In email marketing, using a double opt-in approach is favorable for many reasons, but it also presents challenges.  Gaining subscribers to build your database is one thing, but adding additional steps to the mix can result in minimal follow through.  Be that as it may, a double opt-in strategy can ensure your database is filled with quality subscribers who truly want to receive messages from your brand, and ensures you’re adhering to industry best practices and regulation.

A creative approach is often necessary to encourage a double opt-in, and a great way to accomplish this is to incentivize the process.  A mobileStorm client, Om Records, recently launched an incentivized campaign to encourage re-confirmation to their newsletter.  In doing so, the company offered a free download of their “2010 Om Summer Sampler” album as an incentive for re-confirmation.  (*Note – This offer is still active and LIVE right now, in this blog post!   Just click here, or the image below, and you\’ll be added to Om Record\’s weekly email list and receive the free 2010 Summer Sampler download.)

Users who receive the email, who might have otherwise ignored the message, now have an incentive to quickly and easily re-confirm their subscription by clicking a simple link and having instant access to the album download.

Subscribers of Om’s content are already interested in the music and artists the label represents, so offering a free album download provides a strong and highly relevant incentive for re-confirmation, and provides Om Records the coveted double opt-in to their database.  In addition to satisfying double opt-in, this type of campaign helps “clean up” Om’s database to weed out those who might not potentially want to receive communication, or who’s email addresses have gone out of date.

Om Records’ campaign is a classic example of thinking outside the box, while using a dose of creativity and ingenuity to drive re-confirmation and subsequent double opt-ins.  Email marketers need to always be analyzing, optimizing and engaging their database to maintain effectiveness, and this campaign is a shining example of doing so.