Double Optin or Die?

By Karin Manning
Posted Thursday, October 28, 2004

in the changing face of publishing how to get our current and future subscribers through double optin subscribe requests.
Double Opt-in Or Die?

George Orwell’s spinechilling prophecy of Big Brother seems to have come alarmingly to light with the recent announcement that one organisation may soon have all power when it comes to our bulk emailing, our mailing lists and our ezines. So much so that we must be endorsed by this company to continue publishing and emailing people or face the consequences!

How one company has been able to gain all this power should be a jolt to us all.

Not only does it affect all publishers but also anyone with a list and every single company involved with safelists and lead sellers, just to name a few.

Double opt-in are two words that can make publishers shudder. It can be hard enough to find subscribers in the first place without having to have them confirm their subscription to our ezines a second time.

It’s a known fact people are inherently lazy and if they have the choice to hit “confirm” or “delete” the latter is preferred.

So as publishers we now need to work harder and smarter and adapt to the changing marketplace. If you’re like me and this has all occurred just before your ezine has launched you can double opt-in from the word go.

One thought I have come up with to secure my double opt-in subscribers is in my initial “thank you for subscribing” letter I shall remind them of why they chose to subscribe to my newsletter – the benefits they will receive – and I will kindly ask them to confirm their contact details to ensure that their free bonuses and subscriber information is sent to the correct address, together with their membership details to my free content site (http://www.reprintrights4u.com).

For those of you with established ezines – and that’s quite an achievement – with a good subscriber base don’t despair. Think of how many incentives you can possibly offer to get your current subscribers to re-subscribe.

I’ve managed to come up with a few on the train this morning:

• a free ad (depending on the size of your publication) • a free download • entry into a contest • a 30 day offer of one-on-one consultation • a choice of 1-5 products out of 10, for example, with reprint rights for them to sell • reprint rights to an autoresponder course • a review of their website for possible improvements • 25-50% off their next ad purchase • a review of their ezine

Yes, this could cost you both time and money at the outset but you have worked long and hard to build your subscriber base to the size it is today.

How much will it cost you in the end if you lose them all because you couldn’t be bothered to make it worth their while to stay?

Copyright 2003. Karin Manning. All Rights Reserved. Karin is the soon-to-be publisher of Net Wealth. To reserve your first copy of Net Wealth (coming soon in an inbox near you) send mailto:netwealth-subscribe@reprintrights4u.com. To receive her three-part ecourse “Are You Giving Your Customers Enough Reasons To Return To Your Business” send mailto:response@leadlightning.com.

About the Author
I have enjoyed writing my whole life and have recently discovered I have a real passion for writing articles. I also am the publisher of the newsletter Net Wealth. To subscribe send mailto:netwealth-subscribe@reprintrights4u.com