Double opt-in means that the respondents have to opt in twice to join the community. The first time will be when they submit their email address. The second time will be when they receive an email to confirm their email address.
The process in communities works as follows:
- A respondent participates in the community's recruitment survey (Profiling Questionnaire).
- A confirmation email is sent asking them to opt in a second time by clicking a confirmation link in the email.
- Respondent clicks the confirmation link in the email, thereby opting in a second time.
By using a double opt-in, you ensure that only truly interested users are a part of your community, as they will take the time to go through the double opt-in process. Specifically, double opt-in confers the following benefits:
- Invalid email addresses are not added to your community from the start.
- It minimizes the chance of spam trap addresses to be on your list.
- It ensures the email list is clean and healthy.
- It helps maintain a strong and positive sender reputation.
The double opt-in, while not strictly required for legal purposes, is considered a best practice. It eliminates the chance of abuse where somebody submits someone else’s email address without their knowledge or against their will. It also avoids the casual person who did not really want to sign up but did so without much thought. The double opt-in process helps ensure that only people who are truly interested will sign up for a community. This helps with response rates and reduces member churn and also helps reduce SPAM complaints.
The Profiling Questionnaire process only employs a double opt-in method.