Opt-In Marketing

Definition

What is opt-in marketing?

As the name suggests, opt-in marketing is a form of marketing that consists of getting the prospect’s permission first before sending them any marketing messages. It is typically done via email.

If you want a more in-depth understanding of this topic, check out the FAQ section below:

Question #1: How do I get people to sign up for my opt-in marketing campaigns?

The most popular method for getting people to sign up for your opt-in marketing campaigns is using lead magnets.

If you do not know what lead magnets are, they are essentially just something of value you can offer to your target customers in exchange for their contact details. Examples include:

  • Free ebooks
  • Free reports
  • Free guides
  • Free webinars
  • Free consultations

Keep in mind, however, that for your lead magnets to work, you need to make sure that they are related to whatever your products or services are. Doing so would help you only attract prospects that are actually interested in what you have to offer.

At the end of the day, when it comes to opt-in marketing, you will see much better results if you focus on quality instead of quantity. It is so much easier to sell to 5,000 leads who are interested in your products or services than to 50,000 who are not.

Question #2: How do I get people to stay subscribed?

There are several ways to get people to stay subscribed to your opt-in marketing campaigns. Examples include: 

  1. Always providing high-quality and relevant offers and content – Always remember that your customers will only stay as long as they can get value out of doing so.
  2. Not bombarding your recipients with marketing messages – The goal is to figure out how often they want to be contacted and then stick to that schedule.
  3. Not pulling a bait-and-switch – If you got people to opt in by promising exciting offers, make sure to send them exciting offers.
  4. Not selling all the time – Nobody likes being sold to. Make sure you provide your audience with actually valuable content too.

Question #3: Am I required by law to allow people to unsubscribe from my opt-in marketing campaigns?

Technically, you are not legally required to allow people to unsubscribe from your opt-in marketing campaigns. This, however, does not at all mean that you should not. In fact, doing so is not only totally pointless but can hurt your brand as well.

First, even if you make it virtually impossible for people to opt-out, they can still easily block you from sending them emails, chat messages, and SMS messages. Practically all modern communications apps and platforms come with spam protection features.

Second, whether or not people succeed at unsubscribing from your opt-in marketing campaigns, the fact that you purposely made it virtually impossible to do would forever ruin your brand in their eyes.

Question #4: How can I improve its effectiveness of it in marketing campaigns?

There are many ways that you can improve the effectiveness of your opt-in marketing campaigns. Examples include:

  1. Make sure that you only let qualified leads in – Again, it is so much easier to sell to prospects who are already interested in what you have to offer.
  2. Giving your leads a reason to take action – Your leads do not owe you anything. If you want them to do anything for you, you need to give them a compelling reason to do so.
  3. Make sure that you keep your promises – Earn the favour of your leads by delivering whatever it is you promised them when you asked them to opt in. Doing so will make it easier to sell to them later on.
  4. Not being too salesy –  People are so used to tuning out ads and sales pitches. You need to focus on engaging in genuine conversations with your leads.