Advanced > SmartSerialMail Opt-In Form > Overview: Opt-In Methods

In this section you'll get an overview about the most commonly used Opt-In methods and some of their legal issues for several countries.

Single Opt-In / Unconfirmed Opt In

Here the data submitted by the Opt-In form of a potentiell subscriber is directly and without confirmation send to your SmartSerialMail inbox.

SmartSerialMail collects these subscriptions and transmits the included data automatically into the configured recipients list.

This Opt-In method is not allowed in some countries (e.g. Germany), because of the possible misuse for spam or unallowed advertising, since in this case a third person could register the e-mail address

and the true owner will be subscribed to e-mail service (e.g. newsletter) without his personal agreement.

Confirmed Opt-In

This is similar to the Single Opt-In / Unconfirmed Opt-In method with the difference that after the direct automatic entry of the subscriber an additional notification e-mail is send to the entered e-mail address.

It informs the owner of the e-mail inbox about the fact that he was entered for a e-mail service (e.g. newsletter) and contains an Opt-Out or Cancellation link, through which he could sign out it's e-mail address.

If he don't reacts to this mail and clicks on the link he will automatically receive e-mails through the subscription for which he was entered. This Opt-In is also not permitted in some countries like Germany because of the

possible misuse for spam or unallowed advertising, but in countries like the USA this is a widely used and valid Opt-In method.

Double Opt-In

The Double-Opt-In method is two-step process. After the filled out Opt-In form is submitted by a potentiell subscriber, a confirmation mail is been send containing a link through which the owner of the submitted e-mail

address must declare his agreement to the subscription. When he clicks the link he lands on a confirmation website and an e-mail with the data from the form is transmitted to the SmartSerialMail inbox.

SmartSerialMail collects these subscriptions and enters the included data automatically in the set recipients list. This method has the advantage that the user who submitted the Opt-In form is verified as the true owner of

the e-mail address. Im some countries like Germany this is the only valid method through which subscribers can subscribe to your e-mail service (e.g. newsletter).

Additionally you should also send the IP-address of the one who submitted the Opt-In data in the confirmation request mail. This is already automatically done by the SmartSerialMail Opt-In form.

If you choose to use your own template for the confirmation mail you can add the IP-address by adding the corresponding placeholder provided by the SmartSerialMail Opt-In form script (see Opt-In Templates for more information on this topic).