One of the biggest debates surrounding email marketing is whether the single opt-in process or the double opt-in process is better. To many, the decision boils down to this: quantity vs. quality. That is, would you rather have a large marketing list or a quality marketing list?
Of course, there are other considerations, such as legal requirements like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States, and CASL in Canada. If you plan to execute international marketing campaigns, these are very important considerations, as many countries have strict consent requirements. Ultimately, you should make an informed decision based on your company, your customer base, and your market.
Single Opt-In or Double Opt-in:
The single opt-in process is exactly what it sounds like it would be, a single-step process for recipients to opt-in to your marketing emails. Generally, as soon as a recipient submits their email, to sign up for a newsletter, a discount that is offered for providing their email address, or to be a part of your online shopping site, their email address is automatically added to your marketing list.
The double opt-in process involves two steps for the recipient. First, he submits his email address, often exactly as he would for the single opt-in process explained above. After his email is submitted, a confirmation email is sent to the email address he provided that he must open and click to confirm. Only after the recipient has submitted his email address, opened the confirmation email, and clicked the confirmation link, will his email address be added to your marketing list.
Single Opt-in Pros:
Only one step involved: The ease of the single opt-in process on your recipients is an important factor to consider. A one-step process will ensure no one is confused about or forgets the second step of the double opt-in process, and is therefore not added to your marketing list.
Ability to build an email list more quickly: With a single opt-in process, every email address that is submitted will be added to your marketing list automatically, therefore the single opt-in process enables you to more quickly build your marketing list. There are many ways the confirmation process can go wrong, which can prevent the quick expansion of your marketing list.
Less “lost” email addresses: With a single opt-in process you will have less “lost” email addresses, that is, email addresses that are submitted, but confirmation never occurs. Many things can prevent a recipient from confirming his email address and ultimately, you from including his email address in your marketing list. Your confirmation email might be sent to the recipient’s spam folder, and therefore never be seen, the recipient might never open the confirmation email, even if it is correctly sent to his inbox, he could forget to confirm his email address, or he could get confused by the confirmation process and never click confirm.
Single Opt-in Cons:
Information (email address) input mistakes: You could run into a situation where a genuinely interested recipient attempts to submit his email address but unintentionally misspells his email address. In this situation, neither you nor the recipient will know that an incorrect email address made it onto your marketing list.
Spam/revenge subscribers: The submission of a false or another person’s email address is why the quality of your marketing list could suffer. If you ask for a recipient’s email address in conjunction with an incentive, i.e., a discount or free trial, the recipient might not be interested in anything, e.g., future marketing from or business with you, other than the incentive offered at that time.
In that situation, he may provide a false email address to get the incentive, leaving you with a useless addition to your marketing list. Likewise, if a recipient provides an email address that is not his, but belongs to another person, to get the incentive, as a joke, or even for revenge against the other person, the quality of your marketing list will suffer because that person may have no interest in your company or emails. This situation also raises concerns regarding consent, which is a requirement under the laws of many countries.
Some countries have very specific and strict consent regulations: As discussed above, if the email address you are given belongs to another person, you will not be able to show or prove that you have the consent of the email address owner, should he file a complaint for receiving “spam” from your company.
Double Opt-in Pros:
Ability to compile a quality marketing list: A double opt-in process will help you create a higher quality marketing list in the long run. Generally, because there is a two-step process, you will get recipients who are more responsive and interested in your company or product. Statistics show that double opt-in lists get double the “clicks” and “opens” of single opt-in lists and half of the “unsubscribes” as single opt-in lists.
Email addresses received are correct: The double opt-in process provides you with the assurance that the email address given to you is correct and that it is owned by a person who has confirmed his interest in your company or product.
Reduced risk of spam complaints: This pro goes without saying, with a two-step confirmation process, you reduce your risk of spam complaints because you alleviate the problems that arise using the single opt-in process that lead to spam complaints, i.e., false email addresses and the submission of another person’s email address, regardless of the reason for the submission.
More protection and easier to prove recipient consent (have proof of consent): Just like reducing the risk of spam complaints, a double opt-in process protects you from spam complaints because it will make it much easier for you to prove the recipient has consented to your emails if he has signed up to receive them and then also separately confirmed his interested a second time.
Double Opt-in Cons:
Lower conversion rate: Any time you add more steps to a process, you lower your conversion rate. Be it an email opt-in process or a purchasing process, the more steps involved, the lower the number of people to complete the process will be. Marketers generally agree that about 20-30% of your recipients will not complete the confirmation process. This is perhaps the most difficult and important hurdle to overcome in your decision process. However, this, like all of the other pros and cons, should only be one factor in your decision of whether to employ a single opt-in process or a double opt-in process. Additionally, all of the factors are not equal, you should place a value on each pro and con based on your company, your customers, and your market.
Slower list building: Because of the problems that can arise during the confirmation process that will prevent an email address from being added to your marketing list and the fact that the confirmation process alone will preclude some recipients from making it onto your marketing list, it will take you longer to build your list.
“Lost” email addresses: For the reasons discussed above, you will lose some email addresses with the double opt-in process, e.g., the confirmation email goes to spam, the recipient never sees the confirmation email, the recipient never clicks the confirmation, etc.
The Choice is Yours
Because every company is different, there is never a “one size fits all” option in the business world. This is evidenced by the ongoing debate over whether the single opt-in or double opt-in process is better and the many pros and cons of both options. When devising a marketing campaign, you should consider the pros and cons of both options, keeping in mind, you should be the one to place a value on each pro and con based on your business, your customers, and your market.
Here are two final tips that you should consider regardless of the opt-in process you choose. First, you should always immediately send a well-thought-out and crafted welcome email to your new recipients, this could be included in your confirmation email if you choose the double opt-in process. You should always, and in most countries are required to, provide a recipient with the option to “unsubscribe” from your marketing list in every email you send.
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