Double opt-out is a method that is used in email marketing. This process allows those who have subscribed to an email list – whether knowingly or unknowingly – to choose to opt-out – or stop receiving – future emails. In this article, we will discuss the double opt-out process, including how it can be beneficial for email marketers and consumers alike.
Email marketing can be a highly effective form of advertising for businesses across various industries. It can build brand awareness, it is a great way to keep people up-to-date with new products and services that a business offers, and it simply allows organizations to keep prospective customers abreast of news and events that they may find interesting.
Opt-in vs Opt-out
In order to understand what opt-out is, it is first important to have an understanding of opt-in.
Essentially, opt-in is a process that involves users giving their permission to be added to a mailing list. For example, a visitor to a website may be presented with the option of receiving emails from a business after he or she has purchased a product or a service. The user will be prompted to enter a valid email address and submit it via a web form. Once submitted, that user’s email address is added to a database of email addresses that marketers send emails to.
Many times, people decide that they no longer wish to receive emails after they have opted in to a mailing list. In order to remove themselves from the list, they can opt-out or unsubscribe. The opt-out process usually involves providing a link within an email that users can click on if they no longer wish to receive emails. Once they unsubscribe, their email addresses are removed from the database and they do not receive emails in the future.
What is Double Opt-Out?
Often, people decide to opt-out of an email list because they view the messages that they are receiving as “spammy”, or they find that they actually don’t have any interest in the products or services that a company is offering, and therefore decide that they want to unsubscribe from an email list. In some cases, an opt-in for an email marketing campaign was an error. Whatever the case may be, individuals who no longer wish to receive future emails from a company and therefore knowingly unsubscribe.
However, in some instances, a user isn’t 100 percent sure that they want to unsubscribe, or they hit the unsubscribe button on accident. In either of these situations, the double-opt out process can be very beneficial. The way double opt-out works is pretty straightforward: once someone clicks on the “opt-out” or “unsubscribe” link, they receive an additional message that confirms he or she really no longer wishes to receive future emails.
Benefits of Double Opt-Out for Businesses
The double opt-out process offers some notable benefits for business owners. These benefits include:
- Confirming that subscribers really do wish to be removed from an email marketing list
- It can be used as a way to provide subscribers with more information about a business, which could potentially prevent them from confirm they want to opt-out, as the information they are provided with might convince them to remain a subscriber.
- It can be used as a tool to track important information. For example, marketers can include a questionnaire to find out why users are opting out: they find emails “spammy”, they simply aren’t interested in the products or services the business offers, they signed up in error, etc. This information can be used to improve an email marketing campaign.
Benefits of Double Opt-Out for Consumers
For consumers, the benefits of double opt-out include:
- Ensuring that they truly do wish to unsubscribe to an email list. For example, a person may click on the ‘unsubscribe’ link on accident, when in fact they really do wish to remain on an email list.
- It could allow them to obtain more information about a business and find out that they truly are interested in what said business is offering.
