Would this count as optin?

[R2D2]

I am working on a site that will sell travel guides in ebook form. I plan to give away the first guide I publish promting useres to give their email to be directed to a dowload page. Then I was going to send advertisment whenever I published more guides.

Could this be interpreted as uncolicited email or does it qualify as optin?

[nottheusual1]

As long as it in explicitly revealed in the terms & conditions of the offer of the download that they will be sent information in the future.

But, you'll harvest a large percentage of "junk" email addresses if you don't tie the initial offering into a download instructions Email that is to "confirm" provided Email address validity. Just providing any old Email address is a low hurdle for a valuable product offering.

Also, don't forget that opt-in comes with opt-out policies/practices to maintain legitimacy.

:not_the_usual1
[you decide]

[R2D2]

Nottheusual1, thanks for your answer. Could you please clarify, what do you mean with junk email, is that a seperate email one uses to sign up for newsletters and other spam prone services?

If you mean someone entering an email that is not his/her own or nonexisting how could anyone gain from that?

What do you mean with "tie in the initial offering with the download instructions?"


I had thought about setting up a notice by the form that would go something like: Your email will never be shared by a third party, it will only be used to notify you of new ebooks when published, maybe one or two per year. You can opt out at any time."

Should I maybe make the confirm link act as the download link as well, and post above mentined notice there?

What would be the best practice, I want to build a optin list but I want to take all measures not to be blacklisted.

Otherwise, what do you think of this strategy, am I risking devaluating my product by giving an example away? That vs. the benefits of building backlinks by listing the ebook in free ebook directorys and getting the word out using a viral marketing strategy?

[nottheusual1]

Junk Email Addresses - If all you require to have access to a download page is the entry of an Email address, you will get a large number of invalid Email addresses. Why? The visitor will get something for nothing - your valuable information - without having to disclose anything.

Validating Email Addresses - This can be done programatically -or- easier to send the customer an Email with a link to the download page. This improves the likelihood of getting a good Email adddress and establishes the relationship. Shockingly (or not) you'll still get bad Email addresses.

I think your disclosure is honest and adequate. At the end, provide a link to your Web site's legal/privacy notice page(s) as a link to "more info" or "for complete privacy disclosure".

As for confirmation, sending a "download instructions" Email allows for two things:

1) Their clicking on the link and downloading the Ebook establishes a positive relationship.

2) If the address was submitted in error - or they have changed their minds - you can also provide an "unsubscribe" link. Be sure your "unsubscribe" page is more than a simple "you are unsub'd" message. Present the potential customer with a list of reasons NOT to unsub, and have them have to add the Email address manually.

I've never understood why most unsub's kill themselves to make it easy - it may be your last opportunity to market to an individual.

Not getting blacklisted is never guaranteed no matter how you do things. The very best practice is to keep it simple and honest - make it easy to do business with you and never forget to give everyone an obvious way to break the relationship.

I think most blacklisted small-volume lists get that way because the "owner" poorly maintains the list and too many customers don't find value in the content. They feel they were misled into giving up their information.

The free initial product is not a bad strategy but can backfire if the quality of the product is not deemed to be of equal value for the information you are asking the customer to put forth - they value their personal information. Quality speaks so loudly with information.

Viral marketing is good, too - just be very careful who you let your name be associated with. If you advertise in a low-quality arena, you'll get tagged with the same problem. Make a professional sales pitch to your potential customers when they get to your site including testimonials from other happy customers, and close the sale with the freebie. Solid strategy.

:not_the_usual1
[you decide]

[supernatural_247]

i know this is a bit off topic, but do you think people would enter fake emails if they were registering to use a service, such as www.iHomeConnect.com, that would send them emails regarding their ad?

I find that having to confirm emails before being able to use a service often discourages would-be participants. any thoughts on this?

[R2D2]

I find that having to confirm emails before being able to use a service often discourages would-be participants. any thoughts on this?

I´ve had the same thought. But as nottheusual1 point´s out it´s a good way to establish a relationship to have people confirm the email. It sorts those who want something for nothing from those who are genuinly interested.

[nottheusual1]

It must work at some organic level, as a bunch of big names in their arenas do it.

This is a business transaction. A "customer" wouldn't hesitate to do it at any retailer, would they? You aren't providing a service - the customer gets a tangible product for their information. You also want a condition of the "purchase" to be establishing the relationship.

On the other hand, we have a customer (realtor) that uses a form to gather info about potential customers, then allows instant access to the local REALTOR association search pages. The model we use there is instant access - no verification whatsoever beyond the standard min/max and structure filters.

That is providing a service vs a product. Our logic here is that if they are interested/appreciative, we get good info. Even if they give bad info, they will have a **tendancy** to call for more help later, remembering that the site was helpful.

About 35% of the info we get is bad on face value. You wouldn't believe how many "asdfg qwerty's" live in Texas. It is important that all this info is scrubbed, too - get a bunch of bad AOL Email addresses, and you could be black-listed very quickly for pounding on their Email servers.

Different approaches for different situations, because in sales/marketing nothing is black&white. Evaluate your expectations, the needed result, and how to most effectively achieve it. The expectation part is always the toughest.

If something doesn't work, throw something else against the wall and see if it sticks. Then, let it run its course and work on the next one. It is an iterative process and very challenging. But, success is fun.

:not_the_usual1
[you decide]

[rondo]

Make it double opt-in.
this way if they give you a junk email address they won't get the product.

Also tell them they are signing up to your newsletter and will get future emails.