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Removing name from email optin form - thoughts?

by John Romaine
46 replies
I recall some time ago Alexa mentioned higher optin rates when removing the name field from the optin form.

Can anyone confirm this, or at least share your findings/thoughts?

Im only pulling about 2% optins on one of my sites, and Id like to test this. (Which of course I will, but I still wanted to ask here)

Cheers!
#email #form #optin #removing #thoughts
  • Profile picture of the author travelerjim
    I am not sure if 2% on your site is that bad...... Love to hear other thoughts.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

      I recall some time ago Alexa mentioned higher optin rates when removing the name field from the optin form.
      Yes ... in other discussions here, on this point, I've seen other people giving figures around 12%/15% too. I don't remember seeing figures less than 10% or more than 20% given, for the rate variation with/without a name field in the box.

      Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

      Im only pulling about 2% optins on one of my sites, and Id like to test this.
      My feeling is that it isn't going to be relevant. Even if a few more opt in, a page with 2% opt-ins has far bigger problems than the number of fields in the opt-in box, surely? I'm not criticising you at all for asking, Johnny - and obviously it's a perfectly legitimate and reasonable and interesting thing to discuss, but I'm struggling to see how it's going to be significantly relevant to a page with a 2% opt-in? Even if you changed the opt-in box and found you were suddenly opting in a whole 50% more people than you are now (i.e. 3% instead of 2%), you'd still have the problem, surely? You'd be losing 97% of people instead of 98% of people - and those are the figures to compare, aren't they? But they're almost the same. These opt-in rates are too small to mean anything much, except that something's seriously wrong, with the traffic source and/or whatever else is causing the problem? :confused:

      Originally Posted by travelerjim View Post

      I am not sure if 2% on your site is that bad...... Love to hear other thoughts.
      I don't understand this comment at all, sorry. We're talking about opt-in rates, here, aren't we, not sales rates for a product?

      2% for an opt-in rate is "Disaster City, Arizona", no?

      Or have I completely misunderstood you, Johnny?
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      By removing the name field and only requesting the
      e-mail address on a web form, I've seen a boost of
      around 10-15% on visitor-to-subscriber opt-in rates.

      Test it for yourself to see if removing the name field
      works better for you.

      In any case, I receive the fuller details of the subscriber
      if they make a purchase and move onto the buyer list.

      Dedicated to mutual success,

      Shaun
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    • Profile picture of the author rmoore
      2% Opt-in is Fine...if it is a form in the sidebar of a blog.

      ...but not good if it is a squeeze page.

      I'd recommend just going for the email either way. You really don't need the name...and you should improve conversions at least a bit by removing the name field.

      -Rusty
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      • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
        Hey guys,
        Thanks everyone for responding. Ill answer below...

        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Yes ... in other discussions here, on this point, I've seen other people giving figures around 12%/15% too. I don't remember seeing figures less than 10% or more than 20% given, for the rate variation with/without a name field in the box.
        Interesting, thank you.

        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        My feeling is that it isn't going to be relevant. Even if a few more opt in, a page with 2% opt-ins has far bigger problems than the number of fields in the opt-in box, surely? I'm not criticising you at all for asking, Johnny - and obviously it's a perfectly legitimate and reasonable and interesting thing to discuss, but I'm struggling to see how it's going to be significantly relevant to a page with a 2% opt-in? Even if you changed the opt-in box and found you were suddenly opting in a whole 50% more people than you are now (i.e. 3% instead of 2%), you'd still have the problem, surely? You'd be losing 97% of people instead of 98% of people - and those are the figures to compare, aren't they? But they're almost the same. These opt-in rates are too small to mean anything much, except that something's seriously wrong, with the traffic source and/or whatever else is causing the problem? :confused:
        You raise some very valid points Alexa, so thanks for bringing them to my attention.

        Firstly, I should mention that my optin form is situated on the sidebar of my site (across all pages) and its not a "squeeze page" per say.

        Secondly, at this point, Im not offering anything "free" as an incentive. I'm merely giving the visitor the opportunity to "preview" my product, before deciding upon making purchase. This is something that I've had in place for a while now - Im still learning - so perhaps I should *rethink* this approach.

        Lastly, I still receive quite a large amount of traffic from Google, and since the most recent update, my site has been ranking for some odd phrases, which is concerning but beyond my control. Therefor I can only assume that a percentage of my traffic isnt as relevant as Id like it to be.

        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        I don't understand this comment at all, sorry. We're talking about opt-in rates, here, aren't we, not sales rates for a product?

        2% for an opt-in rate is "Disaster City, Arizona", no?

        Or have I completely misunderstood you, Johnny?
        No, you havent. We're talking about optin rates, not conversion rates.

        Originally Posted by Shaun OReilly View Post

        By removing the name field and only requesting the
        e-mail address on a web form, I've seen a boost of
        around 10-15% on visitor-to-subscriber opt-in rates.

        Test it for yourself to see if removing the name field
        works better for you.

        In any case, I receive the fuller details of the subscriber
        if they make a purchase and move onto the buyer list.

        Dedicated to mutual success,

        Shaun
        Shaun, I owe you one brother. This makes EXCELLENT sense.

        Tyre kickers list - email only
        Buyers list - email and name

        (I split my lists - buyers and non buyers as the messages being delivered are substantially different for obvious reasons)

        Originally Posted by rmoore View Post

        2% Opt-in is Fine...if it is a form in the sidebar of a blog.

        ...but not good if it is a squeeze page.
        See above

        Keep the comments coming guys, some great advice here.

        By the way, here is the site in mention - Web Design Business Startup Kit
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  • Profile picture of the author petelta
    Alexa is right on. The more requirements to join your list, the less subscribers overall. So, if you ask for name and email, you will receive less subscribers than just asking for email.

    This doesn't necessarily mean you will make more money with those subscribers. Being able to use the reader's name in the email increases the CTR of your emails in most cases.... so this could end up making you more money.

    It really depends on the niche, the traffic sources you are pulling from, and the type of crowd you are attracting. Best thing for you to do is test it out.

    Travis
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  • Profile picture of the author ttdub
    It can greatly boost it, but if you're only getting 2% with or without name field, there is something else wrong.
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    • Profile picture of the author James Gladwell
      The only real way to answer this question is for you to test it, but personally, I think Alexa Smith is right, you need to test the headline, the layout, with video or without, even the 'gift' itself before you test the opt-in form.

      Also, in other niches (non-Make Money Online) I prefer to keep the name field as fewer people are as jaded by it as they are in IM.
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  • Profile picture of the author Des Lau
    Personally using a name field has a far greater weight IMO. Addressing an email with a name is more likely to convert to opens than a generic subject. (and reduce unsubscribes)

    But if we're talking just conversions from the squeeze, it makes sense that a user would more likely just enter an email than both.
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  • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author rmoore
      I still think 2% is decent if it is a blog and he is just capturing emails from every visitor that hits it. 2% is bad if it is a squeeze page.

      It probably depends upon the niche...as well as traffic levels. I've had a blog in the fitness niche that has received around 10,000+ visitors per day for 2+ years.

      I get about 1.5% opt-ins per day.

      If I was at 10-15%...that would be 1,000-1,500 opt-ins per day. I would have a list in the 400,000 range in just one year...and I'd probably have a list of 1.5-2 million by now.

      ...these type of numbers simply don't happen.

      -Rusty
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    ...its suddenly gone quiet in here :0/
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

      ...its suddenly gone quiet in here :0/
      Well, let's make some noise . For me, testing showed better conversions without a name. It makes sense (at least to me) if you think about it. The less they have to put in the better.

      I don't really buy this statement:

      Personally using a name field has a far greater weight IMO. Addressing an email with a name is more likely to convert to opens than a generic subject. (and reduce unsubscribes)
      You can connect and convert just fine without having to use each subscribers name when emailing them, assuming you have the talent as a writer.

      Finally, to kind of explain Alexa's surprise at the opt-in rate: She uses syndication to get people to her site. The entire reason that many come there is to get more of her content, and the opt-in form provides that. They're kind of pre-set to want to take that action by the time they get to her homepage, hence much higher opt-in rates.

      I've noticed the same thing with my syndication sites. As far as SEO goes though, and without an offer like you mentioned above, 2% seems about right for those hitting your site for the first time with no prior knowledge of you or the product/content.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Wells
    Sounds like going for "no name" - only email to get them on the list, is the way to go.

    Then sending something valuable for FREE through another opt-in asking for name plus mail in order to receive it, might be the best method...............

    I guess this depends on what your promoting.......
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    I just read an interesting article that suggesting adding 2 optin forms on each page, so that as a user reads down the page - they have the option of opting in on the additional form.

    Does anyone here do this? And, is it trackable within aweber to know which optin form is pulling the leads? Or doesnt that really matter? :0|
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    • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
      Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

      I just read an interesting article that suggesting adding 2 optin forms on each page, so that as a user reads down the page - they have the option of opting in on the additional form.

      Does anyone here do this? And, is it trackable within aweber to know which optin form is pulling the leads? Or doesnt that really matter? :0|
      Yes, and yes! Anytime you put the optin form "inline" with the main content area (instead of off to the side), you will get more optins. And you can easily track the stats between different optin forms in Aweber.

      As per whether to include the "name" field or not, you will most definitely get a better opt-in rate if you don't include it, but obviously, you won't be able to "personalize" your emails if you do that.

      I think that personalization goes a loooong way towards building a good relationship w/ your list. I've heard some marketers argue that using the "name" field is a waste of time in the IM / MMO niche, because everyone knows @ the personalization tokens in Aweber, etc, so they think it doesn't come across as "genuine" to the subscriber.

      But I respectfully disagree. I'm well aware of the fact the when someone uses my first name in a mailing list broadcast, that they didn't manually type out my first name as they were compiling the broadcast. But even knowing that, I still like the personalization, and prefer that over getting an email that simply starts with "hello" or "hi". I guess it's just a psychological thing, but that's how I feel about it. I'm sure some will agree, and others will disagree about that.

      So, even though you will get more optins by not including the name field, that doesn't necessarily mean that you will make more $ by doing so.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
        Originally Posted by Brandon Tanner View Post

        And you can easily track the stats between different optin forms in Aweber.
        Brandon, I just had a look within Aweber, and I cant seem to find any option that allows actual form tracking :confused:

        I guess it probably doesnt matter, since Ill be pushing both forms to the same list, and I can just monitor the total, but it would be nice.
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        • Profile picture of the author David Keith
          Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

          Brandon, I just had a look within Aweber, and I cant seem to find any option that allows actual form tracking :confused:

          I guess it probably doesnt matter, since Ill be pushing both forms to the same list, and I can just monitor the total, but it would be nice.
          The first and probably the best is just to "copy" form 1 in your aweber account and then you can install the code for the 2 separate forms on your site.

          they can look the same or different. that will give you stats on optin % an such. then to get your overall optin percentage you just manually add the 2 numbers. but this will show you which form people are subscribing from.
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          • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
            Originally Posted by David Keith View Post

            The first and probably the best is just to "copy" form 1 in your aweber account and then you can install the code for the 2 separate forms on your site.

            they can look the same or different. that will give you stats on optin % an such. then to get your overall optin percentage you just manually add the 2 numbers. but this will show you which form people are subscribing from.
            This thread has probably gone a bit OT, but Ill try 2 forms on the one page and see what happens.

            Im not fussed on two lists though, I already have 3 lists for this site. Its getting a bit messy in the back end. Im going crosseyed looking at it.

            I have 2 years worth of data here, so Im sure if I see the numbers start climbing suddenly, it HAS to be the additional optin.

            Where did Alexa go? :confused:
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            • Profile picture of the author David Keith
              Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

              This thread has probably gone a bit OT, but Ill try 2 forms on the one page and see what happens.

              Im not fussed on two lists though, I already have 3 lists for this site. Its getting a bit messy in the back end. Im going crosseyed looking at it.

              I have 2 years worth of data here, so Im sure if I see the numbers start climbing suddenly, it HAS to be the additional optin.

              Where did Alexa go? :confused:
              you can have multiple optin forms for the same list. just click "add new form" in the forms tab for the list.
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              • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
                Originally Posted by David Keith View Post

                you can have multiple optin forms for the same list. just click "add new form" in the forms tab for the list.
                However, be aware that AWeber tend to get grumpy about "aggregating" list subscriptions - i.e. having forms on multiple domains that subscribe to the same list. They're not grumpy at all about those forms all leading to different lists which have an automation rule subscribing everyone to the same central unified list, though. It's a subtle distinction, but it matters to them.

                WRT optin rates... I don't notice a difference. But I also don't want the biggest list; I want the best members. So even if not asking for a name increases opt-ins, I'm prequalifying in a way that reduces them a lot more.
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                • Profile picture of the author David Keith
                  Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

                  However, be aware that AWeber tend to get grumpy about "aggregating" list subscriptions - i.e. having forms on multiple domains that subscribe to the same list. They're not grumpy at all about those forms all leading to different lists which have an automation rule subscribing everyone to the same central unified list, though. It's a subtle distinction, but it matters to them.
                  Is that in their TOS or just something you have run into? I am not questioning it, i see their concerns when optins come from multiple domains to the same list. Just looking for a little clarification. I can dig up the info though.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Bjarne Eldhuset
                    I read the right sidebar of your website on a 26 inch screen, and noticed the following:

                    1. I can't see the optin form without scrolling down. Have you tried having it higher up on the page?

                    2. If you read the sidebar from the top, as a standalone piece of content, it might confuse some visitors:
                    • The top half is telling me to click here to get instant access and pay $67
                    • Then it flows right into trying to get people to opt in. If someone skims the page, they might just think that the second half is a continuation of this offer.
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                    • Profile picture of the author Tiiberiuss
                      Well, removing the opt-in name field could increase (and probably does increase conversions) but at the same time it removes personalization and so touch with your lead I guess.
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                      • Profile picture of the author fin
                        I know prominent feature boxes have been known to get 10%.

                        I know that's not even the case sometimes on clickthroughs from massive blogs that aren't in the IM niche.

                        If some people are getting that every day that's great. I know some of the best testers in the industry don't so I wouldn't worry about it.
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                    • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
                      Originally Posted by Bjarne Eldhuset View Post

                      I read the right sidebar of your website on a 26 inch screen, and noticed the following:

                      1. I can't see the optin form without scrolling down. Have you tried having it higher up on the page?


                      2. If you read the sidebar from the top, as a standalone piece of content, it might confuse some visitors:
                      • The top half is telling me to click here to get instant access and pay $67
                      • Then it flows right into trying to get people to opt in. If someone skims the page, they might just think that the second half is a continuation of this offer.

                      Thanks dude. I dont want to turn this thread into a site review, but I did just space the two out a bit.
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              • Profile picture of the author myob
                Examining methods used by some large marketing firms (Publishers' Clearing House lol), the concept is that higher engagement activities on first contact results in higher qualified prospects. My marketing favors this model with impressive results, although it may be skewed because of the source of directed traffic.

                Nearly all visitors are driven to my sites from article syndication, which perhaps has nearly the same effect as the relationship-building stage of cold opt-ins to subscriber lists. For nearly all niches, my subscribers endure opt-in forms which include first name, last name, email address, and transaction ID#. The opt-in rate is typically 9%-14%, and other than a few who enter fake transaction ID numbers, almost all subscribers are buyers.

                The upshot here is that the source of traffic is perhaps far more significant than the layout of the opt-in form.
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        • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
          Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

          Brandon, I just had a look within Aweber, and I cant seem to find any option that allows actual form tracking :confused:

          I guess it probably doesnt matter, since Ill be pushing both forms to the same list, and I can just monitor the total, but it would be nice.
          You can use the ad tracking feature to determine which
          web form was used by the subscriber...

          How Do I Use Ad Tracking With My Web Form? :: AWeber Knowledge Base (no affil.)

          Track your web forms - it's so easy to do.

          Dedicated to mutual success,

          Shaun
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        • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
          Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

          Brandon, I just had a look within Aweber, and I cant seem to find any option that allows actual form tracking :confused:
          John, check out this.
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          • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
            Originally Posted by Brandon Tanner View Post

            John, check out this.
            Thanks for that Brandon. Thats certainly interesting. Im not quite sure thats what I need in this case however as both forms will be displayed 'simultaneously' and wont be 'alternating' - I hope that makes sense.

            Its a nice feature though and one I hadnt noticed earlier.
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            • Profile picture of the author David Keith
              Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

              Thanks for that Brandon. Thats certainly interesting. Im not quite sure thats what I need in this case however as both forms will be displayed 'simultaneously' and wont be 'alternating' - I hope that makes sense.

              Its a nice feature though and one I hadnt noticed earlier.
              yes, you need 2 separate forms... not ad tracking or split testing.

              the only way to do it with ad tracking codes would be to manually edit the form html of one of the web forms on your site. If you are using the java script publishing option, you can't even do it that way.
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            • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
              Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

              Thanks for that Brandon. Thats certainly interesting. Im not quite sure thats what I need in this case however as both forms will be displayed 'simultaneously' and wont be 'alternating' - I hope that makes sense.

              Its a nice feature though and one I hadn't noticed earlier.
              Sorry... I mis-understood what you were trying to do. In that case, you can just add an extra form to that list, and use ad tracking to compare their stats.

              If you don't want to use 'ad tracking' for whatever reason, an alternative is to delete the old form, then add 2 new forms to that list. Then you can track the # of sign-ups by comparing the 'Submissions' category in the 'Web Forms' section.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Keith
    As a general rule, almost anytime you make a user take less steps to take your desired action you will see increased conversions. Whether thats an extra click or making them type their name.

    I have tested this, and I almost always do see increased conversions when only asking for the email address. I most cases, that is all i ask for.

    However, as i am sure you realize, the point isn't necessarily optins, its making sales from the resulting list. So the real question you should be asking is "does having a users name increase sales from my list more than having a slightly larger list of just email address?"

    In my experience that is more a question of how you treat your lists. If you really plan to cultivate and build a relationship, the name is more valuable.

    If however you are using the more prevalent "churn and burn" email methods, having a users name used in un-natural ways in promotion emails may actually turn users off to you more...because they know you are fake.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    Only asking for an email does increase your opt ins but I would rather have someone give me their name because they may think that when I send out an email to them, that I am personally talking to them and know their name.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
      Originally Posted by David Keith View Post

      If however you are using the more prevalent "churn and burn" email methods, having a users name used in un-natural ways in promotion emails may actually turn users off to you more...because they know you are fake.
      Thanks David, I always appreciate your input. I dont want any part of my business to be "churn and burn". Im trying to build a long term viable business and establish a good reputation. Having said that, your point seems quite valid.

      Originally Posted by talfighel View Post

      Only asking for an email does increase your opt ins but I would rather have someone give me their name because they may think that when I send out an email to them, that I am personally talking to them and know their name.
      Thats definitely another good point.

      Often, I receive replies to my emails from people (who I genuinely believe) think that Im actually typing emails directly to them - which of course Im not, but I do like that level of personalisation.

      I might keep the name for now and see if by adding an additional optin towards the bottom of screen will improve my optin rates any.

      As with anything, you gotta test aye?

      EDIT * Oh, and whatever I do, Ill be sure to report back because I hate reading threads like this that get abandoned or leave the reader wondering what on earth the outcome was.

      Im still up for more suggestions and thoughts.

      Thanks again everyone who chipped in.
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  • Profile picture of the author JimDucharme
    There is also the social signup option. Here's a snipet from a recent study on this:

    People in general don't like creating accounts to perform an action on the Internet: 4 in 5 respondents in the research admitted they take steps to avoid creating accounts, while 9 in 10 provide inaccurate information on signup.

    More than 60% of UK consumers have abandoned a website that required registration. They also tend to leave a site altogether if they forget their login credentials - an overwhelming 90% admitted that.

    That data is precisely why I've never understood the whole push for preference centres which seemed to be all the rage two years ago. If 9 out of 10 people provide false info on a signup form, why would they go to the trouble of using a preference centre?

    It's true that the more info you have, the more personalization and targetting you can do and that can be powerful as we all know. However, if the guys name is Chuck and he signed up with Debbie cuz he hates sign up forms, well, he probably won't react positively to being called Debbie in every email.

    Here's some more interesting data from the same report:

    • 78% of those surveyed have seen websites offering social logins
    • 53% have used social login
    • 57% believe social login offers increased personalization
    • 64% say they're more likely to return to a website if the experience is more personalized

    Findings from the US version of the report were similar with 86% saying the need for unique website logins was disruptive and 54% saying they would leave a site rather than create a new login.

    I hope this data is of some help.

    Regards,
    jim
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  • Profile picture of the author WinstonTian
    Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

    I recall some time ago Alexa mentioned higher optin rates when removing the name field from the optin form.

    Can anyone confirm this, or at least share your findings/thoughts?

    Im only pulling about 2% optins on one of my sites, and Id like to test this. (Which of course I will, but I still wanted to ask here)

    Cheers!
    I've done countless tests and I'll
    confirm it for you. The thing is
    that however minute/small the
    step may seem, some people just
    do not want to do an extra step...

    Some are uncomfortable with
    leaving their names with
    someone that they are not
    familiar with.

    Of course, in some markets,
    personalization can be pretty
    powerful, so you also need to test
    the response rate with names as
    well.

    Winston Tian
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  • Profile picture of the author Amod Oke
    My 2 cents...

    1) Try in your sidebar without asking for names (see if that bumps the overall optins)

    2) Down in the post/page/article, add annother optin, slightly more enticing (maybe with a good freebie/offer) and...

    IF the user ALSO subscribes to this list (keep this as a separate list), then you can unsubscribe it automatically from the previous list and presto, you now also have their names.

    Yes, aweber supports this feature of migrating users from list 1 to list 2.

    Now track this for some time and in fact, invert it after some time! Yes, maybe that will produce more optins, you never know how people will react!

    Test, test, and then test more when you are tired!
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  • Profile picture of the author David Keith
    @JimDucharme

    what people say in surveys and what people actually do is often very different when it comes to how they use the web.

    many say they hate logins,video, popups, .... but they use them.

    I find the 90% abandonment rate to be crazy high and likely exaggerated or taken from cherry picked data. I have never seen rates like that in any business i have owned or consulted with.

    I do however think your points about social login scripts are very valid. The real problem there is that depending on some other site is usually not a good idea to build YOUR business on.

    Hell, FB was worth 100 billion a few weeks ago, now its a little more than half that. It can go away. Myspace was more dominant than FB on a percentage basis and its all but gone or at least abandoned.
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    • Profile picture of the author JimDucharme
      Originally Posted by David Keith View Post

      @JimDucharme

      what people say in surveys and what people actually do is often very different when it comes to how they use the web.

      many say they hate logins,video, popups, .... but they use them.

      I find the 90% abandonment rate to be crazy high and likely exaggerated or taken from cherry picked data. I have never seen rates like that in any business i have owned or consulted with.

      I do however think your points about social login scripts are very valid. The real problem there is that depending on some other site is usually not a good idea to build YOUR business on.

      Hell, FB was worth 100 billion a few weeks ago, now its a little more than half that. It can go away. Myspace was more dominant than FB on a percentage basis and its all but gone or at least abandoned.
      I agree on both your point about surveys and about relying on a third party site. I'm not endorsing the data, just passing on for consideration in the discussion at hand. Surveys such as this are an indicator of which way the wind may be blowing -- they give perspective only and you have to take them with a grain of salt.

      The one thing people sometimes forget about email versus Facebook, Twittter or any other network, is that only email is not propriatary. As you say, FB could go away tomorrow. In contrast, email is a nexus connector and a standard which is less likely to be affected by the whims of some 20 year old entrepenure or the fickle mood of the masses.

      The one thing you must have to sign up for any of these networks is an email address. Sure, kids may prefer SMS, but as they grow up and find themselves having to put down roots, email becomes that home address in the virtual world. At some point, it may be replaced by something else, but right now, it's the standard.

      Regards,
      jim
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  • Profile picture of the author Marcus Rockey
    From my experience if they are solid subscribers that will likely buy from you in the future they won't mind giving you their first name.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Thanks David, Shaun.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ettienne
    Personally I never use the "name" field. I understand that it adds a personal touch, but many people hate it or even find it offensive if you start an email with "Hi Jim" or whatnot.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Yeah I think Ill have a look at ad tracking and run both simultaneously.

    Thanks guys.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    Names or no names depends on how "filtered" you want
    your list to be. The more information you ask for the
    less subscribers you'll get but also the higher quality
    in terms on those who are "sold" on your offer.

    You'll eventually have to do some filtering for any list
    you build either at the beginning or at the end of your
    funnel.

    -Ray Edwards
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    • Profile picture of the author GEOBAK
      Since every website is a different case i would suggest a split test so as to decide on conversions.

      You can use google website optimizer wghich is a free tool and drive traffic there so as to conduct a split test and decide on what is best.

      My feeling is that an optin form without names will have a bigger conversion rate but i would stick to the name, email beacause i would use the name for personalized mails etc later on.
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