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Double Opt-in or Single Opt-in?
Dec 29, 2008 Autoresponder, Aweber, Email Marketing, affiliate marketing Leave a comment
There is much debate of the benefits or otherwise of a double opt-in process for internet subscriptions. Most ethical marketers believe that it is the key to building lists with qualified entries, others fear they lose too many subscribers in the confirmation process.
Tom Kulzer, the founder of Aweber Communications, believes it is best to ensure that email messages and newsletters are only sent to people who have confirmed that they have asked for them. Ethical double opt-in marketing is the best way to do this. He has put in place very specific procedures and policies to ensure that his autoresponder product prevents abuse of the system. He has absolutely no tolerance for spamming and often speaks on this topic at industry conferences.
Double opt-in with Aweber works this way: the marketer designs a form or link in Aweber, which is then placed on his webpage or in an email. This form seeks information from readers (usually with some sort of reward or bonus for entering the data), which will become date on his list held at Aweber.
Aweber autoresponder immediately sends the subscriber an email to the address they provided asking for confirmation of their intention to subscribe/receive the offer. The subscriber’s details do not appear on the marketer’s list until this confirmation is received.
So, the subscriber fills in the form (first opt-in), and then confirms they did in fact fill in the form (second opt-in). This is necessary to prevent them entering in bogus email addresses - very important to ensuring the marketer’s list is accurate.
Every communication sent to the subscriber through Aweber will also carry an “Unsubscribe” option - not only a good ethical decision by Aweber, but also a requirement in many countries as well, in the fight against SPAM.
If you have any questions about double opt-in, the very professional team at Aweber Customer Support are on hand 24/7 to answer your questions and provide any technical assistance you may have regarding your use of their system.
List Building with Aweber
Dec 29, 2008 Aweber, Email Marketing, Mailing List Leave a comment
Here is something all prospective internet marketers should know: To be able to successfully manage your prospects you will need to invest in a top notch autoresponder and list builder. There are no short cuts, and freebies won’t be worth the time you invest on setting them up. Bite the bullet and start properly.
It doesn’t matter whether you are publishing an newsletter, posting to a blog, sending an ecourse, or building an email list of clients and customers in another format, in order to comply with the legal and ethical aspects of sending emails you must go about the process in the correct way.
Enlisting the help of a quality autoresponder like Aweber will make the whole process a painless exercise and will ensure you follow these key steps:
* Only utilize “opt-in” or Permission-Based Email Marketing
Simply put, opt-in email is that which is sent to people who have given you permission to contact them via email. Aweber in fact uses a double opt-in method to confirm that the details customers have entered are legitimate. So this ensures that only people who want to be on your list are there. The Aweber system verifies this and its checking process is their warranty against any accusations of spamming through their system.
* Post Your Privacy Policy
Make certain that your privacy policy is clear wherever you give people the option to sign up for your list, make certain your privacy policy is clearly stated. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated, a simple sentence should suffice.
* Have a Clear Unsubscribe Link
In every email you send to your list, have a clear way for your reader to unsubscribe if they desire. Usually this is in the form of an unsubscribe URL at the bottom of the email. The Aweber autoresponder system makes this unsubscribe option quite clear on emails they send out on your behalf.
* Multiple Lists
Even though in the beginning, you will probably only be setting up one list. But in the future you’ll probably want to have multiple lists, for different products or programs you offer.
* Scheduling your ezine or newsletter
With Aweber there is no problem with creating a stack of ezines or newsletters in advance and scheduling them for distribution at whatever frequency you determine. You can have a whole years supply prepared to carry you through the year.
Aweber is a total solution for listbuilding, autoresponders, ezine and ecourse distribution, and general mailouts to your list.
