Email acquisition is a hot topic right now at Listrak. With Twitter’s release of the lead generation card and Listrak’s recent whitepaper on the importance of acquisition, I felt it relevant to talk about implementing a proper email subscription point on your website.
Beyond a modal popup solution, the subscription point should be a mini form in the header or footer of your site. By positioning it there, you’re ensuring that the mini form will be on all pages of your website. The most common placement is in the footer, but including it in both the header and footer certainly isn’t a bad idea. The bottom line is you want the mini form to be easily noticed. Don’t ask for lots of information. Keep the form short and sweet. Ask for email address only. You can work on acquiring more info later via a welcome message that points to your preference center.
Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Here’s a great example of what a subscription point should be. This example was located in the footer. It’s a mini form that only asks for your email address and it was very visible and easy to find. Well done.
This example has the subscription point located in the header. In this case it’s a text link that upon click displays a pop up mini form. The problem here is it’s hard to find. I really had to scan the page before I saw it. While this example does display a mini form, they would be better served having the mini form directly on the page.
In this example the subscription point was located in the footer. This one had several things going against it. It’s a text link that wasn’t easy to locate. This link directs you to another page that explains the benefits of receiving their email. You then have to click on yet another link that takes you to the account login page. So basically you need to create an account in order to receive their emails. Like it or not, people tend to be impatient, which is why a quick and easy solution is vital. Also, asking the visitor to create an account feels like a commitment. If it feels like a commitment, you’re surely going to scare some potential subscribers away.
Finally, let’s take a look at an example that has all the right things going for it. This is a great example for retailers to follow. There are three subscription points in this example, a link in the header, a modal pop up, and a mini form in the footer.
This could be a game changer because users do not need to fill out any lengthy forms. Their information (Name, email, and username) is already pulled into the card. They literally just have to hit “Submit” on the Card’s call-to-action. Currently, this is only available as a feature in Promoted Tweets — a paid feature of Twitter Ads.
As email marketers, we’re always looking for new ways to boost our acquisition. The launch of this new Twitter feature is exceptionally timely as Listrak recently published a whitepaper focused solely on the importance of acquisition.
This is a great tool to get more bang for your buck from your social media spend. With Twitter Ads, you pay for the Cost Per Engagement on retweets, replies to, clicks, or favorites your Promoted Tweet — and clicks count both on the URL in the tweet and anywhere in the tweet itself, so this is something you definitely want to test.
It’s important to treat this acquisition source as you would any others (website signup, modal/lightbox signup, etc.) and send new subscribers a welcome email/series.
There are many reasons that a welcome series is highly recommended. To begin, it validates the email address, which protects your sender reputation. It also reminds subscribers about their opt-in and confirms what they may expect as a result of signing up. In addition, welcome emails may be used to request more profile information while reinforcing your brand. And finally, a welcome series immediately engages new subscribers and keeps them engaged beginning at the moment they have shown interest in your brand.
Will you be testing the new Twitter Lead Generation cards? Would love to know your thoughts!
Listrak,along with Lyons Consulting Group, will be presenting the webinar, “Early planning is key to holiday online success,” to help online retailers get a winning head start this holiday season. Register now.
When it comes to email subscriber lists, bigger is not necessarily better. While it may seem logical to think that the more addresses you have to email to, the better your results will be, that’s simply not the way it works.
One of the keys to successful email marketing is having a list of engaged subscribers who are actually interested in your brand, want to receive and open your emails and, ultimately, purchase your products. Listrak has just released a whitepaper, “eCommerce Customer Acquisition: Tips for Acquiring Subscribers Who Will Become Loyal Customers,” that not only outlines recommended tactics for acquiring ideal subscribers, but also best practices for implementing them.
You can download it here. Read it and let me know what you think!
This Thursday Listrak, along with Demac Media, Canada Post and Peer 1 Hosting, will present “Preparation is Everything - Best Practices, Tips and Tricks” in Toronto. During this Magento eCommerce Forum, Demac Media CEO Matthew Bertulli will highlight case studies from some of Canada’s top eCommerce merchants.
Congratulations to client Marvin Toller of Galls.com on being selected to speak at IRCE 2013 with Dianne Binford of Insight Outcomes. What an honor! Looking forward to attending the session.
At its annual Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, Google makes announcements that will expand Google Wallet far beyond its tap-and-go NFC roots. Read this article by Marguerite Reardon on CNET News.
eCommerce email marketing trends, tips, insights and best practices from the experts at Listrak.
