In this blog you will learn:
- What is an opt in
- How an opt in works
- What an opt in must comply with
- What is a double opt in
- What an opt in page is
- Opt in page tips (best practices for opting in)
Would you like to learn more about opt-in for e-mail marketing? Then read on!
Anti-spam law
First of all, it is good to know that there is an anti-spam law in force in the Netherlands. This means that you are not allowed to receive any newsletter that you have never signed up for. When you haven't signed up and you still receive messages, newsletters about a product, service, charity or a certain idea, then we call this spam. And, spam is not allowed in the Netherlands. It is forbidden by law to just mail people, from whom you have received a business card for example, with offers. The ACM (Authority Consumer and Market) enforces this legislation. And, actively hands out fines for this. These fines can be as much as 450,000 euros per violation. Nobody is waiting for that. So how do you get this specific permission?
What is opt in?
You are only in compliance with the anti-spam law if you have given your explicit consent to receive advertising in advance. Opt in therefore literally means 'sign up'. This is how we all tackle spam. You may therefore only receive commercial messages if you choose to do so yourself. Even better: you have to be able to prove it. You record exactly when and how your customer specifically answered 'yes' to the question of whether you may send them messages. You have to be able to prove this permission up to five years after sending, if asked for. An opt-in for e-mail marketing is therefore very important. Without an opt-in, you cannot send a newsletter to your customers.
Do you have your own webshop? Then it comes down to the fact that you often have a checkbox in the footer of your webshop or at the check-out with the text 'I would like to receive the newsletter'. Only when that box is ticked can you add the e-mail address to your mailing list. You cannot tick this box for your customer, he must do that himself. Do you want to send more than one type of e-mail? In that case, add one checkbox per type of e-mail to your opt-in request. An opt-in must be clearly visible. It is therefore not allowed to have a check box consisting of the following text: 'I accept the privacy statement', where the privacy statement then states that you are also subscribed to the newsletter. You may not combine such a thing. It really should be a stand-alone option.
Collecting opt ins is easier with the use of an e-mail marketingsoftware. With an email marketing software, it is easy to find out where you got the email address and how your customers opted in. Then you can be sure that this is all properly taken care of, since you have an opt in system.
The opt in and the GDPR
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. The European term for this is the GDPR, General Data Protection Regulation. The GDPR is about the processing, collection, storage and use of personal data. You must always have permission in advance to e-mail, but you must also always check how you process personal data. You need to handle this GDPR-proof. At Reloadify, you are fully GDPR compliant. (You should always check the GDPR regulations of the country you’re selling to.)
How does opt-in work?
An opt-in is mostly seen in the form of an opt-in page. Such a landing page is used to collect e-mail addresses and to get your visitors to sign up for your newsletter. Think of a pop-up on the website to sign up for the newsletter. Or a box in the footer/at the bottom of your website where you specifically subscribe to the newsletter. An example of opt in:
What does an opt-in have to comply with?
An opt-in must comply with a number of rules. For example, you will always need to get permission in advance, which starts with the sign-up process. Someone has to consciously sign up. You can't just take an email address from any website, social media or anywhere else and put it on your mailing list.
Here are the conditions for a mailing:
- Ensure the consent of the recipients
- It must be clear to the recipient who the sender is. It is advisable to put your own company name in every mailing.
- It is compulsory to include an unsubscribe link in your emails, so that your recipients can easily unsubscribe. This is called an opt-out.
- When the customer requests it, it should be clear how the opt in was obtained
What is a double opt in?
What is written above under the heading 'what is opt in?' is a single opt in. a double opt in means that consciously signing up or subscribing goes through a second step. Imagine this: you sign up for the newsletter. And you're done. You're subscribed. A double opt-in sends an extra email with a confirmation link for you to click on. You haven't clicked on this link? Then you're not subscribed.
- A single opt-in means that your opt in is completed immediately after entering your email address. You are immediately added to the e-mail list.
- A double opt-in means that you have to confirm your registration via a confirmation link that is sent to your registered e-mail address. Only then will you be added to the e-mail list.
How does double opt-in work?
Imagine this. You get to download a free white paper in exchange for your email address. You are only too happy to do so. You click on 'yes, give me a free white paper' and immediately a pop-up appears on your screen to fill in your name and e-mail address. This immediately registers you for the newsletter with this action. This is a clever way of marketing: use is made of the Zeigarnik effect: it is in our nature to finish what you started. Under the motto: 'he who says A, also says B'.
After you have filled in your details, a screen appears before you: 'You're almost there... Just confirm your e-mail address via the confirmation link in the e-mail that we sent you'. Okay, you confirm your e-mail address by clicking on the confirmation link. This is your double opt-in. Only then will you receive a confirmation e-mail containing your white paper. We did it! You have registered your e-mail address on the e-mail list and have received your white paper.
Is a double opt-in mandatory?
Fortunately, a double opt-in is in the Netherlands not compulsory. Please always check out the recent laws regarding your country. Of course, it does have its advantages and disadvantages. You would get fewer privacy and spam complaints when you use a double opt in. This would give you a lower bounce rate. Your mailing list would also be of higher quality because you would have fewer interested leads in it. A few disadvantages are that you might miss out on e-mail addresses, because not everyone feels like clicking again (you make clickpaths unnecessarily long). Or that the customer service gets busier because not everyone receives or understands the confirmation e-mail.
Opt in vs Opt out
An opt in is mandatory to get, but an opt out is mandatory to give. An opt-out is exactly the opposite of an opt-in: you give your customer the chance to unsubscribe. It is a legal obligation that you include an opt-out in every e-mail communication. Your customer should always be able to unsubscribe. There is no way around this.
What is an opt in page?
An opt in page, also called a landing page, allows your customers to opt in. This is often done via an email marketing software. Your marketing software can easily generate a form for your customers to fill in their name and email address. A landing page is a page where your visitor 'lands' after your customer has found the page via Google or another search engine. The main purpose of such a page is to collect visitors' email addresses, and then to turn them into valuable customers. Do you find it difficult to simply ask your customers for their e-mail addresses? Then offer an incentive! For example: a free product or extra discount in exchange for an e-mail address. This is an ideal way to expand your mailing list and to make people familiar with your web shop. That's why it is important that your opt-in page has a clean look: distract your visitor as little as possible. The page should not contain a menu, sidebar or internal links.
An example of an opt in page can be found below:
In the example above, they choose to ask only for the first name and e-mail address. Be aware that the more information you ask from your customers, the more people will drop out. Your visitors don't just fill in their details. Therefore, only ask the essentials, such as a first name and e-mail address. Or just the e-mail address. Furthermore, you have to convince your visitor that they should leave their details for something 'special'. This could be a newsletter, but also a catalogue, white paper, you name it.
How to create an opt in page?
A good opt-in page (also called a squeeze page) can certainly be compared to a sales page: the more conversions (in this case, the more e-mail addresses) the better. That is the goal. But, how do you get to that goal? By seducing your customer in the right way. Because: why exactly would you leave your data? A representative model that you can use for this is the AIDA model. The AIDA model stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. This model may look familiar to you. It is a copywriting model for writing effective marketing texts.
With this model you go through all the letters:
- Attention: to grab your reader's attention.
- Interest: generate interest in your message.
- Desire: create a need for your offer.
- Action: get your customer to take action.
Let's start at the beginning: attention.
This is where you grab the reader's attention. You have to be quick: research even shows that your customer will consider whether or not to continue surfing on your website within three seconds. Every visitor whose attention you fail to attract is lost to you. Therefore, the following tip: make your action clear above the fold.
Above the fold means everything your customer sees on the page without scrolling. It is therefore advisable to make it clear on your page what your action is. The first thing your customer sees is your headline. In your headline, make it immediately clear what it's about: '10% discount' 'Free white paper' and so on. 80% of your visitors will read your headline first and only 20% of them will read on.
Then you move on to interest. The interest part is where you start generating interest with the reader. You have the attention, now you need the interest. Always keep in mind that you are solving a problem for your customer. Your customer's problem can be anything. What works well for this is to present a problem that your customers recognise themselves in:
‘You know, you're reading, you forgot your tea’
‘Website visitors, but no conversion’
‘Want to cycle, but it's raining’
All small, everyday problems that your customer recognises himself in. Apply this to your webshop, of course. When your customer recognises a problem and can identify with it, a bond of trust is created. Now you can start working with the third pillar of the AIDA model: desire.
With desire you want to create a need for the product/service. Make your customers greedy for what you are offering in exchange. What is in the white paper? How much discount does the customer get if he leaves his e-mail? Make this clear. For example, by putting an image of what your white paper looks like on your landing page. What benefits it contains. Or, when offering a discount on products: how long the discount is valid, how much the discount is, etc.
Finally, you focus on action. With this step, you literally put your customer into action. You use a 'call to action', which means that you use a text (often in a button) to get your customer to take action.
Set up your button text in such a way that it incites action, for example:
- ‘Yes, give me a discount’
- ‘Grow my conversion’
- ‘I receive a discount now’
Sometimes a call-to-action can be very easy, test carefully which text appeals best to your customers.
With the AIDA model you will come a long way when it comes to scoring e-mail addresses. Do you want to take it a step further? Then I am personally a big fan of Cialdini's influencing techniques: go for scarcity and create urgency. You can do this by putting a time limit on your offer, for example. Or by suggesting scarcity, for example by adding the text 'the first 100 registrations for white papers get an extra discount code' or 'the discount code is only valid today'. This creates a sense of urgency that your customer should do something with the promotion now, at this moment.
Opt in page tips (best practices for opting in)
How do you set up the best opt-in page? Let me give you some tips. In the previous chapter, you already read that you should set up your opt in page using the handy AIDA model. A number of best practices for opting in from practice are always useful. So I'm happy to share them with you.
Best practice 1: Use clear buttons in your opt in page
Use buttons instead of plain text. This stands out more and people are more likely to click on it. See an example below:
What would you click on more quickly? Make it as clear as possible for your customer!
Make your button even more attractive by testing the colour, font and font size. In general, green is an attractive colour to click on and red is a less attractive colour. This is because red represents danger and green represents something positive.
Best practice 2: Match your copy to expectations
When your customers land on your opt-in landing page, they almost always come here via Google (or another search engine). Often you fill in your meta title and metadescription for your landing page. This is decisive for your click-through rate. Have you written in the metadescription: "Click here for a super high discount"? And do you then offer a 5% discount? Then it is logical that the website visitor bounces on this page. The expectation of the text does not match the actual offer on the page. Too bad, you have a visitor, but the visitor did not find what he expected to find. Maybe your visitor is now very disappointed, angry or has forgotten you already. Either way, you've created a negative association with one visitor. And that is something you definitely want to avoid.
Therefore, always make it clear in advance what exactly your customers can expect on the opt-in page. Whether it's tips on the page, a discount or a gift they get: be clear and transparent. Only with the right copy and the right expectations will you be able to get those oh-so-valuable email addresses.
Best practice 3: Don't distract your visitors
What you definitely don't want is for your visitors to be distracted. They have landed on your opt-in page. And you want to keep them there. That's why best practice number 3 is to create a page that is as minimalist as possible. Only mention what is necessary. Don't distract your visitor with other internal links, for example to a blog, social channels or customer service. You don't want to lead your customer there. You want the customer to stay on the page and fill in his e-mail address. Do you sell standard adverts on your website? Don't do that on this page. Advertisements are extremely distracting. An advertiser might steal your lead! Another thing you want to avoid is a menu bar and footer, because your customer can click on those too and leave the page. What can you put on the page?
Everything that has not been mentioned here! Go as crazy as you can to convince your customer. As long as he is not distracted by things that do not matter.
Best Practice 4: KISS: Keep it simple, stupid
Best practice number 4 for your opt in page is about the form itself. This should be made as simple as possible. Because: why do you want all this information from your customers? If you can't answer this question, delete some information from the form. Visitors are wary of leaving their details just like that. Especially since we've had a number of scandals involving data leaks (think of Facebook and DigiNotar). Therefore, only ask for a name and an e-mail address. Do you also want to know the date of birth of your customers? Be sure to ask! Keep in mind that the more information you ask from your visitors, the more people will drop out. Not everyone is prepared to give away this information. Want to do it right? Then only ask for the e-mail address. That way you make it very accessible for all your customers and you have the best chance of getting as many e-mail addresses as possible.
Best Practice 5: Social proof
Most visitors are convinced by other satisfied customers. Because, admit it: if you have found a new webshop, do you always go looking for reviews? Or to the Facebook page to check what customers think of the shop? Yes, don't you? This is very normal and almost everyone does it nowadays. That is why reviews are so valuable for you as a shop. This phenomenon is called 'social proof'. You show the outside world how reliable you are. Because, if other customers find you reliable, a new customer will also find you reliable faster (something about 'if one sheep crosses the ditch, more will follow). By the way, this is an influence technique from Cialdini (there he is again). I would therefore recommend sharing testimonials on your opt-in page. With testimonials I do not mean extensive customer stories about why your web shop is the best (see point 4). However, a small widget from, for example, TrustedShops, Feedback Company, Kiyoh, TrustPilot or Google certainly won't hurt. Moreover, make it visual: at Kiyoh you can choose to place a widget with and without stars. Then choose to show a review score. Because pictures say so much more than text. In addition, a star review can be seen at a glance, while a text has to be read through (which not everyone does).
This is what a review looks like with text:
And so with stars:
Best pratice 6: Give a clear advantage when opting in
Why give away your e-mail address? Visitors know better these days. So make it clear exactly what your visitor will get in return. Is it a benefit in the form of a discount? Or do they get exclusive access to a pre-sale? What makes you so unique that your visitors should leave their email address with you? Let them know! Sometimes it also helps to tell your customer exactly what you do with the e-mail address (where it goes and what happens to it). Be clear and transparent about this.
As a final tip, I would like to give you the opportunity to test what works. No two web shops are the same and don't work alike. One target group will respond well to call-to-action 1, another will respond well to call-to-action 2. Testing, testing and testing again is something I can definitely recommend. You simply can never test enough.
To summarise, here's a small list of things to look out for when creating an opt-in page:
- The title of your page
- The subtitle of your page
- Which images do you use and where do you put them?
- Do you use videos? Or not?
- Think carefully about the design, the most important thing you want to tell above the fold
- The content of your page. Are you going to use text or bullet points?
- Testimonials: what form do you use and how many do you use?
With all these tips, you can create a great opt in page. Notice that your opt in page isn't working as well as you'd hoped? You can learn a lot from heatmapping tools, like Hotjar. A heatmap shows you exactly where your users have looked at, clicked on and hovered over the most (based on a heatmap). Make sure you use it to your advantage!
