Subscription confirmation, double opt-in, welcome email... which is the best option?
After a user signs up to receive a newsletter, there are different ways in which the brand, company or organisation can make their first contact: confirmation of subscription, double opt-in, welcome email... But which is the best option, can we combine them, what are the pros and cons of each?
The user's perception of the brand must be taken care of from minute one. The first contact via email is more important than it seems. It determines how the relationship with the user begins and whether or not we manage to maintain the interest they had at the time of subscribing. We must not forget that if they have made this decision precisely at this moment, it is because they are currently interested in us and we must take advantage of this and make a good impression on them. That is why it is important that, at the very least, you receive a subscription confirmation notification. However, as you will see below, this is the most basic contact:
Confirmation of subscription
This notification is automatically received when a user subscribes to a newsletter. As the name suggests, its function is to confirm via email that the subscription has been successfully completed. and that from now on you will receive the brand's campaigns. As we said, it is the most basic way to have that first contact. However, what are the pros and cons? The positive side of this type of communication is that it is very minimally invasiveThe user is not "forced" to take further steps to make the subscription effective. It simply serves the function of informing that the process has been successfully completed. The downside would be the little impact it will have on the recipient and more importantly, the not able to ensure that the email is correct and that the user really wants to receive it. A factor that would be solved with the option that we will see below: the double opt-in. Here is an example of Roma Point:
Double opt-in
In the double opt-in a notification is sent to the subscriber for confirmation of the subscription. Once the user clicks on the CTA, he/she is redirected to the website of the brand/company and is informed that the process has been successful. If the subscription is not confirmed, this would not be valid. Opting for double opt-in helps us to make sure that the lead is real, quality and above all, to no problems with the GDPRThe downside? We are adding another step to the registration process and if the user does not validate the subscription for whatever reason, we will lose the lead. Here is an example of Zara:
Welcome email
As its name suggests, it is a type of email that is sent to receive the subscriber and welcome him/her. Often, many brands unify the idea of the confirmation and welcome email. The result is a version where, apart from confirming that they have successfully subscribed to the newsletter, they welcome them and offer them some kind of discount or relevant information about the brand/company. The welcome email is more elaborate and elaborate than the confirmation email, especially in terms of copy and design.. In fact, this would be the most important advantage. It allows to make a more noticeable first impact, while providing the possibility to direct the user to the company's site. What disadvantages could we find? We must bear in mind that, like the subscription confirmation email, does not allow us to ensure that the lead is valid and of good quality..
Welcome programme
If we seek to maximise the subscriber's reception, the welcome programme is a very complete option. It is characterised by being consisting of more than one emaiWe can use this to achieve a specific objective: we can use it to to incentivise the user to make a first purchasefor to make it more complementary to your profile with data that can be useful for segmenting and personalising future campaigns or even to provide relevant company information.
What is the best option?
It will depend a lot on the priorities we have, on the importance we give to the different points we have been discussing and, above all, on the type of brand / company we are and the products or services we market. However, from our point of view, the winning option would be the combination of a double opt-in (we ensure the validity of the registration and we once again have the user's consent). with an email or welcome programme (a more enriching contact than a simple subscription confirmation notification). Here is an example of Stradivarius.
If you are deciding which may be the best option for you, we recommend you also take a look at this postwhere we talked to you about the option of the progressive registration.
