Should I collect names when collecting emails?

hey james, no you will definatly want to collect names for any promotion you do as this will prove invalueable information for personalising your auotresponder emails which in turn will increase your response rate and your customer trust with you...
hope this helps minted1

The test results that I've read
always say that when you just
ask for an email address you
will get more optins.

I believe in the IM niche it
doesn't matter because we
all know you want the first
name to personalize things.

run an indexA.htm and a indexB.htm
and test your market and see if
it makes a difference.

Hi James, yes you should still collect names because you want that one to one relationship with your prospects which is important in building your online presences.

All the Best, Kurnow

Thanks for all the feedback so far

Here's my take on it.

If you're in a niche then I think it is a good idea because people ain't wise to all this auto reponder stuff but if you're in the IM niche then I think people can see it a mile of that your auto responder is just filling the blanks.

As you just you said Blase, tests have shown you get a higher optin rate when you're not asking for the name.

I would say don't worry about the names. Get the e-mail. Nobody is dumb enough in today's world to think that you are personally e-mailing them.

"Hey, Joe Billy, here's something for you."

That doesn't really even work anymore. And, frankly, it will cut back (even though it is very little information) on your opt-ins.

Remember, every more thing you ask for... the less info you will get.

Stay away.

Get first name

Last name

address

phone #

Mothers maiden name

ss#

Just kidding of course .

Get their first name .If people are not opting in ... it is not because you are asking for something as simple as a first name . Your bait is lacking something somewhere

I don't read an email saying "hello someone@domain.com",
but if it says "Hello John Smith" there is a chance that I read it

It's up to you. There are NO rules. If you want names, ask for them. There may or may not be advantages to that later down the line. The catch is you will NOT know that until it is too late. If you ask for names it WILL NOT kill your response rate IF you're offering a SUPERB opt-in offer. The problem with most people is they offer basic stuff most other people give away too. If it's not the IM niche, this probably won't matter i.e. you can offer them free air and they would probably want some---many non-IMers (if not most) are not as picky as we are so they will give you whatever you ask to get past your form because they think that form is a barrier.

Listen let me tell you a secret that is not a secret unless you don't really test things in the real world... Over the past 3 years, locally (where I live), I have tested well over 100 non-IMers (not a huge cross section but very revealing for me personally) while sitting right next to them to see how they would react to LOOOONG forms that I would sooner puke on myself rather than fill out..

Guess what? They sit there LOYALLY and TAKE THEIR TIME to MAKE SURE they FILL THE ENTIRE FORM, many will even CROSS CHECK over at least once to MAKE CERTAIN they have not MESSED ANYTHING UP... to them it's like filling in a password to access something the site is offering NO MATTER how basic that offer is. To them it's being offered so they'll take it--what have they to lose? Nothing, so they take it.

I only say all this because..

1. I HATE to hear these so called guru tests that skew up what people really should be focusing their energies on.

2. You talked about it being a NON-IM niche, that means FORGET those silly rules they force on you because they have nothing else important to tell you.

You can believe all of this or not, but I have seen so many bogus test results or at worst bogus pieces of advice that lead people like you astray and I'm only interested in saving you time so you stop sweating the small stuff and focus on what really matters.

It doesn't matter whether you ask for names or not. It makes no difference IF...

1. Your offer is really a show stopper.. If it's IM they will give you their first born to get in for free... so asking for names makes it an easy choice for them.

2. It's non-IM and they are not so picky then please for pete's sake why are you stressing up over this?

By the way if you're interested in my 2 cents, if I'm interested in using personalization later down the line, I would ask for names. If I don't care to follow up with PERSONALIZATION in that niche, I would NOT ask for names.

As for those who enter silly names in your opt-in form, do you really think NOT giving them that option makes it any better for you that they are on your list? Really, if they think your offer is worthless enough to enter silly names like "lol" or "shut up" trust me they will NEVER have bought a single thing from you to start with, so what difference does that make to you... THEY get to read that stuff, not you, so why should you care?

That's my 2 cents, well, a little more than 2 cents worth of it, but hope it gives you the answers you were seeking.

Many cheers and best of luck,

Kunle Olomofe

Just including a first name in an e-mail isn't really personalisation anyway.

To do any meaningful form of personalisation, you need enough insight into the prospect that you're dealing with their needs. Think of all the different things that influence whether we buy or not: age, gender, location, interests, previous products they've purchased from you.

I'll offer a simple example. I'm in the UK, so every time I get an e-mail saying something like 'Happy Thanksgiving' it immediately makes me less likely to purchase whatever is being sold - it shows a lack of world marketing sensitivity.

So, my suggestion would be to not collect the first time on cold optins and to go for just the e-mail address for maximum conversions. However, where it is longer term relationship being fostered, for instance a list following up customers, then capturing the first name is useful for further relationship building.

Names are a must! Building a list is all about relationships, and what better way to build a relationship than by getting their name? But, make sure you take a look at your autoresponder and edit the names if possible, in case they typed in Davit instead of David, and now every email you send has the wrong name, it doesnt look good!

Nope. I have tested this. Sending email with their first name and without first name. I got similar Open rate and CTR. Most of the gurus were going this way as well. Btw you still have to test em for your niche. Just Remember that results is not typical

What I've done is only collect emails for the free ebooks, then collect more information as they start purchasing products. I believe the more info you ask for upfront the less likely they might be to opt in. To your freedom and success, Joel

The rule of thumb is that the more information you ask for the less
optins you'll get. So just asking for emails alone should get your more
optins. You can always ask for the names later as they become
your customers.

You have to also consider your market. If you are selling a "shame"
product where customers may not feel comfortable to give their
names up front then just ask for the email address. In the health
marketer, for example, certain disease may leave prospects iffy
about giving you their details.

-Ray Edwards

That's a good point Ray. You have to look at it from the perspective of the potential buyer as well as the buyer. I typically put my name in but it is usually for IM stuff. CPA offers come to mind with the email only, so I would agree being personal is best if it is your list.

Me personally, I collect first name and email only when getting opt ins for the first time. They're being loaded into your autoresponder and people like to be addressed by their name rather than "friend". Addressing your subscribers as just "friend" will have them unsubscribing by the droves because many one them may not even remember signing up for your list.

When they are addressed by their first names, it throws up a flag that says "hey, this is someone whom I've chosen to associate with or knows me".

That's just my personal preference initially. You can always gather more detailed information on your subscribers as they become comfortable with you and you build up credibility with them.