The key to a successful e-mail marketing campaign is having a good list (or lists). In fact, having several segmented lists can be the healthiest approach to e-mail marketing success.
Double the E-Mail List Quality with a Double Opt-In
The first step to having a good list is making sure right from the start that you have good addresses from people who actually want your content. The best way to do that is what’s called a double opt-in. The steps are simple:
1. Someone enters their e-mail address in a form saying they want your content e-mailed to them.
2. Within minutes, an automatic confirmation e-mail is sent to that e-mail address asking them to click on a link to confirm that they want the content.
3. The person should then get their first e-mail immediately. Ideally it should be a welcoming e-mail, or at least the latest relevant e-mail (regardless of when they subscribe in your edit cycle). This gives users immediate gratification and also establishes in their mind what your content looks like.
It might seem like having a double opt-in will create another step, and make it more likely to lose potential names in the e-mail list. In fact, the opposite is true. Having a double opt-in has two immediate benefits:
– It confirms the e-mail address, saving sending e-mails to bad addresses.
– It gives clients another opportunity to confirm that they want your e-mails.
This means that they are far less likely to label your e-mails as spam or unsubscribe, and are far more likely to open them and act on them.
