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Which Email Marketing Option Is Right For Your Business
Double opt in vs. single opt in is one of the most hotly debated topics in email marketing. Proponents of double opt in claim that it produces a higher converting email list with far fewer spam complaints. Single opt in supporters say that the lower conversion rates are justified because of the increased number of subscribers.
Below you will learn the key difference between the two types of opts in’s and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Double Opt in vs Single Opt in Explained
Some email marketing services provide you with the option of requiring your subscribers to opt in once or opt in twice. With a single opt in, the only step a new subscriber needs to take is to provide their email address.<p> With double opt in, they first need to provide their email address. Next, they will receive an email from your email marketing service asking them to confirm their sign up. The subscriber will join your email list only if they confirm.
Double Opt in Complicates the Process for Subscribers
Double opt in does create an extra step before your subscriber will begin receiving your emails which will typically lower your sign up conversion rate. But there are benefits as well.
When someone performs a double opt in, they signal that they are very interested in what you have to offer. This means that a list comprised of people who double opt’d in are more likely to open your emails than one that has single opt’d in.
Email marketing service, GetResponse, conducted a study that analyzed the stats of 700M messages from accounts over a 2 month period. The results show those lists that required double opt in had a 71% higher open rate than single opt in accounts. In addition, readers were more likely to click on links found inside these emails as well. Readers who had to double opt in had a 66% higher click rate than single opt in. (1)
Double Opt in Creates a “Cleaner” Email List
One of the biggest advantages of double opt in list is it tends to be cleaner. Double opt in email lists have lower bounce rates and fewer spam complaints which protect you from becoming black listed.
The standard for the number of acceptable spam complaints set by Internet Service Providers is 0.1%. (2) That means you can receive no more than one spam complaint for every 1000 emails you send. Making your readers double opt in is one of the best ways of avoiding being labelled as a spammer.
Double opt in also helps to improve your bounce rate. According to statistics produced by email marketing service, Mail Chimp, double opt in can lower your bounce rate by 48.3%. (3)
So What is the Bounce Rate and Why is it Important?
The bounce rate is the percentage of emails that are rejected by the recipient’s email server before they reach their inbox. A high bounce rate can be just as damaging for your reputation as spam complaints. The reason for this is because bounced emails are typically caused by out of date or misspelled email addresses. These are tell-tale signs of spammers who have purchased or rented an old email list.
What’s the Right Choice for your Business?
The decision over whether double opt in is better than single opt in is essentially about quantity vs. quality. Requiring subscribers to opt in twice will generally produce fewer subscribers, but usually they will be more likely to convert into paying customers. Using a single opt in method, you will get more subscribers but the conversion rates may be lower.
For some businesses having more subscribers will justify using single opt in, even if the conversion rate is lower. To demonstrate why imagine that you had two lists. The first use double opt in and receives 5,000 signs up and a click rate of 20%. The second list uses single opt in and receives 10,000 sign ups and a click rate of 12%. Even though the second list has a significantly lower click rate, it still produces more clicks overall (1200 vs 1000).
Many business owners prefer double opt in because it’s still the safer option. Your reputation is valuable and you don’t want to damage it by sending out unwanted emails. Double opt in ensures a clean list and often a more profitable one as well.
