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Autoresponder: One email field or email/name fields?

by Daniel_Johnson
10 replies
Hey Warriors,

I would love to know if your subscribers have to enter their email and first name or do they only have to enter the email?

I'm not sure what's better, because the first name stands for more personalisation, but I think that there are some guys who don't want to enter their first name because they think that the information will be sold.

What's your experience? Which form converts better and what do you prefer?

Thank you for your answer.

Cheers,
Daniel
#autoresponder #email #email or name #field #fields
  • Profile picture of the author PLRExpress
    I tend to just go with the email address and not the name. That's mainly because I don't bother personalizing my emails anyway.

    I tend to find that I have a slightly higher conversion rate with just an email address and no name - but, I haven't tested it for long enough to be sure that the conversion rate is accurate.

    I tend to just find that, since I don't need their name and I'm sure that people are more comfortable giving away as little information as possible, I don't ask for their name.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
    It would also depend on the niche you are targeting. If I was targeting the IM'ers then I would only ask for email.

    But when I target Offline Marketers I ask for name and email since I am dealing with a little more of a professional field.

    I also ask for both name and email when I am targeting local business owners as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Hi Daniel,

      It's one of those things you can split-test for yourself, if you want to see.

      Not to see how many people opt in (that part's obvious: when you ask only for the email address and not the name, more people will opt in), but to check what income you make from lists built each way over, say, a 6-month period.

      Some marketers claim to believe that it helps to address people by their first names, and makes your autoresponder communication look more "personal".

      Personally, I think that's nonsense.

      Discussions with my own subscribers about this have led me to believe the opposite: that using their first names alienates some (and more than I thought it would!).

      Everybody knows perfectly well that you're using their first names with automated software from their opt-in. It's not as if anyone's actually fooled into imagining that it's "personal correspondence". :p

      People just think it sounds a bit "desperate", kind of "like an insurance salesman" (those were the words I heard repeatedly when I asked how people feel about this).

      "Personalizing" emails is phony, and a mistake, IMO.

      So I'm happy not to ask for their first names, not to alienate anyone, and to build a bigger list, myself.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I only ever ask for their email.

    I don't agree that using their first name is more personal. When I write an email to my closest friends and family I barely ever start it off with something like... "Hi John".

    Think about it. Addressing someone by their first name is actually a lot more formal than not doing so.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      I only ever ask for their email.

      I don't agree that using their first name is more personal. When I write an email to my closest friends and family I barely ever start it off with something like... "Hi John".

      Think about it. Addressing someone by their first name is actually a lot more formal than not doing so.
      The original question wasnt whether you should use the first name in the messages you send out to your list. It was asked if you should collect both name and email or just email.

      But I do agree with you and I also never send out the messages with the persons name in it.

      I feel that my subscribers are smarter than that and I just chose not to do that.

      But I do like to ask for the name on the optin form just for my own reference and makes me feel like its a real person that subscribed to my list and not just an email address. Just makes me feel better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dann Vicker
    It IM, people now associate promo emails using their first name as HYPEY. So why not go with emails only when you'd still get more leads. Asking for names would however be necessary when you're building more highly specialized lists like your affiliate and jv lists
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  • Profile picture of the author marcuslim
    I'd go for only email. Make it as easy as possible for people to sign up. Having to enter first name is just one more hurdle that they have to cross.
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    Marcus Lim
    Silver Bullet Publishing

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  • Profile picture of the author absolutelee
    I need both. Otherwise I can't personalize my emails.
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by absolutelee View Post

      I need both. Otherwise I can't personalize my emails.
      But you can. Personalizing an email does not have to mean putting the persons first name in it. The writing style of your email will have a lot more to do with how personal the message sounds.

      I have received plenty of emails from big corporations in the past that used my first name. I have also received plenty of emails from marketers who have not used my first name but have spoken to me on a really personal level. Which one do you think works best?
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanyu
    I usually decide depending on the target.

    On my blog sites, I usually ask both fname and email
    but for a quick landing page, I just ask an email address.

    On top of that, as @Alexa Smith mentioned above,
    the split-test is a must-do to find out which works better.
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