 Does your email list attract actively engaged subscribers? Or has its growth and performance stalled? Your list is the greatest asset of your email marketing program, so it's extremely important to have a good email opt-in strategy. A healthy list begins with an effective opt-in process - this is the first connection people might have with you. Depending on how well you do that, it could convert into many other types of engagements with that customer group.
Pop Quiz: Test-Drive Your Own Email Opt-In Process
Have you ever subscribed to your own email marketing program? If you haven't gone through the process lately, try it out now.
Then, come back and see how it stacks up against these four factors that measure the effectiveness of the typical opt-in:
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Visibility: Is your email opt-in invitation posted prominently throughout your website and other email communications?
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Transparency: How trustworthy is your opt-in process? Do subscribers have to actively request your email, or do you use a pre-checked box to subscribe them automatically?
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Flexibility: Do you offer email subscribers options to choose their own content, frequency and format, or a one-size-fits-all program?
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Continuity: Do you welcome new email subscribers with a special message, separate from a confirmation message or request?
Building the Foundation for a Healthy Email List
Here's why each of those four factors is essential:
1. Issue a Benefit-Based Invitation Wherever Your Subscribers Find You
Email subscribers can't sign up if they don't see your invitation. Most marketers do put an opt-in field on their websites' home pages, but not everyone who visits your site starts there.
Ideally, you should post an invitation everywhere a prospect or customer comes in contact with you, but these locations are the most important:
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Your home page (at the top left or right; test to determine which gets more clicks)
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Your most-visited Web pages
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Account registration page
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Transaction-confirmation pages (confirmations, shipping notices, payment reminders, account renewals)
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Offline sources (print ads, commercials, product literature, store receipts, point-of-purchase displays, product packaging)
State the benefit up front. Answer your email subscriber's unspoken question: "What's in it for me?"
Don't just say "Sign up for our newsletters." Let the benefit drive the invitation: "Sign up to receive news and special offers only for our email subscribers."
Trust is vital, especially at the point of email opt-in. Permission through active consent – where your customer knowingly opts in to your email instead of being passively subscribed via a pre-checked box or a vaguely worded privacy policy – is the foundation of trust.
(Warning about pre-checked boxes: Not only are they not an email best practice, but they also skirt government laws (i.e. CAN-SPAM) requiring "affirmative consent." You might not add as many addresses to your database if you ask subscribers to check the opt-in box, but those who do will join your list because they want to, not because they overlooked the box or forgot to remove the checkmark.)
Although both single and double opt-in satisfy most government requirements for permission email around the world, double opt-in offers an extra layer of assurance.
It's a confirmation of the consumer permission path to communicate with them. Furthermore, if you're trying to troubleshoot problems with an Internet service provider (ISP), when you have the highest level of permission it's the easiest way to resolve issues.
Stating your privacy policy in plain language at email opt-in and linking to the full version on your site also adds trust.
3. Give email subscribers the tools to manage and adjust their subscriptions.
The more information you can collect from subscribers, the better you can tailor your email messages for maximum relevance. You must time it right, though. Too many detailed questions on the email opt-in page can put off wary prospects.
Instead, invite email subscribers to return after opting in to fill out a preference page. You can ask for demographics or interests here, and your subscribers can specify the kinds of content and frequency they prefer in the format that works best for them.
These tailor-made email subscriptions are more trustworthy and relevant, and thus more valued, than a basic broadcast program.
4. Set expectations and encourage engagement with a welcome email sent immediately after confirmation.
Too many marketers don't set expectations at the start of the relationship. You must say to yourself, "I've taken the subscriber through double opt-in. She has engaged immediately. What happens now?"
A welcome program, or series of email messages triggered at various times after opt-in, capitalizes on your new subscribers' interests and engagement.
But a lot of email marketers don't follow up quickly enough. They say, "I'll email them in a couple weeks." But by that time, your progress has diminished. People forget they opted in, or they don't know when they're going to receive any email from you.
An effective welcome message:
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Sets expectations for content, format and frequency and reminds subscribers that they requested your email.
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Invites them back to your website to provide more information about themselves or further manage their subscriptions.
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Lists company contacts, and promotes other lists you offer either by your company, sister companies or brands.
The Last Word
Building an effective email opt-in process takes some effort, but your upfront investment will attract higher-quality subscribers who are more likely to act on your email messages and remain engaged with your email marketing program.
Having a good opt-in program is a good benchmark to build trust. When your customers trust your product, or your store, or your emails, or your reputation, the result is longer commitment and greater return on your investment.
For More Information
The Resources section on Lyris.com has several free PDF guides that can help you improve your email opt-in process:
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About the Author
David Fowler is the director of email strategy, deliverability and privacy compliance for Lyris. He consults with email marketers to help them get better results from their email programs.
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