The most valuable commodity on the Internet is privacy. People are becoming wary when signing up for a mailing list, as there always seems to be a flood of spam after signing up for an email list. A double opt-in may be the solution, as it prevents a third party from signing people up for newsletters. It also prevents spam robots from harvesting valuable information from a web site.

There is some confusion between confirmed opt-in and double opt-in. When a person signs up for a mailing list, they will receive a confirmation email, and in a confirmed opt-in the email informs the new subscriber that they have joined the list. The double opt-in system includes a link in the email, so if the new subscriber does not follow the link then their subscription is cancelled. Both methods verify the email address is valid.

Most web marketers feel that it is a burden on the new subscriber to ask for them to follow the link and complete the subscription process. I have found no studies, but the general belief is that some subscribers are lost because they fail to complete the subscription process.

This can be a bonus for large mailing lists. As it keeps the mailing list to a manageable level, saving bandwidth. If the mailing list is hosted through a service, then it is a financially sound decision to make sure that each subscriber is worth the fee charged by the service.

One method of keeping the double opt-in process as painless as possible is to offer a free bonus to people who continue the sign up process.

Web masters who favor the double opt-in method often claim that they are not loosing subscribers. Instead, they are not paying for subscribers who will just delete the newsletter as soon as it arrives in their inbox.

Many people are of the opinion that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. A mailing list is a marketing tool, and a good mailing list offers a glimpse into the web site's target audience. It helps the web master narrow their niche, improving the relevance, which improves the web site's ROI. A mailing list with a narrow target audience lets the web master target the exact needs of the web site's users. Web marketers understand this. That is why most double opt-in lists command higher advertising rates.

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