There is a lot of competition in catching the attention of the subscriber in the email world. In order to distinguish from the rest of the clutter, communication must be made easier for the receiver. People always get attracted to things which are easy and go away from things which are difficult to do. Because of this hallmark of services and products like Google AdWords, Turbo Tax, etc., they have gained popularity all over the world.
Like they say it is easy to say but difficult to do, so is the case with making each and every thing easy for the customers and subscribers. Sometimes it might happen that the things which are easy for a group of customers might not be easy for the rest. This case is true especially with new customers.
The very first step in making things easier is to have a simple email address, link or opt-in form field in a promotional email or newsletter. Also this information must be included on every page of the website. There should be provision of a web version of the emails which are in HTML. It helps to include a send-to-friend link or functionality in every message. The subscribers must be able to take actions in spite of the images being blocked. Every submit button should be labeled with the action to be taken like ‘buy now’, ‘Subscribe here’, etc.
If any of these functionalities are missing, then Email Management and Accessing Content should be considered for simplification.
Email Management
Subscription must be made easier by working on email ids, links and sign-up form and post this information on every page. Every email should have the subscribe link in order to tempt the readers, especially those who have received the message from a friend. In order to subscribe, the steps to be taken should be minimum. According to a survey, marketers who had cut down the subscription steps from 9 to 3 saw an increase of 300% in the subscription rate. More personal information need to be collected from the subscriber in order to send more relevant emails. It also helps in maintaining the email list effectively. But email marketers should know where to draw the line as too much information can turn off the subscriber, especially those who haven’t subscribed yet but intend to do so. A separate page can hold the opt-in form to collect relevant information. The critical fields on the form should be marked with a star and the other extraneous field should be left on the subscriber’s choice to fill. The setting and updating of the customer’s preferences about the content must be made easier. Password can be allowed along with the inclusion of link for the retrieval of password, in case it has been forgotten. These links should stand out on the web page and in the email. The email should have software which provides ‘Mail-to-friend’ option and it should be easier than the forward function.
The email should stand out amongst the rest of the emails. The sender should be easily recognizable and the subject line should be catchy. Emails should have provisions to take action in an easy way. They should be text based as well as HTML based. Include a link of the web version of the email, so that more vivid information can be seen. Obviously, the emails should be printer friendly; if not a printer friendly version of the email should be provided.
It is very important to check the working of each and every link, including the unsubscribing link. Clicking on the link, it should take the reader directly to the web page, image or file. Subscribers find it very tedious to hunt for the desired content. Another important point which most of the marketers forget is to make the unsubscribe option easy. This strengthens the trust of the subscribers. More can be gained out of the unsubscribing process by including various options such as address change or changing the frequency of emails.
When all these points will be pondered upon, you will be certainly surprised with the subscription turn out.
To optimize email opt-in pages is amongst the most important jobs to do and is also amongst the most forgotten job. The way the opt-in forms and pages are presented determines the quality of list, rate of growth, and meets the subscriber’s expectations which in turn help in email performance. The very first step towards optimization is to get the people to fill in the opt-in page. Immediately following it is designing the layout of the opt-in page and form.
Making one come to the website is another issue. But once they get to the website, they should be allured into signing-up by making them go to the opt-in page. Firstly, the path to the sign up page must be made easier and clear. Links to sign up page or form must be included on the home page and even on other pages too. Promotional boxes should appear in the areas of side bars. The visitor shouldn’t search whether the website offers email newsletters or not. The links to the navigation area should send out clear message. Terms and names which aren’t obvious shouldn’t be used. Words such as Email Newsletter, Newsletter or eNewsletter are very appropriate.
If there is sufficient space, promote the latest newsletter on your home page by pasting its link. The website should have a ‘Knowledge and Resource Center’ area where extract of articles and archived issues can be placed. This area can then be used to promote sign-ups to the company’s newsletter. It is good to include the subscribe link in the back issues.
Since the purpose of the opt-in page is to make as many readers into subscribers, the design, copy and layout of the opt-in page should be similar to the landing page. The page should be designed with form, copy and images which should reflect confidence, value and trust. Links to samples must be included which can give an idea about the quality of the email to be received upon sign-up. Email’s small screenshot display is optional, but beneficial too. Testimonials from readers to the email publications can be included in pull quote format. The content of the testimonials can be either text or images.
In today’s world, everything comes for a price. So when a subscriber is giving his valuable email address, he is certainly looking for something in exchange. This is why images and copy should be included on the opt-in page which conveys the basic value of emails to be sent. Subscribers can be given ‘email only special deals’. Any kind of regular incentive goes a long way. Whether it is ‘$2 off the next purchase’ or ‘free white paper’, even discounts can increase conversion.
Extra precaution must be taken by writing short email policy near the submit button. A link to the company’s detailed privacy policy must be included at the end. The frequency, format and content of emails should be clarified and the sign-up process must be confirmed via a welcome email.
Certain details about the opt-in page should also be considered. A right balance needs to be maintained of the information that is collected through the opt-in form or page. Neither too much information must be asked; nor must too little information be asked. The future must be planned from the start. Obviously asking only the email address is very quick; information required for email delivery will be missed. Information which is not required for email delivery and segmentation or personalization should be avoided. If there are too many fields, the not so important ones must be marked as optional. To check syntax errors, a script should be included for that purpose. Two boxes should be present for entering email address twice. This reduces the risk of typing invalid email address. The minimum form fields to be included in the form are first name, last name, email address, and format preference. Optional form field can be based on secondary email address, frequency, preferences and demographics.
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