Return On Subscriber – Email Marketing Blog

A few questions to start: How easy is it for a potential email subscriber to sign up for your website?  Is it obvious on your home page? How many hoops do you make them jump through? How much information are you asking for?  Are you going to use that information right away to personalize or segment?

I wanted to use this post to highlight the Opt-In process of Palm, the company behind the exciting new Palm Pre that is launching next month. I went to the site looking for information on this new smartphone. This is a no-nonsense process that I thought was worth highlighting.

Home Page – Calling out the Opt-In Form

I really liked the execution of this call out. “Stay in Touch: Get the Latest on Palm Pre” conveys what is about to transpire, but gives them a specific reason.  For example, if you have “Sign up for our Newsletter” on your site, I would recommend testing something like Palm has done using more of a value-based call-to-action. More than likely, you will see a lift in new signups.

Opt-In Page – Keep it Simple

There can be a tendency to ask for too much information on an opt-in form. The cardinal rule I live by on email opt-in forms – “What information are we actually going to use?” You can always get more information over time through progressive profiling. Your goal here is to make the process as quick as you can with the least amount of effort for the user. Get them in and start the conversation. To frame that conversation, Palm has asked me what model I currently own and what my carrier is. That is relevance ready data that can be user immediately in a welcome email and a drip campaign. Get what you need, and get out.

Thank You Page – Sum it Up, Keep Them Moving

Confirm their subscription, tell them the content to expect from your email program, and get them back to surfing your website. This page could be spruced up a bit visually, but the main elements are solid and well executed. By streamlining the process and keeping the user interactions light, you will be able to capture the data you need and get them back to the scent that led them to your site in the first place.