What Is Opt-in Email Marketing?

Opt-in email marketing also called permission-based email marketing is when you send promotional or content emails to people who willingly signed up for your email list.

It means that your subscribers have given their consent to receive emails from you. These emails can be newsletters, promotions, updates, etc.

However, buying email lists or getting email addresses from social media and other websites is not opt-in email marketing as they have not given their consent to you.

There are two ways to use opt-in email marketing: single opt-in and double opt-in. In a single opt-in, when someone is visiting your website, store or event, you simply ask for their email address and they get added to your email list.

In the case of double opt-in, there are two steps. Firstly, when someone is visiting your website, store, event, etc, you ask them for their email address, via subscription forms or even manually. Then you send an email to the same address they registered earlier, and ask them for their confirmation. If they select yes, they get added to your email list. And if they select no, they don’t.

You can choose either of the two based on your preferences. Single opt-in sounds easier, but double opt-in ensures that your subscribers are easier to convert into leads. Since they are really interested in being a part of your community.

When To Use Opt-in Email Marketing?

• Opt-in email marketing is the best way to avoid getting marked as spam. When someone marks you as spam, your domain reputation is compromised and your emails might start landing in the spam folder of your subscribers.
• Getting people to subscribe to your email list is one thing and converting them into long-term customers is another feat. Opt-in might look like a lot at first, but the chances of conversions are higher with opt-in as your subscribers have taken that extra step to be in your email list. This is the best strategy if you are playing the long-term game.
  

Opt-in email marketing only works if your subscribers have the freedom to opt-out of your email list in case they are not interested to receive your emails anymore. The link to “Unsubscribe” should always be present in the email footer.

However, there is another method to keep your subscribers happy while also giving them a chance to rethink their decision to unsubscribe. The link to “email preferences”. Let a subscriber opt-out of a specific set of emails only & stay on your other lists. Later, if they want to join in, they can simply opt-in for those emails again.

Tip: Make sure that the links to unsubscribe and email preferences are easily visible, otherwise chances are that a frustrated subscriber might just mark you as spam.

To implement opt-in email marketing you would need an email service provider (ESP). I would recommend giving SendX a shot. It’s easy-to-use and doesn’t require credit cards to get started. Before you go all in, you can even try it out for 14 days, completely free of cost.