Feb 20 2009
Single Opt-In Done Properly
The question about whether double opt-in (confirmed consent) is an email best practice has been asked for the last 10 years.
In Bill McCloskey’s recent ClickZ article he takes the strong position that double opt-in consent is no longer a best practice and should be discarded. In my view, McCloskey is correct – double opt-in will not facilitate list growth.
At this point in time, individuals are largely familiar with the traditional single opt-in email sign-up process. Double opt-in requires more effort from the person who already completed the email sign-up process, which in some cases, can be a time consuming affair to begin with. For example, many registration forms (especially for sites handling sensitive personal information) now require the customer to repeat letters and numbers (CAPTCHA forms) for security reasons.
If your sign-up process is clear and straightforward, there is no need to require an individual to work even harder to join your list.
For this reason, I would recommend that companies invest in creating a clean sign-up process that clearly indicates how to whitelist your sending domain and articulates what the user should expect to receive in their inbox. Companies should consider displaying images of sample newsletters during the sign-up process to give the user a clear idea of what to expect from your email program. If these rules are followed, a single opt-in should suffice in nearly all circumstances.
The email sign-up process should be confirmed immediately via email, and certainly within 3 days maximum. ‘Welcome’ emails should remind the user of their recent subscription action and also reiterate that they can opt-out at any time. For more advanced email marketing programs, I’ve seen great success with ‘educational’ series of emails that explain the value of the content they will receive via email in upcoming mailings.
Email programs handling very sensitive personal information should be even more focused on creating a clean and clear sign-up process. As customers register for email statements, account alerts and the like, the process deserves the highest level of consent application. For this reason, more and more financial institutions now require the creation of an online account before email opt-in is offered. Above all, email is never the proper venue to reveal sensitive customer information.
By adhering to these registration techniques, email marketers can generate single opt-in list growth responsibly and effectively.
I whole-heartedly agree with you. This is the email model everyone should be using!
This is the way things should be, get off what we are on now
I disagree. Typographical errors and malicious forgeries still exist and aren’t likely to go away soon.
When you log in to your computer or bank account, check in to a hotel, or get on an airplane, you aren’t just asked for your username. You’re asked for something else such as a password, photo ID, etc. to confirm your identity.
This isn’t called “double log-in” or “double check-in”. It is expected that the operators of those systems care about people being defrauded, cheated, or pranked.
Why are email marketers so reluctant to confirm subscriptions, resorting to therms like “double” in order to make clicking on a “Yes, that’s me” box seem like a huge burden? Closed-loop confirmed opt-in protects both the customer and the marketer from errors and false accusations.
*IF* closed-loop confirmation is really that much of a burden (it isn’t), then at a very minimum send an immediate email to the subscribed address containing the source IP of the signup, a timestamp, and a means to immediately and permanently get removed from the list.
As one who has been listbombed, I can assure you that it isn’t fun, and closed-loop confirmation is really the best way to go for everyone.
Hi Jim, Thank you for your post. You make some valid points and I’d like to clarify some of the points in the orginal post. I agree, that double opt in might be the right method for acquiring email addresses for some companies. That does not mean that double opt in is an industry best practice however. Best practices can also be different for different industries.
I also agree with you that many companies ask for personal information during the email sign up process as well. I made the point in my original post that asking for sensitive and personal information during email sign up is not a best practice, particularly for financial and medial institutions. Email is not the place for personal information to be shared or required for sign up although email can be acquired as part of an account creation. For this reason as well, single opt in can be applied assuming personal information is not being used in the email or links.
Most companies we work with do not capture much sensitive or personal information such as in the publishing, retail and entertainment verticals. For marketers who are seeking to increase their email acquisition rates, double opt in will not yield acquisition rates similar to single opt in. Therefore, for many business double opt in is not a best practice. I also make the point as well that an immediate welcome email offering opt out is a best practice if single opt in is used.