Lists

We’ve all heard many times that having a mailing list of our customers is extremely important and potentially quite profitable.  It helps in keeping our customers informed of what’s happening as it relates to our business as well as offering them helpful information.  By offering our customers information that they find useful without bombarding them with pushy sales pitches, we will be able to start developing a relationship based on trust.   If our customers trust us, they will continue to allow us to communicate with them.  If they don’t, they will opt out of our list and that is the last thing any of us want.

Forms

So, we have a website and need to decide where to put our sign up form.  I have seen this form in different places but the only place that it should be (the only place that it really works) is what is called “above the fold”.  Above the fold simply means the portion of the website that is seen when the home page opens.  If a customer has to scroll down or across to see the form, chances are they will never see it.  We literally only have seconds to get their attention so it is very important that it be “above the fold”.  Most of the time, the form is in the upper right hand corner of the home page, just below the header.  Upper left would probably work equally as well if that’s a better location for your site.

Something else you may want to try in addition to the above is a pop-up.  I know, we all really hate pop-ups but the fact is they work.  So, if you are not getting the results you would like with the sign up form on the home page alone, try adding a pop-up form.  You can always remove it if you don’t feel it’s working better for you.

Offers

We all need to understand that people are protective of their email address.  They are somewhat leary of giving it out for fear that they will start being spammed with all kinds of junk.  It’s important that you let them know that you will protect their email address as though it were your own and that it will never be sold or given to anyone.  Also, it’s a good idea to reassure them that you dislike spam as much as they do and that you will never do that to them.

Now we need to give people a reason to sign up for our email list.  They are not going to sign up to do you a favor.  They need to know what’s in it for them.  What is it that you are offering?  It could be email updates or newsletters.  Maybe it’s a weekly or monthly drawing for some sort of prize.  If you have a hair salon, you could offer a chance to win free hair cut, if you own a gym maybe it’s a free month of membership, or if you own a restaurant, maybe it’s a free meal.  I keep saying free but it doesn’t necessarily have to be something free, maybe is a discount of some sort.  You need to be the one to decide what you can afford to do.  Your offer just needs to be something that will entice your customers to give you their email address.

Now you are probably thinking, what the heck is she talking about.  There isn’t a sign up form on this website.  Well, let me explain.  All of the things we have talked about are very important and they do work.  We are in the process of developing our free offer and as soon as it is complete, we will add the form to our site.  You will find it in the upper right corner of the site just below the header with our policy to protect email addresses along with our offer.

If you have any questions about what we have discussed or even things we haven’t discussed, please feel free to comment below or if you would prefer, fill out the contact us form and we’ll get back to you.

Photo credit: sindesign