How to Send Email 101: Single Opt-in vs. Double Opt-in

Once upon a time, life was much easier for the email marketer.  How to send email was not a difficult question to answer because back in the day, you had the luxury to send as many messages to as many people as you wanted without stirring up much of a fuss.  Oh how times have changed.  Despite the CAN SPAM Act of 2003, unsolicited electronic mail continues to be a major problem today, a factor that makes succeeding with your marketing campaign that much more difficult. 

These days, you must be careful in order to keep your domain off the blacklist and take various measures to ensure your mail stays out of the spam filter and in the recipient’s inbox.  One of the golden rules of email marketing is to only send your campaign out to people that have consented to accept it, which brings us o the matter of single opt-in vs. double opt-in.  If you want to know how to send email, the opt-in is the way to go.  And while neither of these options is without flaw, one is far more advantageous than the other. 

Believe it or not, there are actually some advantages to the single opt-in.  For one, the rate of conversion from prospect to subscriber is generally significantly higher than with the double opt-in variety.  This means that your list will have more subscribers, which could potentially lead to more customers and higher profits.  The disadvantages, however, are more noteworthy.  Because your list will likely contain people that never fully confirmed to be on it, the probability of your mail being considered spam is much higher.  Another major disadvantage to the single opt-in is that your mailing list will be compromised of several useless email addresses that count as numbers, rather than actual subscribers and potential readers. 

With a double opt-in, you have the assurance that the subscriber actually requested to receive content from you by giving them the option to confirm their interest twice.  Although anyone can cry spam, this method gives you the proof that the recipient took the necessary measures to sign up and receive your messages.  Perhaps the most notable advantage is that this option helps you cultivate and maintain a clean list of active email addresses.  This is one of the essential keys to a successful campaign and long-term profits.  When exercising a double opt-in, just remember that its pays to explain to subscribers how to confirm and unsubscribe to your mail.  A great list of responsive recipients comes from gaining trust and earning respect.

To wrap up our session on how to send email, the single opt-in method will probably help you build a list a much faster and from here, the potential for conversions is very high.  The double-option method will probably get you less subscribers, but provide you with better quality prospects and help you maintain a clean list.  It is up to you to decide which is right for your email marketing campaign.