How much percentage of Confirmed Opt-in is reasonable?

Radhika Venkata (c)


Many email marketers are using Double opt-in or Confirmed Opt-in
to verify the subscribers interest in receiving the emails from them.
Called 'Consent based email marketing'.


How it works?

There will be a form on the publisher site. Visitor submits his details.
Now the autoresponder software that works behind the form, will send
an email to the email address asking to confirm the interest.

Prospect clicks on the link in the email expressing his/her interest in
receiving information from the publisher!

Basically the above is the method of 'Confirmed Opt-ins'.


Why you need Confirmed Opt-in?

* To avoid junk email or one time email address users. If the prospect
confirms means, they are actually using that email account and most
probably he/she is going to use it future. So your email will be going
to a real person.

* To cover yourself from spam complaints. Say 'Tim Doe' enters email of
'John Doe'. Without confirmed opt-in, publisher don't know this ... So
he will be sending email to 'John Doe'. 'John Doe' will be annoyed
by these emails and wrote a spam complaint on the publisher.


What percentage of Confirmed opt-ins is reasonable?

I'd say 50% and more is a reasonable margin. More than 80% is an
excellent figure!

If 100 prospects subscribed, only 50 people confirmed their interest
in receiving your email ... not bad. But it is ALWAYS BETTER to improve
this 50% to more than that. Right?


How to improve this Confirmed opt-ins?

* Your email series or ezine should provide good infomation to the
subscriber. Sure he'd love to receive that info from you.

* Clear instructions on your web sites regarding your private policy,
terms of use and anti-spam seal etc. Not only just displaying, you should
follow them too.

* Recommendations or testimonials from your present subscribers. Display
them on your subscription pages. This increases your credibility.

* Post your previous ezine publications as an archive on your site.

* Keep instructions on your subscription page that to check their
junk folder for your initial email. If they don't check it there, they will
miss the email to confirm their subscription.

* Ask your subscribers to add your domain to their safe list, so they will
receive the confirmation email to their inbox.

* Use SPF record to improve your email deliverability from your web site.
SPF records are usually set by your host.

* Make sure confirmation emails, links to click in the email are working
properly.

* Set up a short tutorial and a screenshot on how to confirm by clicking
the link or other means, on your subscription page.