The Double Opt-in List...a SAFER way to opt-in!!

When developing opt-in lists you have to be careful on how you actually develop the list. Your biggest fear is that you develop a bad list that can be blacklisted by google.....then you have a nightmare on your hand. 

This is why you need to develop an actual list and not buy one!! If you develop the list yourself with a DOUBLE opt-in box, you know that your list is legitimate and don't have to worry about this.

Below is some information on how the double opt-in works courtesy of mailchimp.com.  Mailchimp.com lets you do bulk emails with your list, send newsletters with your list, mobile emails...etc etc. Check out later posts on how to use Mail Chimp.

Here's how double opt-in works:

Generally, double opt-in requires that someone sign up, and then click a link to confirm that they want to be subscribed to your list before actually being added. When using the MailChimp signup forms, double opt-in looks like this:

1. Someone wants to join your email list so she fills out a signup form on your website.
2. A message is displayed telling her to check her email to confirm.
3. She checks her email, and finds a message with a link she must click in order to be added to the list. If the link isn't clicked, she's never added to the list.
4. She clicks the link and is taken to a thank you message so she knows she's been added.
5. Behind the scenes, our system collects her IP address and the date and time she confirmed as proof that she indeed opted in to your list
6. A Final Welcome Email is sent with the information she submitted, for her records, and information about how she can unsubscribe.

You can customize each step in the confirmation process, too, if you'd like.

Advantages of the double opt-in method over opt-out, single opt-in, and confirmed opt-in methods:

1. Friends, foes, grandmas, co-workers, etc. won't be able to sign up other people (who never gave you permission) to your list. This means fewer spam complaints, and a cleaner list.
2. If a person (or malicious bot) enters an email address with a typo, you won't be sending campaigns to some poor recipient who never opted in or to an email address that will bounce. Here's a real life example of this.
3. Your competitors can't sign up to your list, then maliciously report it as spam (yes, people actually do stuff like this). Since we collect IP addresses when using our forms, you'll have proof that someone confirmed their interest in your list.
4. People won't be able to sign up with fake, non-existent, or dead email addresses. They must have a valid email account to opt in.
5. Only people who truly want to hear from you will click to confirm. So your list will be more engaged and responsive (we've seen differences of up to 20%!) and you'll waste less money sending emails to people who don't care to hear from you.