The dichotomy of finding a lead lies in nurturing the one. Marketers tend to lose valuable customers often not with the bad UI or bad UX but bad decision-making on their part.
One of the first decisions email marketers should make while propelling a new campaign is whether to use single or double opt-in.
Single Opt-In
When someone says single-opt-in it simply means, a single step process in which users have to enter their email addresses into the sign-up or have to subscribe. As soon as they complete this process, they are added into the mail list and automatically start receiving emails. In this process, users don’t need to confirm subscriptions.
Exhibit 1:
Exhibit 2:
Above images are examples of Single opt-in process, where users have to enter their details once. As they become part of the list, they start receiving mails without requesting a second confirmation.
Advantages of Single Opt-In:
- It is easy to use because the users don’t need to go to their inbox and do the confirmation.
- The email list will grow faster than Double Opt-In.
Disadvantages:
- There are chances that your email list will be filled with invalid email addresses as sometimes people can make errors while typing their email address.
- In addition, people may subscribe to your form and enter invalid email addresses to just get lead magnets.
Double Opt-In
Double Opt-In requires the user to confirm before joining the mail list. In this process, the users have to enter their email address on which they will receive a notification to complete the subscription.
Exhibit 1: Below is an example of Double opt-in where the user has to enter her email address to subscribe.
Exhibit 2: Once entered the email address, the user will be notified to check her inbox and need to confirm it once again.
Exhibit 3: When the users check their mailboxes they will find mails with a confirmation link as shown below.
Advantages:
- Double Opt-In process helps in protecting your email list from invalid emails addresses and spam traps.
- It guarantees progressively proficient distribution of the budget for using email services as you don’t spend it on associating with invalid email addresses.
- It makes it simpler to demonstrate the authenticity of your emails to a mailbox provider as you contact just the individuals who gave you their consent by means of double opt-in.
Disadvantages:
- Double opt-in process may slow down the growth of your mail list.
- There are chances that sometimes people will lose interest or your mail will directly get in the spam folder, due to which you may lose a potential marketing lead.
Worldwide Poll
According to a worldwide Poll from Litmus, 46.5% preferred Double opt-in while 53.5% preferred to use single opt-in. Litmus explains that 60% of respondents from the US and remaining others were from elsewhere around the world. Among US respondents, 55% said SOI was better, versus 45% saying DOI was better. In the rest of the world, the gap was narrower, but the result was the same, with 51% saying SOI was better and 49% saying DOI was.
Figuring out what type of opt-in you need to use with your sign-up procedure is the initial step that you’ll have to take before you start to build your list. However, it is not a permanent decision and can change your decision later.
So what should your business choose?
No matter whatever the internet says, remember these points:
- Double Opt-In requires much more effort from users to get on your mail list, discouraging them to leave the exercise mid-way.
- Single Opt-In is simple and people do like simple things in life.
- There are no unengaged subscribers, only infrequent list cleaning. The cleaner your list is, the lesser chances for incorrect, wrongly spelt emails are there.
- Double Opt-In is usually restricted to financial and healthcare industry. For everyone else, there is CAN-SPAM Act.
- It’s all about user experience.
Email marketing is the cornerstone of any modern business. CommerZilla helps you formulate a comprehensive email marketing solution, from strategy to deployment. We ensure that your commerce grows with the help of available online solutions but more than these we understand that business today is more personal. It takes commitment, accountability and a team that is working relentlessly to establish the feat that modern business is.