An email marketing client recently asked me: “How do we confirm subscribers to our site? Is there a way to distinguish between spam and legitimate subscribers?
My response was: “You are automatically protected by MailChimp.” MailChimp uses a “Double Opt-in” system. Signup is actually a 5-step process:
- Signup form on site
- “Thank You” message on website
- Confirmation authorization Email sent
- Confirmation email “Thank You” after authorization
- Welcome email from website.
To quote MailChimp: “The double opt-in method ensures that… there’s no way to add a fake, non-existent, or old email address… more important, double opt-in protects against malicious bots and spammers.”
Even more importantly, double opt-in “ensures that you target subscribers who really want to hear from you. These types of lists have much higher engagement levels…”
Going forward, once you’ve captured someone’s email, you can now send out more focused email queries like “Tell us more about yourself” and the responses are automatically tracked. If they never respond, you may choose to drop them from the list.
MailChimp is a “self-healing” process, since as you learn more about your subscribers, the more you can categorize them and include/exclude them from subsequent mailings (“Campaign”).
MailChimp is the best email marketing tool, so I hope you consider it!
