4 Quick Tips that Test the Success of your Opt-in Process

1. Can your web visitors find your ‘subscribe to our mailing list’ offer or is that invitation unused because it’s unseen?

You know you have web traffic, customers buy items, prospects ask questions and the contact page is active, however these visitors are not signing up for your newsletter. Why is that? Examine your web traffic with a web analytic program for answers.

Web analytics, (try) such as Google Analytics, will not only show you the different entry points visitors use to land on your website pages but will show you the pages most visited. For example, here at Dundee Internet our services and tutorial pages are our most popular ones. Our visitors go directly to these pages from backlinks, search engines and referrals; most of the time they never visit our homepage.

What you need to consider then, is your invitation to subscribe-to your list on every page on your website or at least the most popular landing pages?

Where is this invitation located? On the top of the pages or all the way at the bottom of the pages where a visitor may never see?

2. Clarity and Consent equals Confidence in you (trust)

Have you ever filled out a request to download a whitepaper and within the signup process there is a check box that is pre-checked for you, to receive emails solicitations from them. You have to uncheck the box or you’re on their mailing list. Wouldn’t you rather have the option of checking the box yourself if you’re interested in joining their mailing list? And if you agree you should have that option, you also will agree that active consent, giving permission, has a trust factor that the pre-check box does not?

In the world of email best practices, a pre-checked box is giving permission.
Be up front and ask the customer to join your list with an action that they control,: this is the best course of action. When they check that box and confirm their email address they become a willing opt-in, confirmed subscriber.

3. Do you appear to be trustworthy, relevant, and personal?

Every campaign you send has a goal: increased website traffic, more referrals to more sales. However, most likely everyone is not interested in everything you send. Wouldn’t it be great for both parties to have a measure of control, which would benefit both the sender and subscriber?
Control the email environment with a subscriber preference page. As the email marketer, it stands to reason the more you know about your subscriber the more control you have: you control the content, while the ultimate relevancy of that email is controlled by the subscriber (read or trash). Using a preference page is a win-win situation.

After someone confirms to your list, offer a preference page, as a prelude to your mailings. The preference page or member profile form in Lyris ListManager, could allow list members to see and edit what information you are using using for them: the email address, lists subscribed to, any additional demographic information, the type of format they prefer to the frequency of email sent to them. You’re then in the position to send emails that are trustworthy, relevant, and personal.

4. Do you follow-up with a hardy Welcome?

After someone subscribes to your email newsletter or announcement list acknowledge their new membership with a timely, well thought out welcome letter; to thank your new member for joining, set their future expectations by explaining the purpose of your email list and most importantly – to start a subscriber relationship with them.

In summary remember to keep your opt-in procedure easy to do, simple to follow. Stick to best practices. Keep the preference page short and simple, with an open invitation for your subscribers to update it when needed, and watch your email subscriber list grow.