Opting for Opt-in

"News and updates" pollute our mailboxes every day.  They're not always the infamous kind of spam we all know and hate; now they're 'newsvertisements,' sent to you because of that little, afterthought-checkbox at the bottom of on-line account sign-up forms.  They're usually checked by default.  At the rate new web apps are created, this is an increasingly common occurrence.

The Goodwill Assault
When I get newsvertisements, I go through a common progression.  At first, I feel I should at least scan them.  I may take the bait and read one or two before realizing what a waist of time it is.  After awhile, I ignore them wholesale, no matter how relevant they may be.  After several weeks of accumulating these unread emails, my inbox is a total mess.

When my rage has boiled over, I storm off on my quest to shut them down, cursing myself for letting it happen in the first place. Finally, when I'm sure all nine lives have been destroyed, I commit to increased vigilance the next time around.

Net effect: I haven't purchased a single thing nor have I become aware of any new product update.  I've actually gone in the opposite direction.  I've barely 'met' this vendor and in no time, my goodwill for them has been seriously assaulted.  Not a good start!

Adiquette
I appreciate the need to advertise and use email as a channel for that.  Advertising pays a lot of bills and increases product awareness.  But, from a consumer point of view, once you buy the product, the need for product awareness decreases.

Actually once you buy a product, not only do you not need ads, you actually expect the company you just bought from to be "silent until spoken to."  You've bought the right to be left in peace!  In fairness,  the converse is also true: If you're getting it for free, expect ads.  If you will, call this general principle 'adiquette.'  It also applies when the product is the online account.

You may argue that the online account you're signing up for is free, so then it's perfectly reasonable for the site provider to turn on newsvertisements by default.  I disagree.  Signing up for an online account is a payment of sorts and, therefore, deserves some 'leave me in peace' adiquette.

Offering regular newsvertisements during account sign-up is fine.  Site providers may even send you a link to do this in their Welcome to XYZ email.  What's unreasonable and even stupid is for site providers to use the account sign-up as an opening for unwelcome email pestering.  As a consumer, signing up for an online account has real value and should be considered payment.

Why?  Because doing it requires your time and effort.  Your online account usage gives the vendor an opportunity to demonstrate their 'product' value.  This is a payment by the consumer and, in Internet economics, it is worth a lot. Signing up also acknowledges that the consumer understands what is offered and, should they want more info, they now know where to go.

Opting for Opt-in
From the online vendor point of view, a better choice is to opt for opt-in when designing your website.  Make the opportunity to opt-in blazingly clear and relevant.  The relevant part is probably the most important.  By understanding what is important to your user, you can give them something more than noise to consider opting-in to.

This increases the odds that they actually will opt-in.  When they do, the email newsvertisements should be as targeted as possible.  Two ways to achieve this are to:

• Ask a few simple questions during sign-up in order to ascertain their interests. 
• Point them to an content-specific RSS feeds as a notification alternative.

Summary
Opting for opt-in respects people's PC for what it really is: their Internet home.  As a vendor, this respect is a better foundation for relating to your customers than rudely forcing them to deal with unwanted newsvertisements. 

Today, opting for opt-in can now be done well with short questionnaires and RSS feeds.  To get double-coverage, you can remind them about the opt-in options when you send customers a Welcome to XYZ account email notice.  Like a deodorant commercial once reminded us: "to do anything less would uncivilized."

---