Double Opt In

Hi,

2 questions -

1. when a get a "Signups Statistics Update" email from VR, does that mean that the person has done the Confirmation for the double opt in, or just the initial signup?

2. Some folks just don't seem to get the double opt in. They ignore the confirmation emai and they don't receive my eNewsletter. I then get a complaint from them that I never added them per their signup request. Can I setup a list without the Double opt in? Or is that "illegal"?

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Permalink Reply by Chris Ewald on February 6, 2009 at 10:29am: Hi Jay,

Check out this previous Forum post for an explanation of why single opt-ins are not mailable:

*Single Opt-In...

You might also want to read through two articles published by another Lounge member:

* How to Get Visitors to Opt-In to Your List in the First Place
* How to Make Sure They Double Opt-In to Your Email List

When you have specific questions about your account, give our Customer Support team a call. The team is in-house -- not outsourced -- and every team member has extensive personal experience with all aspects of VR's service. You can reach Support at 866-683-7842, Monday - Friday, 6:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. PST. You can also contact them by email at support@verticalresponse.com.

Hope that's helpful! --Chris.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kevin McCarthy on February 6, 2009 at 9:41pm: I have 35 single opts. . .is it possible to resend the confirmation email?. . .or do they have to sign up again. . .some say they want the newsletter but they already deleted the original confirmation email. How do I get these 35 in. . . .I've heard all the advice about what to do in the future so that people double-opt. . but I don't see anything about what to do with existing single opts. . . .; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jay on February 7, 2009 at 10:38am: It certainly would be nice if there was a way to have VR resend the confirmation email.

What I've been doing is gathering the email addresses that are only single optin and sending my own email to them. I explain that they haven't been added to my eNewsletter and if they wish to be added they need to reply to this email with the word ADD in the subject line. When they respond I go to the list and manually add them. If they don't respond after a week I manually delete them and move on.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kevin McCarthy on February 9, 2009 at 9:35pm: Do you have to delete from the single opt in list and add then add them as a new list?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jay on February 10, 2009 at 7:37am: I'm not sure what you mean by "the single opt in list". I go to "View" the list, manually look thru the list and find the email address I'm looking for. To delete it you click the "Delete" bubble (3rd one from the left"; to change from Single Opt in you click "Detail", then under Record Status select "Manually Uploaded", then click "Submit"; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Steve on July 8, 2009 at 7:09pm: OK all you little Pickles, here's the Dill.... here is the right way (imho) to work your single opt ins that have not finished the double opt in process......Go to VR home page, under "lists" pick the list you want to work on if you have more than one.....
Now, copy the email addys of the single opt ins, save them on an email, notepad, or whatever so you will not lose them. Slide over to the far right, and you see the little trash can???? Click the button in the middle of the column under the trash can for each of the failed opt ins then at the top of the column you hit "Save Changes". BAM, they are all gone! Now you make up a nice email and send it from your own business email address and explain that you noticed they failed to finish the opt in procedure... you are resending the link they need to finish so they can get the newsletter if they are still interested. Take the email addresses and YOU will re enter them in the opt in form you have on your web site or where ever you have it. Your prospects will get another "invitation" to join.

OK, you say, it does look easier to just manually add to finish the opt in....yes, it is easy however the reason the opt in was not finished may be the email addy was entered wrong to begin with.....OR, and this happens, some one entered someone's email as a prank or out of meanness. Yes Skippy, it happens so don't play into the game and get the spam button hit on you.....then there is THE BIG UNTHINKABLE....they signed up in the heat of the moment and then changed their weak little minds when their passions cooled and now they don't want to hear from you ....sorry. The biggest reason not to add them manually is it goes against the whole point of building your list....it would not be a double opt in......and that, dear children, is against the rules!

Anyway if you get no response to your private email or if they do not join after all that, move on !!

Hope this helps; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brooke Browne on July 8, 2009 at 1:12pm: That's a good idea Jay, thanks.
For some reason I thought I saw where you could email the single opt-ins from VR.

It seems surprising to me more people aren't expressing an interest in doing this, it's like you're losing qualified people that missed that step.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brooke Browne on July 8, 2009 at 1:19pm: Oh, when you manually add them, do you mean you have to create a new entry from scratch when they reply to you?
I don't see how I can manually 'force' the single opt-in to a double.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jay on July 8, 2009 at 4:15pm: no. You view the list.
Find their entry that says "Single Opt In"; click details, then use the pull down to set it to "Manually Uploaded".

This of course is after they respond back to you that they wish to be added into the list.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brooke Browne on July 8, 2009 at 4:23pm: Odd. You must have a super-cool account, because I don't have that. I got a response from one of my singles, so I tried and it won't let me change their status no matter what I do. I called VR and they said that's supposed to be the case, so they have to manually do it themselves.
So there goes that idea, instead the only thing I can do is fill out the form on their behalf again, and hope they get the verification email the 2nd time around.... : /; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jay on July 8, 2009 at 4:22pm: The best way to find Single Optins" is to "Download" the list
When you click "Download" you need to click the filed "Record Status" in section #3
"Which fields do you want to download:".

Then when you open the spreadsheet click on the Status field column then click on the EXCEL button sort sort the colum. Then you can easily see your unsubscribes, bounces, single & double optins.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kevin McCarthy on July 8, 2009 at 4:27pm: HuH?? I'm not following any of this. . .I'm confused like Brook. . . .Jay your instructions don't calibrate with whatever version of VR I'm using. . . ."drop down menus". . ??? Change their status. . .don' t see it.; ▶ Reply to This