Don't Get Grief From Ezine Readers : 10 Reasons To Always Use A "Double Opt-in" Policy For Your Email Newsletter

By Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian
Posted Wednesday, December 29, 2004

My friend Joe was very angry. He has just launched his ezine. Last week, he called me in a panic.

"My ISP is threatening to shut me down" he cried.

"Why, what happened?" I asked.

Slowly, working through his agitation and angst, I gathered that one of his ezine 'subscribers' had accused Joe of 'spamming' - sending email (or in this case, an ezine) to someone who had NOT requested it. It took a week of repeated phone calls and emails to his ISP before he could get back to his ezine publishing tasks.

It could happen to anyone. Even you!

And this made me wonder - Why would any ezine publisher 'spam' readers? Or even open him/herself to such accusations?

The simple answer - Many just don't know how easy it is to avoid.

In my book "Ezine Launch - Creating 'Killer' Ezines", I strongly emphasize the importance of the subscribing process. And that's what this article will do too - give you TEN reasons to keep your ezine subscribers happy, enthusiastic about your writing, and ultimately make them your most valued customers.

Do it right and you can play them like a musical instrument, get them to sway to your tune, listen to what you're saying, believe you, respect you.

And presto, you have yourself a new customer.

Once this trusting relationship is established, you can name your own price and your readers will order from you. Your sales will explode, profits will skyrocket.

But only if you do it right !

Today unforgiving subscribers are less tolerant of poor ezine design and administration. They vote for bad ezines by hitting the "Unsubscribe" button. The margin of error in ezine publishing is small.

That is why a tutorial like Ezine Launch - (http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/ezinelaunch/) is an invaluable tool, a hand-holding guide to your initial ventures into publishing email newsletters, leading you step-by-step through the difficult first steps to e-publishing success.

And well begun is half-done. That's where Double Opt-In comes in.

What does this mean?

With double opt-in, you don't send out your ezine to everyone who asks for it - until they have confirmed their request by either visiting a website or responding to an email message. This not only verifies that the ezine request is genuine, it also provides you - the ezine publisher - with proof of this request.

To see what I mean, visit our ezine sign-up page at Ezine Launch Monthly at (http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/ezlmonthly/)

Detractors claim that with double opt-in you lose readers.

True, some people who ask for your ezine may not re-confirm.

But think about it - how many of them are likely to become loyal customers or long-term readers? What you're losing are the tire-kickers, the freebie seekers who transiently flit from one thing to another.

And that is a good thing. Because those that remain are the serious prospects, people who are really interested in you, your product, your service. They are potential customers.

So here are ten reasons to go down a double opt-in route.

With double opt-in, you can

1. Attract the most interested, responsive target audience as subscribers

2. Gain respectability and professionalism for your ezine by behaving responsibly

3. Quickly establish a trusting relationship with readers

4. Ensure most subscribers will actually read your ezine, since they asked for it - twice

5. Enhance the value of your ezine to advertisers who can now reach receptive opt-in audiences

6. Improve the effectiveness of your ezine as a marketing vehicle for your own product and services

7. Have documented proof that subscribers asked to be included on your mailing list

8. Avoid mischievous people signing up someone else's email addresses for your ezine

9. Save yourself time and money otherwise spent handling complaints from angry 'subscribers'

10. Spare yourself the anxiety and anguish of being shut down by your ISP, or worse, legal action

For all these reasons and more, a double opt-in subscribing process is today's 'gold standard' for ethical and responsible ezine publishing.

Short cuts work in the short term. In the long run, however, quality and professionalism in your ezine publishing efforts will reap the greatest rewards.

Here are a few more resources that explain the most effective ways to grow your list quickly -- and ethically!

Jason Potash's Ezine Announcer at (http://www.ezinemarketingcenter.com/announcer/)

Paul Myers' Amazing List Machine at (http://www.ezinemarketingcenter.com/listmachine/)

Dr.Mani's Ezine Marketing Tips at (http://www.ezinemarketingcenter.com/ezinetips/)

Good luck and happy e-publishing

About the Author
Dr.Mani has been marketing with ezines for over 5 years. Join his FREE 7 day Ezine Marketing Email Course and discover the #1 secret of ezine marketing: (http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/ecourse/) Also get his free Ezine Launch Monthly newsletter from (http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/ezlm/) Or just send any email to freezine@ezinemarketingcenter.com