Sign-up Form, an Ideal Partner for Email Marketing
I teach Email marketing online. My philosophy behind teaching is ‘the more you teach, the more you learn!’. I also believe in engaging my students throughout the session by asking questions. Sometimes a question can lead to really interesting discussions. One such instance reproduced below for your reading pleasure.
Me – What is one thing common to all websites?
Student 1 – The ‘www.’ prefix before the name of the website.
Me – Yes, what’s another common thing to all websites?
S2 – Images, design, template and colors.
Me-Ok, what else?
S3 – You are the teacher, you tell us. (Naughty smile)
Me – (Chuckling) Ok, I’ll give you guys a hint. When you go on a new website, what generally pops up?
S1, S2, and S3 – (In unison) A form asking our email id.
Me – (Relieved) Yes, it’s called a sign-up form. Today’s session is all about that.
A sign-up form is usually a box that pops up on a website asking for few details – our name and email ID mostly. Technically speaking, it’s an embedded or a hosted web form. You can place it on anything online – website, blog, FB page or Twitter page. The sign-up form is also called an opt-in form.
- What does an opt-in form do?
An opt-in form by definition is a form that allows a customer to opt-in for something, usually an email or a newsletter. It is used mainly to build a permission-based email marketing list.
Need for Permission-Based Email Marketing Lists
We all know email marketing is an effective tool to reach out to potential buyers. It establishes a direct and a one to one connection. In a permission-based email marketing list, you are reaching out to customers who have expressed interest in your brand. They have consented to know updates from you. The chances that such interested and an informed customer will buy more from you are high. Here’s where a sign-up form becomes crucial.
This sounds like a gold mine waiting to be discovered. It is, in so many ways.
Something so valuable needs to be understood in detail, so you know exactly how to use it. Let’s look at the basic questions around sign-up forms.
- How to get a Sign-up Form?
You get your email sign-up form from your Email Services Provider (ESP). It will typically come in the form of a link. Once you get the link, you can either host in on your website/social media page/blog or embed a link. Whenever a user fills up the form, the details are automatically added to your email list. Every time you send out an email, all the people on the list will get it.
- Where to Put a Sign-up Form?
You can practically put a sign-up form anywhere on your website or blog. However, there are places where it gains the maximum attention. You don’t want to miss out on the attention part.
One important thing is you can place a sign-up form in multiple locations. You don’t have to restrict yourself when looking for interested customers.
You can put a sign-up form on all the major pages on your website (about us, contact page, services page and so on). You can put it as part of your signature, social media pages, at the end of each of your blog posts, the header and footer of your website and so on. Honestly, you can get as creative as possible.
- Do’s and Dont’s of a Sign-up Form
Sign-up forms are the proverbial golden goose when it comes to building email marketing lists. If done well, they will aid your business, otherwise, they will raid your business. Lol!
Do’s
1. Keep the sign-up form simple. Your customers like simple.
2. Ask for the name and email ID. This is all you need to start engaging with your customers.
Dont’s
- Avoid asking for details that are not needed for an initial contact, like gender, address, interests etc. This is not the time for a lead generation.
A sign-up form done well leads to generating quality email lists. Marketing efforts become more focused on a quality email list. Let’s see, how it all adds up.
- Growing Email Lists
A growing email list represents a growing business. It means that more and more people are engaging with your sign up forms. A growing email list gives you access to fresh and interested customers. They may not become your immediate customers, but a continued relationship through email marketing can convert them. They might even become loyal customers.
- Relationship Building
Email list built through sign-up forms enable the start of a long-term relationship with the potential customer. Sending out mass emails to a bought list of email ID’s is really not the most appropriate way to acquire customers. Interested customers who come via sign-up forms become a targeted segment for you. Marketing efforts on targeted customers bear better results.
- Email List is a Guaranteed Marketing Effort
Even in this day and age of social media, email is effective. On a social media page, you can collect all the fans you want, but there is really no way to track and engage with them one on one. This is the advantage of an email over all the sassy new age social media sites.
You can always direct the fans, followers from your social media pages to a sign-up form. The fans then add up to your email list.
A sign-up form is the most ideal partner for with email list building and consequent email marketing. This marriage is here to stay. Make the most of it.