Double Opt-In Or Single?
You've gotten to the point where you are ready to accept subscribers
to your Ezine. But now comes the decision. Do you want your
subscription service to be single of double opt-in? Well, to answer
that question, we first have to explain the difference between the two
methods. Then we can list the pros and cons of each.
Single opt-in works as follows. The potential subscriber sees your ad
for your Ezine and the sign up link and simply puts his email in the
form, clicks send and he's now a subscriber. He doesn't have to do
anything else. You'll have his information delivered to your system
and he will be added to your subscriber base. When your first Ezine
goes out, he'll be getting a copy of it.
Double opt-in works as follows. The potential subscriber also sees
your ad for your Ezine, just like in the example about, except there
is one difference. After he submits his email address and clicks send,
a message will come up telling him that he will be receiving an email
that he will have to reply to in some form, usually by clicking a link
in the email. After he does this, THEN he is added to your subscriber
base.
Okay, so what's the difference? Why make somebody go through the extra
step? Isn't single opt-in good enough? This is where we get to the
pros and cons of each method. You can decide on your own which is best
for you.
With single opt-in, after the subscriber submits his info, he's in.
This makes it easier for him to become a subscriber. The extra step
may be too much of a bother for him and he'll never click on your
link, thus he'll never become a subscriber. Thus somebody who would
have been, is not. You've lost a potential subscriber. Another
positive of single opt-in is that there is less programming involved
for the system as there are fewer steps involved. That's the positive
side of using single opt-in over double opt-in. Naturally, single
opt-ins positive side is double opt-ins negative side.
But there is a downside to using single opt-in. With single opt-in, a
subscriber could enter any email address and it won't matter. Why?
Because he doesn't have to confirm it. So if your Ezine requires that
it be emailed to him, he'll never get it. While this may seem silly,
some people will do this just to be able to download the freebies
before getting their first email. This way they get the freebie and
don't have to be bothered with your emails. By having double opt-in it
forces them to give a valid address or they don't get any of the
benefits. While this may decrease the number of subscribers you get,
it will increase the number of serious subscribers that you get. And
100 serious subscribers are much better than 10,000 not so serious
subscribers.
There are those who will argue in favor of each and that's fine. There
really is no right or wrong answer here. It all comes down to what you
feel it right for YOU.
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Copyright 2006 – Ken Mathie. Editor PMCezine...
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