E-Commerce Link : Sign Up for Value

How to leverage your site to grow your list

October 2008 By Regina Brady

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Marketers who want to exploit the full potential of e-mail should develop plans to consistently grow their permission-based e-mail lists of customers and prospects. This allows them to build loyalty and promote cross-sell and upsell opportunities. A housefile represents names the marketer "owns" and has permission to use. While marketers use many tactics to grow their lists, those individuals who enroll in programs on a marketer's site should be the cornerstone of any program. In most cases, these individuals have taken an action to positively sign up. They should be one of the best-performing sources.

It is important to have a plan to encourage customers and site visitors to sign up for e-mail promotions and newsletters. Here are some ideas to give your e-mail program a boost.

Leverage the Homepage
It is likely that half of your Web site traffic comes to the homepage. This is valuable real estate and a great place to promote sign-up. Make sure your e-mail program is visible and "above the fold" on the homepage. If visitors have to scroll down to find your e-mail program, they will be less likely to sign up.

And remember to market your program! Space on the homepage is at a premium, but it's a good idea to have a short benefits statement to explain the value of your program:

• The automotive magazine Web site CARandDRIVER.com includes its sign-up box in the site header above content. The headline is: "Sign up for our free newsletter," followed by "Stay up to date with the latest product news, auto show reports, and road tests." This forward-thinking site also promotes its mobile text alerts in the same area.

Promote Sign-up on Interior Pages
Not everyone who comes to your site enters through your homepage. So, it's important to promote your e-mail program on other pages of your site. Make your e-mail program part of the site navigation template. Many sites employ this technique:

• Chadwick's, the women's apparel marketer, uses two ways to capture e-mail information. It uses persistent navigation, and in the site header there are links to "E-mail & Catalog Request" and "Your Special Offers." While each link has a special purpose, both present the option to sign up for e-mails. This innovative marketer has also set the special offers area to expand. The message box is set to open for a short period of time, and it provides benefits-oriented copy to convince the site visitor to register at the site and receive e-mails.
• Wine Enthusiast, purveyor of wine accessories, employs a banner ad that is at the bottom of every page on its site to promote its e-mail program. It offers a premium for signing up and provides a link to a sample and to the privacy policy, along with a box where people can enter their e-mail addresses.

Promote on Landing Pages
Marketers who run pay-per-click campaigns, ad banners or e-mail prospecting campaigns often create special landing pages to coincide with the offer. You can leverage your marketing investment by also including an e-mail sign-up offer on these pages.

Include a Search Dictionary on the Site
I've visited many sites where I found it difficult to find their e-mail programs. The first place I turn to is the site search box that is usually prominently featured. I'll enter "e-mail," "e-mail newsletter" or "e-mail promotions." Nine times out of 10, I will get a message that says: "Your search for e-mail did not match any of the products we carry. Please try browsing our store to find what you want."

It's easy to add these and other terms to your site search dictionary.

Ask During Checkout
When someone is transacting on a site, this is the perfect opportunity to capture an e-mail address, along with permission. The shopper is likely to want an order confirmation and shipping notifications via e-mail and will willingly volunteer his or her e-mail address. Some marketers have found that between 30 percent and 40 percent of all e-mail addresses are collected during the checkout process.

To ensure the success of capturing the e-mail address, be sure to include a notice either at the top of the checkout area or at the point that the individual is entering his or her e-mail address that explains he or she will receive special offers and discounts.

Optimize the Site for the E-mail Program
Take advantage of the power of search engines to grow your list. While most marketers have not done this, it's another tactic that is easy to do and should pay dividends.

Consumer Reports does a good job of this. I searched "e-mail + Consumer Reports" on Google, which resulted in a relevant link that brought me to a page with all of its e-mail newsletter programs, a brief description of each and an easy way to opt in. What's more, it had optimized the page for search engines. The page title was "ConsumerReports.org—E-mail newsletters." The page source description was: "Register to receive e-mail notices when new information becomes available online," which is exactly what Google displayed. And, the company used the following keywords in the source code for the page: monthly updates, monthly notices, e-mail notices, email notices, opt-in, new issue, next issue.

There are many other ways to grow your list of e-mail addresses, including the use of offline channels to gain permission. Your Web site is the online personification of your company, and marketers should maximize the chance to use best practices in permission to expand their e-mail lists. To quote a famous line from "Casablanca," Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) says to Captain Renault (Claude Rains) "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." And, may this also be true for your e-mail programs!

Regina Brady is president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions, a direct and e-mail marketing consultancy. She can be reached at (203) 838-8138 or reginabrady@att.net.