Recently I received an e-mail from a local art gallery that was updating its subscriber list. They sent me a brief e-mail letting me know that they were moving their e-mail list over to a new host and, due to its strict anti-spam policies, they asked that I confirm my desire to subscribe and receive periodic e-mails from them. All I needed to do was click on an embedded URL to verify my subscription. If I chose not to subscribe, I had to do nothing. Ignoring this request would result in my deletion from their e-mail list.
This was a great e-mail, because it …
- was short and to the point
- made it extremely easy for me to re-subscribe by including the URL in the e-mail
- followed best practices by asking for me to opt-in (it is best practices to ask consumers to opt-in but for businesses, it is more common to ask them to opt-out)
Consider asking consumers to opt-in. The quantity of e-mail addresses in your subscription list will diminish but your list will be the better for it. Only those engaged and interested in your products and services will remain.