Don’t make this common mistake with your newsletter…

I turned this setting “ON” in my ESP and wound up with thousands of subscribers I couldn’t actually email.

They were in newsletter list purgatory — aka, double opt-in jail.

Worse, I had no way for me to get them out despite them signing up for my newsletter.

So what was the setting that had them stuck?

The dreaded “Double Opt-In” setting.

Wait — WTF is “Double Opt-In?”

Double opt-in forces a new subscriber to “confirm” their subscription to your newsletter before they can receive other emails from you.

You’ve 100% received one of these annoying emails from a newsletter you just subscribed to. They look like this:

Some countries (like Germany) have mandated double opt-in when collecting email addresses.

Many others recommend it as a best practice.

And yes, while it has the potential to protect your email list from a spam bot attack, it’s most likely hurting you rather than helping you.

Here’s why.

How Double Opt-In Is Killing Your Newsletter

Double opt-in gives you ONE CHANCE to get your new subscriber’s attention. If your email lands in their spam/junk folder, you’re sh*t out of luck.

Same thing if it lands in their Promotions tab or gets buried in their inbox. Experts believe you’ll lose 20–40% of potential newsletter subscribers to double opt-in purgatory.

And look, I get it. I don’t want spammy bot accounts subscribing to my newsletter.

Especially if I’m using paid growth to drive new subscribers.

After all, the whole point of double opt-in is to ensure real humans (not bots) are intentionally joining your newsletter.

Having heaps of “fake” accounts on your email list can negatively impact your open rate, click rate, and even worse, your sender reputation.

But turning the double opt-in setting to “ON” in your ESP’s is the wrong solution.

So instead, take back control and create your own double opt-in.

How To Build Your Own Double Opt-In

There are 3 steps to building your own double opt-in.

1. Tagging (or segmenting) new subscribers
2. Creating a custom Welcome email for each tag
3. Building a basic ‘double opt-in’ automation

But before I dive in…

Creating your own double opt-in is extra important when using any of the following growth strategies:

→ Paid growth via social ads (Meta, Twitter, Refind, etc)
→ Free or paid growth via recommendation networks (SparkLoop, Kit Creator Network, beehiiv recommendations, Refind)

Why?

Because you DO NOT PAY for subscribers who unsubscribe or aren’t engaged.

But here’s the catch: there’s a limited time window to dub them as ‘unengaged’ — and if you don’t, you could pay for subscribers who never open an email from you.

So here’s how you do it.

1: Tag or segment subscribers

Set up a tag or segment in your ESP (email service provider) for each group of subscribers depending on where they came from.

For example, if you’re getting new subscribers via Facebook ads, tag them accordingly.

I have tags for subscribers via Kit Creator Network recommendation. When they subscribe, they’re tagged with the ‘Creator Network’ tag and enter a basic automation.

(I’ve created similar automations for Refind subscribers, SparkLoop subscribers, etc.)

Then we write the custom Welcome email.

2: Write a Welcome Email for each tag or segment

These Welcome emails can be mostly the same with some details that need to be called out.

For example, I call out how/why they’re getting this Welcome email.

In the example below, Creator Network subscribers signed up via a newsletter recommendation widget. But… they might have forgotten or not even realized it.

So to weed out anyone who isn’t my target subscriber, I send them this custom Welcome email:

And it’s been working to get rid of subscribers NOT interested in my content. Immediately. And automagically. I love it.

3: Unengaged Subscriber Removal

So, new subscribers have the opportunity to opt out of my emails with my customized Welcome email.

But what about those who never open the Welcome email?

Well, this is why I like being in control of my own double opt-in: I can add them to a re-engagement email sequence (via Kit’s powerful automation feature) which will eventually unsubscribe them from my list if they don’t engage.

I could NOT do this if I was using Kit’s built-in double opt-in setting.

Then I determine how long it takes before they’re unsubscribed, since it depends on whether…

1. they subscribed organically (through my site or lead magnets)
2. or via a Creator Network recommendation
3. or with paid growth efforts

“Organic” subscribers will get a longer re-engagement sequence before being unsubscribed. My rule of thumb here is 30 days of no engagement before unsubscribing.

But I’m much more ruthless with Creator Network and paid growth subscribers.

I want to know right away if they’re interested in my newsletter content or not. These subscribers will be automatically unsubscribed within 1–2 weeks of not engaging.

And once they’re unsubscribed, I’ve saved time and money because my custom double opt-in has done it’s job.

Win-win.

Bonus 👀

Use Kit to make this whole process customized and simple.

Trust me. I’ve tried all the major ESPs.

But Kit offers the most user-friendly and customizable features for creators like us. I’ve been using Kit for over 3 years and recommend it to everyone — and not just because I’m an affiliate. I sincerely love their team, product, and vibe.

Get a FREE Kit plan that includes your first 10,000 subscribers →

More stuff from me.

→ Check out my brand new podcast about newsletters with Chenell from Growth In Reverse👇

→ FREE 5-day email course to help you get your first 1,000 newsletter subscribers
→ Connect with me: Twitter || LinkedIn || Threads || Bluesky