Behold a tale from the free BerserkerMail Mead Hall Facebook group:
I was asked about why I only do double opt in email lists.
But before I list my reasons, a caveat:
Just because I say I do something or don’t do something does not necessarily mean everyone should or should not do whatever it is. Nor does it mean it’s necessarily the best course of action for every business in every circumstance. Unfortunately, a lot of peoples’ TikTok brains have been addled by social media grifters and now see everything someone says as an absolute — and get defensive if someone says anything contrary to what they or their favorite goo-roo says about anything at all, about any subject at all, in any context at all.
It’s amusing I have to give that caveat.
But that’s where we’re at in 2024.
All right, here why I do double opt-in…
1. Better inbox deliverability:
I put this first because apparently some email deliverability experts are saying it’s not good for deliverability or something. I don’t know that for a fact and heard that second hand. But it would not surprise me if that is the case.
2. Less likely someone accidentally subscribed or will forget they subscribed even if they did so on purpose:
They did, after all, take the trouble to double opt in and confirm they want to be there.
3. Less bots joining your list:
You won’t stop them all with double opt in, but it is a barrier. And speaking of barriers…
4. Barriers create credibility:
This is an old Dan Kennedy’ism I have been applying to many areas of my business for a very long time. Especially when it comes to curating my list. The more barriers you put up to a sale (or opt-in, in this case) the more time/money/emotion/energy (an old Jim Camp’ism about negotiation) the lead has invested in whatever you are keeping them from once they get it. This can happen on a big or small scale depending on the situation. With double-opt in it’s obviously a small scale. But it is what it is and is still a barrier.
5. Less spam complaints:
There is a much better chance a double opted in lead wants to be there, and so won’t as easily forget they subscribed and reflexively push the spam button as a result (which hurts inbox deliverability as well as could get you kicked off your ESP if it happens too often.)
6. I’m a 4 quarters vs 100 pennies kinda guy:
I far prefer a smaller but more curated list than a bigger and less curated list. And double-opt in helps me sustain a smaller but more curated list over the long run.
7. Better engagement:
This is totally anecdotal… but since co-founding BerserkerMail and for whatever reason, an awful lot of new opt-ins reply to my auto-generated message telling them to double-opt in with a “done!” or something acknowledging they double-opted in. That did not often happen before BerserkerMail. I am not even sure why that is the case as I’ve always more or less used the same message. But that can be good for inbox deliverability since it shows Gmail, Hotmail, etc (whatever service they are using) that I am a real person, not a bot, and someone they like to engage with.
There are more.
But that’ll do it, I think.
I have seen all the above play out not only in my own biz the last 22+ years, but in friends’ businesses, clients’ businesses (when I did client work), customers’ businesses and just by observation of many other businesses, including my other businesses.
Would I ever do single opt-in?
Yes.
Like, for example:
If I was paying for leads I would do single opt-in.
And certainly I would do single opt-in if I treated email list size like dik size. That way I could brag to a bunch of make money online mopes on social media about how big my list is, since it would likely help me get more of them as customers. But I don’t cater to them at all — and I actively try to repel them since they make such horrible customers for my particular offers and I legitimately cannot help them anyway. Maybe I would also do single opt-in if I sold advertising as my main business model (and it is a sound biz model for those with good list-building game imo) where people at least partially judge how much that advertising space they are paying for is worth based on list size.
There are probably other reasons I might do single opt-in.
But the point is not when or why I would do single opt-in.
But why I don’t do single opt-in.
And the 7 reasons I do double opt-in above are some of those reasons.
But mostly it boils down to this:
I focus on the relationship first and foremost and always have. Get the relationship part right and the other metrics people online fap to — not to mention sales, engagement, long term loyalty, etc — mostly take care of themselves, in my experience.
Notice I said “my” experience.
It is hard for me to imagine where selling the relationship first would not be most beneficial for a business taking the long game in mind. But the vast majority seem to think chasing metrics and algorithms and trying to game Google instead of just learning how to sell first is what works.
They can do what they want.
But curation is my main list building “tactic” if you want to call it that.
And a lot of that starts with double opt-in.
For more approaches like this see my paid Email Players newsletter here:
Ben Settle
