformation email, you can include more information about your products, services, brand, provide offers, or include any other information that you think is important for those on your email list to have.
Disadvantages of Double Opt-In
As with everything, there are a few downsides associated with using a double opt-in. Some of the cons of this double confirmation process include:
- Some people who indicate that they would like to join a mailing list ma not follow through and confirm their desire to be added to your list via the email confirmation they receive. As a result, these people end up not being subscribed to your list.
- There is a chance that the confirmation email may be sent to a user’s spam box, even though the actual messages that you send out via your list would not. If this happens, users may never see the confirmation email, as many people do not check their spam folders.
- The confirmation email may never be sent. Glitches can occur, which could prevent the follow-up message from going out to users.
