Create an Opt-In Email List

What if I already have an email list?

Your website may already have a main email list that you have been sending to for some time. If this list is warmed up and you get very few, if any, spam complaints—great, you have established yourself as a reputable sender and have a good track record and have been doing it right... you probably do not need a new list and can likely skip over this section. (Unless you have a lot of contacts in Europe... then read on!)

However...

What if your list is cold, or you are just getting started  …or maybe you’ve been around for a while, but have recently decided to upload all your contacts form your Gmail or any other source of in-person or business networking you’ve done… and you want to start sending broadcast emails to these contacts… Or maybe you decided to get in compliance with GDPR and other anti-spam laws. 

You really must create and send to an opt-in only list!

You cannot just add contacts to your email list and assume they would like to hear from you and hope they don’t hit spam! (If you haven’t already read up on getting blacklisted!)

Tides are changing and laws are getting stricter... 

The tides of our information overload driven culture are moving more and more towards regulating unwanted email communications. In most of Europe there are already very strict laws in place about how and when someone can get sent an email from your website—look up GDPR!

In the U.S. the laws are not as strict, but they are still pretty clear. If you send someone email communications from your website that are not directly related to a purchase, or some membership activity they have signed up for on your website, you are likely breaking the law –look up CAN-SPAM Act! 

The U.S. may have a bit more of an allowance for a gray area of what constitutes implied consent to hear from your website via broadcast email, but if you have any contacts on your email list who are in any of the European countries, you really must only send to an opt-In only list.

Okay, so how do I create an Opt-in List?

If you already have a list and its hazy in your mind as to whether it is truly an opt-in list or not, or you are just ready to clean up your lists, then you should follow the steps in the following help modules for cleaning up your list and turning it into an opt-in list.

First Step: Create a new list that will be for opted-in subscribers only! Then follow through the next modules in sequential order to get the step by step How To 

Watch: How to create a Subscription (Opt-in) Type Email List

To clean up your existing contacts and create a true opt-in list that you can send your informational and promotional emails to click the Next button to move through the following topics in sequential order.

1. Create a New Opt-In List
2. Create a Web Page and a Rule to Add the Contact to the New Opt-In List
3. Create an Opt-In Invitation Broadcast Email to Send to All Contacts
4. Segment your Larger List to Send Your Invitation Broadcast To
5. Create a Thank You Email to Send a Free Gift in exchange for the Opt-in
6. Provide Opt-In Forms on Your Website - Build Your Own Clean Lists Organically!