Have you always wondered what opt-in email marketing really means?

Sorting out the opt-ins from the permissions … and a few things between.

Understandably, there’s plenty of confusion to go around about opt-in lists and permission-based lists in the world of email marketing. As a delivery specialist here at Emma, these definitions are on my mind a lot. And it seems that a lot of people have given a lot of permission. Know what I mean? It seems as if every list out there can be considered somehow permission-based, if you think about it just the right way. The question is, what does that mean? And while we’re at it, is there even a difference between a permission-based list and one that is considered opt-in?

The very basic definition for both is that someone gave their email address to someone else. What we all need to be concerned with is to whom the address was given and for what purpose.

It’s kind of like you’re at a party …

Think about it this way: There’s nothing more embarrassing than waving a big hello to a friend of a friend at a party and for them to have no idea who you are. We’ve all been there. Your greeting is met with a blank stare, and the person may even consider you a bit presumptuous to think you could speak to them. Thankfully, while this is an absolutely awkward moment, you can quickly remedy it by clarifying the relationship. Unfortunately, there isn’t time for clarification in the world of email marketing. So if you send an email to someone who doesn’t know who you are, the stakes are higher.

When I discuss the topic of permissions with our customers, the conversation starts with to whom the permission was given and then moves to the recognition of the relationship between the sender and the recipient. Permission is nothing if the recipient doesn’t understand why they’re receiving a mailing. In an instant, your mailing will be disregarded or even worse, marked as spam. The equivalent of social suicide! The point of having people give you their addresses is for your message to be anticipated, received and, hopefully, shared.

While this seems like a pretty easy definition, a number of email address collection methods still cause confusion. One common culprit is in relationships that a company with several divisions or affiliated companies may have with a list of addresses. Let’s say you’re part of a company like that. A recipient has a relationship with one entity, but not the entity’s larger community. So the person gave permission for one part of the company to email them, but they didn’t give permission to you because you’re part of one of those affiliated organizations. Yes, permission was given at one point to someone that has something to do with the larger entity … but how is that recipient going to recognize you when you try to make contact?

So what’s the difference between opting in and permission?

Often the words permission and opt-in are thrown around as if they share a definition. But, in fact, there is a slight difference. When an address is required in order to navigate your site or to make a purchase, it can be classified as permission-based because the address is relinquished to you. But the people involved on the other end haven’t necessarily opted in to your mailing list. You should really only consider an address opted-in if someone gave it to you by submitting a signup form or by checking a box indicating they wish to be added to your list.

Taking it one step further, some only consider an opted-in email address one that is double-confirmed, requiring a second step by sending a confirmation link to the address given. The industry does not yet demand this practice, but we encourage any additional steps you take to confirm the validity of the address. Why? Because building a good relationship with your audience starts with showing respect and giving them a choice.

Taking an extra minute to put yourself in the recipient’s shoes will go a long way when you’re building those relationships. After all, we all want to be the popular one at the party … or at least have people know why we’re waving to them.