Q: Dear EmailKarma.net,

We’ve been sending confirmation emails with a thumbnail view of one of our newsletter articles the registrants will receive as part of our email program. What are the ramifications of switching the article thumbnail for a thumbnail of one of the actual offers that we would be sending?

Here are a sample of what we are considering:

Thank you for opting in to receive our email communications.

To complete the subscription process please click the link below to confirm your registration. [LINK]

OPTIONAL TEXT #1

Below is an example of one of the informative articles you will receive as part of your subscription. [ARTICLE IMAGE]

OPTIONAL TEXT #2

Below is an example of one of the relevant offerings you will receive as part of your subscription. [OFFER IMAGE]

The offer could be any of our current promotions.

Thanks so much for your help!
[Name Withheld]

A: Hi,
If your truly considering this my suggestion would be to test it and see if it has any impact on your confirmation rates. Don’t forget to set the proper expectations with members when you are collecting their email address and during the confirmation process.

Before you go ahead with with I would caution you on the following:

Confirmation emails are transactional and treated different then commercial emails under CAN-SPAM – putting the “Offer” in the message changes the focus of the message and how you need to treat it legally.

I believe Confirmation messages are for Confirmation of subscription – not promotion – use a follow up “Thank you” for confirming your subscription message with an offer instead.

Anyone else with opinions? Please share them in the comments.