An article in BtoB's online magazine reports email marketing opt-in practices are quickly becoming quaint, pre-recession artifacts.

CAN-SPAM legislation does allow you to send an email to anyone, whether they've opted-in or not, so long as your message includes an unsubscribe link.
 
But going with the opt-out approach definitely raises the bar on your content requirements.

Your opt-in pals will usually let you slide if your content isn't useful or interesting, but send that stuff to someone who's never heard of you, and you're going to lose a lot of readers who could have turned into customers.
 
I have a client, Chequed.com, that's started exploiting the opt-out strategy to very good effect.

A paper I wrote for them recently generated a 205% increase in the number of downloads, and--more importantly--a 450% increase in the number of those downloads that converted to a conversation with the prospect.
 
Why did this paper work?

1. The topic was timely and relevant.

The paper listed and explained five questions to consider for companies in the market for an automated reference check (ARC) tool.

In my client's market of HR directors and hiring managers, a significant percentage are likely considering implementing an ARC tool.
 
2. The paper shared Chequed's expertise in way that was genuinely valuable.

The paper opens by pointing out a problem familiar to the audience: only 30% of reference checks are completed, making the company vulnerable to too many bad hires.

A brief explanation of how the ARC sidesteps the problem is followed by the five questions to consider, with explanations of each.

The information offered can be used by Chequed's audience to better understand a new tool that can help them do their job better.

3. The subject line was specific and concrete.

"Automated Reference Check - 5 Things to Consider Before Buying" was longer than experts recommend for a subject line, but it got in all the info a busy HR director needed to decide if the email was worth opening: hot topic + practical advice on purchasing = open me! 

Bonus!

In addition to fattening Chequed's pipeline, the paper has put the company's search engine optimization ahead of the competition.

Google "automated reference checking," and you get the paper in the top 5 hits. These results come after only two months of search engine optimization for Chequed, versus their competitors, who have been honing their SEO for 2 years.