Changes to double opt-in settings

Last year, we introduced the ability to enable double opt-in for signup forms in your account settings. From 2 August 2017, this setting will be activated on all accounts.

Double opt-in provides you with protection against signup form abuse, and means you have proof of the contact’s consent to receive your email marketing. With emerging regulation, this would make it easier for you to demonstrate compliance.

What is a signup form?

A signup form on your website allows you to easily convert visitors into new subscribers. A visitor enters their email address, along with optional other details, and they are stored in your contact data fields and added to your mailing list. They can even choose which of your lists to join.

You can create a signup form in MailFirst by going to Contacts > Signup forms. Our signup form creation wizard will generate the HTML embed code for your website.

What is double opt-in?

Double opt-in (also known as confirmed opt-in or COI) is a two-step subscription process and is considered best email marketing practice.

1. A contact subscribes to your list by using your site’s signup form.
2. They’re sent an email asking them to confirm their subscription by clicking a verification link.

This affirmative action ensures the subscriber really does want to receive emails from you – and gives you proof of this confirmation should there ever be a dispute over it.

If the recipient does not respond to the confirmation email then they’re not added to your list and they won’t receive any further email from you. It’s also probably the case that they weren’t serious about receiving email from you in the first place, so you haven’t wasted your time.

What’s the downside to single opt-in?

With single opt-in, all a visitor to your site has to do is enter an email address and they’re automatically added to your list.

Whilst this may sound great for fast list building, the significant downside is that it’s prone to malicious subscriptions (for instance, those carried out by spam bots). This in turn can lead to unwanted emails getting marked as spam or junk and generating abuse complaints against you.

This is why we strongly encourage you to use default double opt-in.

But I don’t want double opt-in

On 2 August 2017 we’ll enable the protection offered by double opt-in on all accounts. If you want to benefit from it before this date, you can enable the feature by going to Account > Account settings, scrolling down to ‘Features’, ticking ‘Enable double opt-in on my list signups’ and then clicking Save settings.

If you do not want to benefit from the protection offered, you can simply email us here before 26 July 2017 and the feature won’t be enabled for you. If you change your mind later on, you can disable the feature in your Account settings.

Can I customise the default double opt-in confirmation email?

The double opt-in email which is sent to your subscribers will, by default, be sent in MailFirst’s branding. You can add your company logo by going to Contacts > Advanced features > Subscription settings. You can’t change the wording though.

If you want full control over the content and branding, you can set up a triggered campaign and select it under ‘Double opt-in settings’ to send as your double opt-in confirmation email. Get in touch here for more information.

How can I ask questions?

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by email here or call us on 0345 450 8363.