| Opt Out or Opt In? |
 Recently I was reading about the new Netflix policy to charge an extra $1 per month for Blu-ray DVD rentals. I’m sure the extra cost may have some people considering leaving for another rental company. What's even more curious to me is that this is an opt-out policy, not opt-in. That is, everyone who rents movies from Netflix will pay the $1 fee unless they go into their account and remove Blu-ray access.
But ask yourself this: Am I doing the same thing to my customers? When people buy products from you are they automatically opted in to your email campaigns during the order process? In other words, do you make your customers uncheck an opt-in box to make sure that they don’t end up on your mailing list? You’re probably saying, "Well, this is different; I’m making it easy for my customers to receive my emails while increasing membership." I’m sure that's exactly what Netflix is saying too. The question is how will your customers respond? Will they hit the "this is spam" button or will they simply ignore it? When everyone who fills out your Web forms or purchases your products online is automatically added to your email list, you're risking high spam reports and ultimately damaging your sender reputation. Doesn't it make more sense to send your emails only to people who are truly interested and who will be actively engaged with your content? Remember, list size isn't everything - it's quality that counts. ### About the AuthorValerie Jones-Harvey is a senior technical program manager for Lyris, and she has previously worked in product management, recruiting and sales. Valerie also enjoys playing with her new electronic gadgets and video games in her spare time. Related Resources:
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