Wondering which email opt-in method you should use for building your mailing list? Choosing an opt-in process (Single Opt-In vs. Double Opt-In) varies from business to business and based on their marketing goals.
Email marketing is considered one of the best marketing channels to turn your visitors into customers. But before they engage with your emails, they need to subscribe to your email list.
And here the question comes, which opt-in method should you choose?
This guide will help you understand the key differences between single opt-in and double opt-in and choose the best one suitable for your marketing strategy.
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What is a single opt-in?
Single opt-in is a subscription path where the users become part of your mailing list immediately when they sign up on your form. There is no need to confirm their email address, and hence they start receiving emails from your end instantly after sign up.
What is double opt-in?
Double opt-in is a subscription path where the user signs up on the subscription form and confirms to receive emails from you. If the users do not verify the subscription, they will not receive any emails from you.
Advantages of single opt-in?
Increase the Email List Quickly
If you want to grow the email list real quick, then Single opt-in is the right pick for you. Single opt-in forms are simple to fill and give a smooth experience to the visitor.
Users enter their email and start receiving notifications from your end. Since the process is very easy to complete, there is no risk of losing leads. In the case of double opt-in, there are chances that users missed the confirmation email, which results in fewer users confirming their email.
Simple and Smooth Process
As a single opt-in requires only one action from your subscriber, it is an easier option. There is no need to confirm their address and check their inbox for any confirmation email.
The more CTA buttons you attach to your first email content, the higher are the chances of visitors disengaging with your brand. Rather than keeping your visitors on the waiting list for a long time, single opt-in subscriptions are the easiest way to grab the leads.
Disadvantages of single opt-in?
As every marketing strategy has a drawback, even the single opt-in also comes with its flaws. Here are a few of them:
Low-Quality Leads
Single opt-in has a higher risk of bringing in low-quality leads for your business. For example, your competitors might be sending fake email subscriptions to use against your business. Yes, it is an unethical practice, but you cannot avoid it. Hence, the SOI remains exposed to such malpractices.
In short, it leads to a poor subscribers list and bad deliverability.
Poor Deliverability
As mentioned earlier, there is no check on the single opt-in forms; it becomes hard to monitor the email list. Due to more fake email IDs in the subscription list, the deliverability rate is very poor in single opt-in. If you are getting many hard bounces, it also affects future deliverability and your sender’s reputation.
Low Engagement Rate
The rate at which users engage in emails is less than the rate at which users subscribe to the single opt-in forms. It is also bad for you financially as email service providers charge you on the number of subscribers or emails sent. If you are getting no engagements, you are losing your time and money.
Not Email list friendly
If you have locked premium content on your website and need the users to fill in an email to unlock the content, then the chances of users entering fake email ID is very high. To avoid such malicious actions, you must have a double opt-in form, as it filters out the spammers.
Advantages of double opt-in?
Less Bounce Rate
In case of double opt-in, the email address is verified, and hence you end up having a very less spammed list. Also, since users accept to receive email notifications from you, the chances of your emails landing in the spam folder are very less.
High-Quality Leads
Since your email list is super verified, you have a list of high-quality leads in hand. Moreover, users who interact twice with your business to confirm their newsletter subscription are highly engaged.
Spam Free
If anyone uses a bot to subscribe to your email list, the bot cannot clear email confirmation. As a result, you end up having real users’ email IDs in your list.
Disadvantages of double opt-in?
Takes Time to Grow List
Building a good email list through double opt-in takes time as the users need to confirm their email ID to receive notifications from you. Through this approach, as your list grows considerably, your business grows too!
However, it is recommended to regularly check if your double opt-in is hampering the user experience or not. The greater the user experience, the faster your email list grows.
You may lose some audience groups.
Teenagers do not check their emails often. As a result, you might end up losing a large subscriber base. For getting a large number of verified opt-ins on your subscription form, it is recommended to add up any excitement to the users as soon as they confirm the email. It will help you to build your email list quickly.
For example, you can offer a $5 coupon code to the user if they verify their email. It will lead to immediate email verification.
Conversion rates of single opt-in vs double opt-in
According to Mailchimp, 61% of people never completed the double opt-in signup process. It happens because they may forget to confirm their email, the email goes to the spam folder or they accidentally deleted the confirmation email.
Though the number of signups on single opt-in seems to be very high compared to double opt-in in the initial stage, the conversion rate is bad in single opt-in in the long run. It is due to the number of fake or non-working emails in your email list.
On the other hand, a double opt-in list might take time to grow; but it fetches many benefits in the long run.
Choose the single opt-in if you have just started to build your list. Implement double opt-in when you are getting a lot of hard bounces. Always remember that building a quality email list is better than having a large list.
