AWeber single-opt vs. confirmed opt-in: anyone had problems with single-opt?

[internetmarketer99]

Like most of us (I think), I use "confirmed opt-in" on pop-ups with AWeber because that's the default setting.

It recently occurred to me that I might do much better using the single-opt-in, since there is no second "confirmation" that needs to happen.

The 'usual' concern would be for spam complaints, but this would be for non-IM niches. Not that someone can't complain outside the IM niche, I just figure that these aren't people who are on a zillion lists, and if they opt-in, they probably want to be on the list.

Anyone using single-opt-in and had problems because of it?

Thanks,

Mark

[GuerrillaIM]

On small lists that get less than 20 signups a day I think double opt in is a waste of time unless someone is out to get you and abuses your form.

In larger lists it's worth doing as if you are sending out 100,000 emails and get a lot of complaints you may get blacklisted.

I have list of 14,000 with single opt in and have not received a single complaint yet. But I do my best to send out interesting emails with lots of value, not just blatent spammy advertising.

[internetmarketer99]

Thanks GuerrillaIM,

That's what I suspected. As long as the emails are of some value, and there aren't a zillion sign-ups, the chances of getting complaints should be negligible.

Mark

[OmarNegron]

Single opt ins work well for me. When you try double opt in, you find that not a lot of people actually take the time to confirm their email addresses.

[jjpmarketing]

My opinion is better safe than sorry. Always use Double Opt In. You may lose a few subscribes doing that, but it is better than being labeled a spammer by not doing it... if that scenario happened to arise. Besides it is easier to prove that you are not a spammer when you use double opt in.

[Charlie Parker]

I used single opt-in with aweber for about a year with no problem, then I sent an email and the complaints went to 0.5%. Thats when they told me they were switching all my lists to confirmed opt in.

GuerrillaIM: 14,000 single opt-ins and not one single compaint? I find that hard to believe, what autoresponder service do you use?

[Neil Morgan]

When this discussion comes up, it's a good idea to separate what's best for your business from what your provider is telling you is best.

Obviously they're interested in what's best for them, not what's best for you, and who can blame them.

But they're actually different things with different criteria.

To answer the OP, in over 10 years online I've used single opt-in for many tens of thousands of subscribers.

Number of complaints: 0

Cheers,

Neil

[GuerrillaIM]

Originally Posted by Charlie Parker

I used single opt-in with aweber for about a year with no problem, then I sent an email and the complaints went to 0.5%. Thats when they told me they were switching all my lists to confirmed opt in.

GuerrillaIM: 14,000 single opt-ins and not one single compaint? I find that hard to believe, what autoresponder service do you use?

I use a software called mail list controller. It runs off my own smtp on my dedicated server. I have this server anyway to host some of my web applications etc so it doesn't cost me a penny to run this.

Many shared hosting companies have packages costing £20/month that allow you to send out unlimited emails as long as its a response list and not a compiled list. You just need to ask them about their email policy. The nice thing about mail list controller is that you can set the amount of emails going out each hour to keep within the hosts terms of service. I just smack em out fast and get 14,000 out in a few hours.

Only time I have had complaints is when in the past I bought in some email data and sent a message to it. Turned out it was harvested info and my host forwarded the complaints to me and I got a letter from the information comissioner. I sent a reply back and they were understanding and took no action against me.

I have never had a complaint so far sending out emails from my current response list. If you find that hard to believe then so be it.

** EDIT **

I just read your post again. Charlie, are you saying you collected emails for a year before you sent out an email? You need to keep in constant contact with your list, minimum of an email every 2 weeks or it goes cold and they forget who you are

[Charlie Parker]

No I used aweber with single opt-in consistently for a year. Very regular mailings, it was when my complaint stats in aweber went above 0.5% they disabled my ability to use single opt-in.

In aweber they tell you the percentage of people receiving your email who marked it as spam in their email account. Without this stat I would never have heard or known there was a single compaint.