Article by Staff Writer, Posted: November 19, 2003

Opt-in Email

The uncontested core definition of opt-in email is email which is exclusively requested by a recipient.

Qualifying terms such as “single opt-in,” “double opt-in,” and sometimes “triple opt-in” have been a matter of contention amongst marketers. The primary dispute is over whether the action of simply clicking through a hyperlink in an email can be qualified as requesting more information on a particular product or service, and is thus an “opt-in.”

Opt-in email should always signify that action was taken by recipients to sign up or grant permission to receive email messages. These “permission email” addresses, as they are sometime called, can be obtained anywhere as long as there is verification that the recipient did indeed request this information.

The term “double opt-in” typically refers to a second action confirming permission has been granted by the recipient to receive emails. This can be done through a confirmation email or through a web page. The confirmation email asks recipients to either return the email or click a hyperlink to confirm the recipient’s desire to receive this information. Marketers who feel the definition of opt-in should already include the second action of signing up for the email message may not use the term “double opt-in” because of its perceived redundancy.

The term “triple opt-in” is often taking three times as many liberties with the original definition of “opt-in.” One definition of triple opt-in: receiving the message is counted as the first opt-in, viewing the message is the second opt-in, and not directly requesting to be removed from the list is considered the third opt-in. However, by permission email marketing standards and the definition of “opt-in email” presented here, the email recipients on this “triple opt-in” list have not opted-in at all.

The importance of standardizing the definition of “opt-in” resounds throughout the email marketing industry. Email marketing software developers and application service providers (ASPs), which have witnessed the over-qualifying abuse of the term “opt-in” over the last several years, have embraced a new approach: permission marketing.

Permission marketing—as it relates to email marketing—centers strongly on consumer sensitivity. A permission-based approach means the company marketing itself must have either a prior business relationship with the consumer it is marketing, or have confirmed permission from that consumer. Many companies have both.

Email marketing without permission carries great risks. Anti-spam campaigns by most of the major Internet service providers (ISPs) such as America Online, Yahoo!, MSN Hotmail and others have lead to an aggressive hunt for not only those responsible for spamming, but to penalize companies whose products are being advertised as well.

The new law in California signed by Gov. Gray Davis is an example of aggressive attitudes toward unsolicited email. Any company now caught spamming an email address in the state without that recipient’s permission is subjected to a $1,000 per email fine, up to $1 million per email campaign. The definition of opt-in in this scenario could mean large fines for companies not really sure of what opt-in means.

Most of the larger ISPs have written their own “white list” of standards for permission email marketers who are not spammers and wish to follow set anti-spam principles. Some popular ISPs have their white list guidelines posted on their customer service portions of their websites, but those who do not will issue these guidelines upon request. This greatly reduces the risk for permission email marketers using opt-in email not to be blacklisted by their ISPs, while at the same time is catching spammers at the source and preventing them from using the ISP option for their outbound unsolicited email.

Whether called “opt-in’ or permission marketing, the email marketers currently seeing the most response and, accordingly, the most success, are obtaining permission from recipients, subscribers and prospects. These new marketers are applying a practical sensitivity to understanding email messaging from a recipient point of view.