jonshutt wrote:I've heard many times 'a double opt in is highly recommended' but why? When people they fill in a form, they are basically say thing that they want to subscribe? Why ask them again?
Jon, I wrote a blog post not too long ago about the reasons one might want to use Double Opt In (a confirmed opt-in model) for their email marketing. I highly suggest you check it out at:
http://www.infusionblog.com/technology/the-truth-about-double-opt-ins/Long story short, you are making sure that people have confirmed their interest in a given product, service or email relationship.
To me it just seems a bit pointless, and increases the change the person wanting to subscribe won't be actually subscibed! Let me answer this question with a question:
Why do you want to send an email to people who aren't interested? If someone is interested, they will click the link. It's a standard discourse for using the Web today for most users.
While it does increase the opportunity for someone to elect to not receive more email from you, it does provide the opportunity to find people who are very interested and eager to confirm their relationship / permission for your to send.
Basically I'm asked what is the advantage of this system? is it just to avoid people signing other people up for things they might not want? In that case, why not make the first say 'is this an error, click here to be removed from the mailing list'It's because it's the right thing to do to respect email users' preferences. Statistically, people who confirm their interest via a double-opt-in like are 10x less likely to report a message as spam to their provider. Likewise, our double-opt-in pools are cleaner and have higher reputation than single-opt-in.
The Double Opt In confirmation message can be used to allow people to confirm their interest and even opt-out. It's all about giving end users CHOICE in how they receive communications from a company.
Secondly, if someone already has their name in the infusion system (from another contact they made) and then subscribes to the double opt in form, do they have to opt in again, or does infusion know they already existJust to clarify, I think you mean within the same Infusionsoft app, correct? Yes, Infusionsoft does not send duplicate DOI request emails to minimize the clutter in their inbox.
BUT ... this is a double-edged sword. When making a campaign that focuses having recipients confirm their email status, make sure you have a template intended specifically for people who have double opted in.
This way, it's more personal, and more to the point for them.
As far as separate applications is concerned, email statuses are unique and specific to each individual application. For instance, if you signed up to our stuff, but opted out of another customers' list, only that customer is affected.
Finally, if someone subscribes through a form, but doesn't click the double opt in box, can people manually go into infusion and send emails to these people, or do they get blocked becuase they haven't opted in?
Thanks folks!While we don't recommend it, we do allow the use of sending messages to single-opt-in subscribers. We have monitors on the system that watches for suspicious activity. Provided that everything you're doing is legit, you're free to market to those people as much as they elected.
Beyond all this, I want to make sure that it's quite clear about the INTENT and PURPOSE of these best practices.
People. Respect. Engagement.
Without respecting people, you won't have much of a loyalty or affinity for content. Without respect, they will instantly get whatever item it is for free and unsubscribe/report spam on your messages. With good engagement, you will have built a two-way dynamic with subscribers on providing content that they desire, expect and are willing to read.
Great questions, thanks for asking them Jon. What do you think about what I've shared? Did it help?
~Joe
