Double Opt-In is Crazy

Some people maliciously or accidentally provide another's email address, and now that person is getting your unsolicited commercial email (i.e., spam). And now they must actively do something to try to get off the list.

Double opt-in means by doing nothing they will only receive your original confirmation email.

It's not a matter of being crazy. It's a matter of being considerate.

I used to have a newsletter project where I signed people up through a single optin - it was kind of a daily deals newsletter. I grew to 1000 subscribers in no time. Yet, whenever I sent a mailer, there used to be a 2-3% bounce and a 3% open rate - remember, this is from a newsletter that people voluntarily signed up for. I didn't get them from a spam list.

Recently, I started a newsletter for entrepreneurs - this time, I was careful to have double optin. The growth is definitely slower. But with nearly 50% open rate for each of my newsletter, I think I am talking to the right people.

It costs money to send a newsletter out. I use MailChimp and it's not free. What's the point in paying for people who are half hearted subscribers who have bouncing emails? I would rather pay double for people who are genuinely interested in reading from me.

I know it's a sample size of one, but every time I click a Mailchimp button, I immediately receive the confirmation email, and immediately confirm.

I don't see the big deal.