Single-optin or Double-optin

Single.

Ever since I realized how many optins I was missing with double...

I changed and never went back.

And if you feel like you are getting 'random emails' signing up...

You can always 'clear the clutter' of people who have never opened an email

I go for single opt in all the time now in the IM niche.

I also place a message at the top of each email informing them that they signed up to my list and that is why they are receiving the email. I also inform them that they can unsubscribe if they wish.

Single optin is usually fine.

Most autoresponder companies clean out bounced emails anyhow. That meansthe small percentage of bogus emails will be filtered out.

I primarily use single opt in. But honestly it really just comes down to what your goal is. You will have a more responsive list if you use double optin, but many people will not cofirm. If you are building a list via solo ads then its best to use single opt in. This is what I have found to work best. If you have an opt in form on a blog then I have found double opt in to work pretty well. Just a different kind of traffic.

Definitely single. If you use double opt-in you will lose many subscribers. Many things can happen. Confirmation emails can end up in the "spam" or "promotions" folder and never be opened, ARs can have glitches that cause the confirm emails not to go out, etc.

The important thing if using single opt-in IMO is to do what others have suggested in this thread, and that's to put a reminder in each email telling the subscriber when they signed up, etc.

Also, never make it so there is tons of space between the end of your email body and your unsubscribe link. I see a lot of marketers doing this in hopes of concealing the unsubscribe link and not only is this an unethical thing to do, it's a big no-no with several ARs as well. Make sure your unsubscribe link is highly visible. My rule is never put more than 2 blank lines of space between the end of your email and your unsub link.

One of the problems that you can run into with single opt-in, however, is when you buy solo ads. If the seller is not honest and ethical and is using bots or some other underhanded method to make it look like you are getting tons of opt-ins, this cannot be caught if you are using single opt-in. If you are using double opt-in you will easily see this because you will get lots of opt-ins but none of them will confirm.

There are some red flags that should go up if this is happening. For one if you get conversions higher than 60%, you should always double check and see if they are real. You can do this by simply sending out an email to just those new subscribers and see what kind of response you get. If you do not even get a single subscriber to open your email, then you know you have probably been scammed. Another sure-fire sign is a low number of IPs. For instance if you got 100 visitors to your offer but only 15-20 different IPs, it could mean you have been scammed.

Overall though, for those who are building lists in the MMO/BizOpp niche, single opt-in is the way to go.

Single for me. Double didnt really bring in higher conversions for me.

When I launched my first info product I started with a double-optin on the thank-you page for my buyers to receive the download link and future updates. Even those buyers, who literally JUST bought my product and want to download it, sometimes wouldn't confirm.

It sucks because I can't even legally email them directly to tell them that they haven't finished the process because they haven't confirmed.

Just something to keep in mind, many people will receive the confirmation in their spam folder or simply won't confirm, even when they've BOUGHT your product.

Single optins are always best, no matter what some may claim.

Most people are lazy and won't confirm, or get distracted...

It's a simple fact that you'll make more money with single optins, without a doubt, so that should answer your question i think

If you buy solo ads - use double opt-in. It will catch scammers as well as identify quality of subscriber list. You should have 70-80%+ of subscribers that initially opt-in confirm their subscription IMO... unless the clicks you bought from solo ad seller aren't as high quality as they should be (people using bogus or non-used email addresses). Quality of your opt-in page & offer also will make a difference... do they really want to receive your info? Think about what you do when you subscribe to an offer/e-zine with double opt-in... do you confirm the subscription?


Here are some exact examples for me


Solo ad scammer #1 - I had 111 clicks from him with 50 "pending" subscribers that never conformed their subscription (I have double opt-in). Yep - 0% opt-in rate is what I got.


Solo Ad Scammer #2 - 105 clicks with 42 "pending" subscribers that never conformed their subscription - 0% opt-in


Here's an example of a legit solo ad seller who I buy 100 clicks from & they send 109 clicks in a fast time - I get 23 confirmed with double opt-in shortly with another 23 pending. In a few hours about 12 of those 23 that were pending confirm so I have 35% opt-in. (30-45% is typical depending on seller). A couple more confirmations usually trickle in the next day.


You will have a higher quality & more accurate subscriber list though you will miss some legitimate people who fail to confirm their subscription. It will be cleaner, more responsive & have less spam complaints.


Let's talk about "open rates" as well. I have a double opt-in campaign & the first automated letter sent to people gets a 66.55% open rate.


I don't use MailChimp but they have a good post here talking about double opt-in & single opt-in with actual stats. Double Opt-in vs. Single Opt-in Stats | MailChimp Email Marketing Blog (dramatically higher open & click rates with double opt-in)

Heck - even if you don't buy solo ads - use a double opt-in. What sense is it to have subscribers that don't open your emails?

Single.

Nothing to be gained by using double optin.

Name personalization is old and outdated.

I preffer single opt-in. It brings me better results at the end.

I've always used double opt-in. My overall list might be a little smaller because of this extra step but I'm more about quality over quantity so I'm OK with it. I have about 10-20% that I loose because of the extra (confirmation) step. If it were the other way around say if I lost 80-90%, I would consider single opt-in. At this point, double opt-in.

I would say it depends on what you use your list for. If you want to build a relationship with your list and get a good responsive list, then go for double optin.

However if you will build your list by doing lots of ad-swaps, then you would probably want to go with the single optin, because you will probably not be build a relationship with them.

I made few tests and here are some points that I have found:

With my new elements tested I turned my 27% converting Squeeze page into 56% converting squeeze page. Here are some tips that I highly suggest doing:

1. User Power Words in your headline, like FREE, skyrocket your chances of success, simple but power method, revealed and so on.

2. Have strong bullet points that really lure people to subscribe to your list.

3. Use double optin at the beginning and remember to add notification somewhere near your submit button that a subscriber must confirm his/her email in order to get the stuff.

4. If you use double optin also add custom thank you page where you point out again that subscriber must confirm, this is because that you make sure that he/she get the message that they must confirm so that you don't waste one opportunity to get your subscriber.

5. If double optin doesn't convert for you, try single optin.

6. This is very important point which is obvious is to do very much split testing!!!
* Test different squeeze pages, headlines, bullet points, graphics, call-to-actions.
* In your autoresponder test different follow-up messages and subject headlines.
* Make one test at a time/squeeze page, analyse it after you have sent a new round of clicks and write down your results

7. If you are using solo ads, remember to test different solo ad sellers. It really matters!

8. Learn from mistakes!

I would go for single optin, simply because a LOT of people won't click that confirmation link because they decided they don't want to be in, they forgot about it or they don't know how to do it.

But as a few others have said above - test them both and check your results. If everything is equal and you're not getting spam reports, stick with single.