opt-in – Getentrepreneurial.com: Resources for Small Business Entrepreneurs in 2024

If you publish your ezine through one of the emailing list services then you will also be provided with tracking stats for each issue. Are you happy with the open rate, or does it seem exceptionally low for each issue? Not only is it important that you publish your newsletter regularly, but equally important is that your subscribers receive it.

Is your list a double opt-in list?
Do you send both a Text and HTML version of your newsletter?
If you have answered NO to one or both of these questions you could be sabotaging your own newsletter efforts!

Why do I need a double opt-in list?

Double opt-in is the process whereby when someone signs up to receive your newsletter via your website they receive an email from your email list provider, which asks them to confirm their subscription by clicking on a link in the email. Once they have clicked on this link they are then confirmed as a subscriber to your list.

This process is known as double opt-in as:
:: they opt-in once via your newsletter sign up form on your website; and
:: they opt-in again by clicking the link on the email that they receive from your email list provider.

It is very important that you have this process in place as it avoids a subscriber being signed up to your newsletter by a third party, and therefore reduces the number of spam reports that you are likely to get. Your subscriber has had to confirm for a second time that they want to be on your mailing list.

The downside to this is that your subscriber may not confirm their subscription, in which case you would lose the subscriber. But if they really do want to receive information from you they will be on the lookout for your confirmation email. And isn’t it better to have 100 subscribers who really do want to receive your information rather than 1,000 subscribers who aren’t that interested?

Just recently I had a conversation with support at my email list provider and asked them about their double opt-in process. They told me that those lists that are set up as double opt-in lists are sent via a secure server that has been approved by the ISPs thereby resulting in a higher deliverability of your ezine. Lists that are not set as double opt-in get sent out on a different server and could result in your ezine being blocked by the ISP.

So even if your subscriber has you on their white list (or friends list) if your list is not a double opt-in list they may not even receive your ezine as it could be blocked by their ISP.

Check with your emailing list service as to their policies on double opt-in.

Why do I need to send both Text and HTML versions of my newsletter?

Again sending both versions of your newsletter ensures that it will get through to your subscriber. Some subscribers have their email programs set up to only receive text emails, and if you only offer a HTML version of your ezine they are not going to be able to read it.
Also, if you’ve sent your broadcast in both versions there’s a good chance it won’t be viewed as spam/junk email as spammers don’t usually send emails in both formats.

Conclusion:
To fix low newsletter deliverability there are two things you can do right away:
1. Ensure your list is set to double opt-in.
2. Send out both Text and HTML versions of your ezine.

Shattering the “Passive Income” Myth

Passive Revenue. The words jumped off the website page and hit me like a thunderbolt! I thought I even heard angels singing. It was the golden idol; the Holy Grail. My heart skipped a beat and went ka-ching!
As a freshly-minted solo entrepreneur, I had never heard two sweeter words. Passive Revenue. Just seeing that glorious expression instantly conjured up images of dollars magically dropping down out of the sky. Like some kind of gift from the Internet gods. Imagine, making money while you sleep! Why didn’t I think of this sooner? It all sounded too good to be true.
So, being a hard-nosed, cynical New Englander with a solid, Protestant Work Ethic, I felt compelled to do the due diligence. I took e-courses, attended teleseminars and read “Multiple Streams of Coaching Income.” I spent thousands (yes, 5 figures!) on coaching, classes, marketing materials and websites. I started building an opt-in list, began a blog, created information products, sent out ezines, wrote articles, and launched joint ventures. I listened to and learned from the finest online marketing gurus. Soon I became an Internet junkie, totally addicted to the concept of passive revenue, and its seductive cousin, multiple streams of income. I was hooked, and there was no turning back.
After a year of education, edification and execution, I felt I had most – if not all – of the puzzle pieces in place: Online shopping cart: Check. Autoresponders: Check. PayPal set up: Check. Squeeze Page: Check. Free offer: Check. Then, I finally went to bed one night thinking, “Well, I’m going to sleep now. Time to make some money!”
So this is the part of the story when I’m supposed to wake up to an in-box full of orders, right? Well, not quite. Sure, there were a few orders, but I was a long way from crashing any servers. While all the pieces may have been in place, this life-long career marketer had forgotten one key ingredient: Marketing. Duh! You would think a former television network marketing and promotion exec would remember that, passive or not, you gotta sell it, baby!
Where’s my passive revenue? What? You mean I need to market these products? I have to promote? I’ve got to make offers, and send out e-mail blasts, and work my list? I gave them a freebie, so why aren’t they pouring into my funnel? Huh? You want me to do teleseminars now? Speaking gigs? Radio interviews? What’s passive about that? That’s not passive. That’s downright…active! What happened to “if you build it, they will come?” Is this “Field of Dreams” or Field of Schemes?
As a newbie entrepreneur, I guess I didn’t know the secret handshake. But I get it now. You didn’t really mean passive revenue, right? Let’s face it. There’s nothing passive about it. Maybe we should call it Work Your Ass Off and Market Relentlessly Income.
I think I understand the concept now. If you want to make money on the Internet, you need to be active. Better yet, make that proactive. If you want those elusive multiple streams of revenue, you’re gonna have to hustle. Every day, in dozens of ways. Be smart. Get creative. Market like you mean it. Don’t “work” your list, build connections. Develop relationships. Sweeten your offers. Give more value. But, above all, get to work! Call it passive revenue if you want. It still sounds pretty cool. But we know what it really takes!

Lou Bortone is an award-winning writer and video producer with over 20 years experience in marketing, branding and promotion. As an online video expert, Lou helps entrepreneurs create video for the web at www.TheOnlineVideoGuy.com. In addition, Lou works as a freelance writer and professional ghostwriter, with a ghostwriting site at www.GhostwriteForYou.com and a blog at www.GhostwriteGuru.com.