Marketing activities often use forms of communication that require authorization, i.e. a double opt-in or a single opt-in. The so-called permission marketing has many benefits for companies, above all the fact that the built customer base only includes people who want to receive messages from a given brand and are interested in their subject matter, or products and services offered by a given company.

E-mail marketing is most often associated with the term opt-in. There are, however, many solutions on the market that have similar functions to newsletters, although they do not rely on sending messages by e-mail. An example is can be web push notifications or via messenger communication on Facebook.

What is opt-in?

It is worth starting from the very definition of opt-in. Basically it’s getting permission to receive e-mails, web push notifications, messenger messages, or yet another communication channel. It means that a person wants to stay in contact with the brand. In this case, marketers will send their campaigns to a given client or potential client until their opt-out is canceled.

What is the difference between double opt-in and single opt-in?

The difference between the options mentioned is how many actions a user must perform to be included in the group of e-mail subscribers, web push notifications, or other communication channels of a given brand.

Double opt-in has a two-step process of consenting to receiving messages. On the example of e-mail marketing, you can mention the first step, which means subscribing to the newsletter (for example on the website) by entering your e-mail address and name.

The second step in this case will mean activation of the subscription by confirming the e-mail address in the received message.

A single opt-in, however, has only one degree of consent to receive commercial messages. In the case of e-mail marketing, it will therefore be an e-mail address. When it comes to web push notifications, all you need to do is click on the button that allows you to receive notifications. Similarly, in messenger, all you need is an agreement to save the user to the subscriber base.

Double or single opt-in: what to choose?

To answer this question, focus on choosing the right communication platform. The type of system used depends on which of the above-mentioned types of consent should be chosen.

During the process of building a database of newsletter subscribers sent by e-mail, it is crucial for the user to confirm their e-mail address. This way, you can collect existing addresses and you can be sure that messages have a chance of reaching your recipients. Additionally, from a legal point of view, confirmation of an e-mail address is necessary when it comes to acting in accordance with the Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data. The main risk when it comes to single opt-in in this case lies in the fact that someone can give you your email address, and then you will be contacting a person who did not actually agree to it.

It is worth considering communication channels, which from the legal point of view and GDPR require only single opt-in. A great example of such an online tool can be PushPushGo, a platform for creating and sending web push notifications. By default, web push notifications can achieve the same goals as e-mail marketing, although they are a much more accessible form of communication. Notifications are displayed when using the web browser only if the campaign has been launched. What is the process of building the recipient database using PushPushGo? The website should include attractive subscription incentives (this can be a pop-up). After just one click, the user is added to the database. It can be a very effective method, and at the same time is consistent with the law because the user agrees with the terms of receiving messages (yes, with the same click).

There are plenty of advantages to using web push notifications as a communication platform. One of the most important is simplicity and easy process of giving consent. Web push notifications do not require any personal data or email addresses of users. It’s possible since the subscriber is identified based on information stored by the browser he or she uses. Notifications generate sales, increase traffic and build brand awareness - just other marketing tools, but more efficiently. What distinguishes web push notifications from most tools is that creating a campaign takes minimal effort and very little time. All you need to do is choose a distinctive graphic, title, main text and a link to the page. The entire process takes about five minutes and notifications are delivered within ten seconds.

The only thing that is required for the web push notification to be displayed to the user is the enabled browser when sending notifications. Ad-blocker does not affect the delivery of the campaign. Users are more likely to use web push notifications because they do not have to share their personal information to receive it. They can also unsubscribe at any time.

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It's worth using web push notifications to:

• Distribute content - by tracking the behavior of users on the site, you can send a given person only articles on topics from a given category of entries, which he or she visits

• Reminder users about their abandoned basket (you can choose the time after the last visit you want to send such notifications)

• Inform about new products available on the website

• Encourage others to return to the site after a long absence - if a user hasn’t been on your site for a while, the notifications will remind them about you and they might be interested enough to return

• Propose an individual offer - customized offers will shown users that you consider their preferences and the will be more willing to check out the offer

• Request to evaluate the quality of services - getting to know how you can improve and what you can offer to make the customer experience better will always benefit you

• Recommend products from previously viewed categories

• Improve customer service and get to know customer feedback

The less effort a user has to give, the greater of a chance that he will give permission to receive marketing messages. Not many users like to waste time sending their personal information - it might seem risky or not worth it to them.

Being aware of the differences between double opt-in and single opt-in, and above all of the opportunities and risks involved, you can make the decision to use the right tools. If you want to build a subscriber base faster and more efficiently, then it is definitely worth looking for appropriate solutions that will allow you to get approvals from users only by one click.

As with any marketing activity, and in the case of the process of collecting consents for commercial communication, it is worth optimizing each element in terms of the target group and business goals. The more specific the industry, the subject matter, the more precisely you have to select the recipients in order to achieve the best results. The best solution will be to test several platforms. Remember, you do not have to limit yourself to one communication channel.