Nov 1 2010

What Is Opt In Email Marketing?

Email marketing has evolved over the past decade to the point that the majority of folks who create a list online to help make money do so by choosing an opt in email marketing program or service. An opt in email marketing service or plan ensures that the end-user has confirmed that 1 – They are who they say they are (or at least have access to the email address used to sign up for your mailings), and 2- They want to receive regular mailings from your website or company. Opt in email marketing can help a company prevent spam accusations as well as protect them from nefarious competitors who use services like Spamza without company permission. Used appropriately, and an opt in email marketing campaign can be used to help turn a slightly interested reader into a future customer.

What Is Email Marketing?

Lets back up for a minute, however, and define email marketing. Email marketing generally refers to the act of sending out newsletters, sales or product announcements, and other eZines to a subscriber list. To get on the list, the end user must have requested in some fashion to get onto the list through a web form, in person, or when they made a purchase to be put on the list. Since the person has expressed a direct interest in receiving your mailings, they have the potential to turn into long-term customers through relationship building conducted by providing email information of actual value. The recommended frequency of mailings varies depending on what market, niche, or guru that you listen to, however, no matter if you do daily or monthly emails, email marketing can help keep you brand fresh in your customer’s minds over time.

Why Use an Opt In Email Marketing Service?

Many folks who make a living online eventually decide to start building an email list, but go the opt in route for several reasons. First, it helps alleviate concerns of spam complaints to your ISP as a small business or individual. Second, it protects your company from others using services like Spamza to create a bad name or brand for your business. In the event of a legal accusation of sending spam, the double opt in email provides legal protection to the sending organization because the reply to the subscription confirmation request that is received back from the recipient proves that they really did in-fact subscribe to the mailing list.

What Are Some Options for Opt In Email Marketing Services?

One of the most popular opt in email marketing services for web entrepeneurs to use to get started with is Aweber. Aweber provides a comprehensive email marketing solution that gives you an end-to-end solution without having to worry about creating web forms, managing your list, creating multiple lists, and most importantly handles the opt in of your web customers for your marketing campaign. The company lets you try out their services for $1 USD for the first month of service. Unlike a lot of other web offers out there, you can cancel it anytime, and if you like using the service the fee scales based on the number of subscribers that you have on your list with the < 500 subscriber rate being $19 USD at the time of this writing. There are some other services out there that the more advanced users may want to check out such as PHP Autoresponder and others, but for the new email marketer they may prove a bit complex to muck with until getting the hang of email marketing.

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