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Does asking for a name have much impact on signups???

by staffjam
14 replies
I was wondering if you have found asking for a prospects name to subscribe to your mailing list affects signup rates.
At present i'm getting a very good rate - but i only ask for the e-mail.
It would be nice to personalise things going forwards - but not at the expense of a big drop in subscriber numbers.

Any feedback would be greatly received.
#impact #signups
  • Profile picture of the author icoachu
    From my personal experience building tons of blogs and sucking up leads from there, the answer is NO. Most people leave impartial names anyway. Focus on your sign up page's copy instead.
    Does it do the following?

    Clearly describes the opportunity

    Summarizes the need of the reader for this opportunity

    Has a clear call to action
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  • Profile picture of the author TiffLee
    I typically do not ask for names nor do I feel the need to "personalize" the e-mail.

    For the most part, people know that they are a single subscriber among a list of hundreds, if not thousands, of other subscribers. I, for one, hope they are not so negatively impacted by a non-personalized e-mail that they unsubscribe.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by staffjam View Post

    Does asking for a name have much impact on signups???
    Typically it reduces opt-ins by about 12% - 15% (judging by previous discussions/threads here in which Warriors have shared their testing results. For me it reduced them by about 15% when I used to do it).

    What can have a bigger impact, though, I think, is using names when you send out emails. For me, that's a bad thing to do.

    My subscribers don't like it. They think it makes people sound "like an insurance salesman". And they say so, openly (I do invite feedback on such questions). They know perfectly well that it isn't really personalized - it's just automated. It loses more than it gains. But that's just for me. Your subscribers may be different (really - especially if you're in any IM/MMO niches, because I'm not).
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Grossman
    Originally Posted by staffjam View Post

    I was wondering if you have found asking for a prospects name to subscribe to your mailing list affects signup rates.
    At present i'm getting a very good rate - but i only ask for the e-mail.
    It would be nice to personalise things going forwards - but not at the expense of a big drop in subscriber numbers.

    Any feedback would be greatly received.
    The only real way to answer this question is to test it for yourself. Send half your visitors to the form with the name, and half to the form without, and compare the opt-in rates.

    Nobody else's results will tell you what yours will be.
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  • Profile picture of the author OutsourceFactor
    You can test this out for sure. One thing I'll tell you is that I do not like using the first name personalization feature, and I don't really like it when others do it. It doesn't feel genuine.

    I prefer starting my emails by either just diving into the content, or writing, "Hey guys".

    The former cuts to the chase. The latter makes people feel like they're part of a tribe by being on your list.

    So, I just don't use names that much anymore on squeeze pages.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    You'll get more leads by offering email ONLY...but even these people convert well for me.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      In most of my lists I have the name and the email, and the kind of emails I send out, the people expect their names to be used in them. I am a very conversational writer, and only about 10 percent or less of my emails start out with greeting the reader by name. I use it other places in the text instead.
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  • Profile picture of the author Weedy92
    Nope, we generate tons of leads and ask for the full name at my dealerships.. The only thing that is a turn away is the phone #.. Other than that e-mail/name/etc really doesn't seem to matter.
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  • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
    I actually started to get more when I stopped asking for names.

    Besides, I usually start off emails with...

    "Hey Guys..." or
    "Sup Yallz..."
    event the occasional "Wuttup Peeps."

    So I wouldn't need them anyway.

    Keeps my tone more informal, which is what I'm aiming for.
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  • Profile picture of the author bobpruitt
    Yes it does have an impact about it. There's been lots of post in here that have answered your question. Most of them decreased the signups.

    I think I know what you're after. You're thinking that people may think that you actually care about them when they emails they receive are personalized isn't it?

    The thing about it is that other, if not most or all, people find it to be a bit of harassment when they receive such email and would most probably not give it too much attention at all.

    If you see two emails in your inbox, one not personalized email and the other containing your name as if it's really talking to you, you may get hooked or sometimes it gives you a creepy feeling.

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Allissa
    Banned
    The more information you ask for, the lower your optin rate will be, all other things being equal... always. How much lower is something you only learn by split testing (which the better paid click trackers will do for you).

    The real question is: whether there's value in having the name? I believe this is very depending on the niche - the more savvy the folks, such as the IM niche, the less value the name field becomes.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      A much more important question is, does acquiring/using the name make you more money?

      If using the name gets you 100 signups and 20 sales, while not using the name gets you 120 signups and 15 sales, which way do you think you want to go?

      Those numbers could be reversed, and the question is still valid.

      I used to collect the names as a matter of course, then found that most of the time I only used it in the confirmation message. Eliminating the name, at least for the way I write, hasn't made a discernible difference in conversions.

      On a side note, I noticed that some people used names that seemed designed to embarrass the mailer and amuse the recipient. Imagine opening your email and seeing "Sucker, have I got a deal for you..."
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    Really depends on what you are marketing. If I am working in the herbal niche I seldom require more than an email. If I am running In the group coaching IM niche .. I usually ask for a name. If I am collecting leads for my mlm guys I ask for a lot of information.
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      Asking for the name in addition to the e-mail will impact
      on your sign-up conversion rate.

      How big the effect will be will depend upon your specific
      target market and site.

      The best thing you can do is to split-test two different
      versions of your opt-in form and track your conversion
      rates all the way through to end sales - not just your
      opt-in conversion rate.

      Then you'll know whether asking for the name helps or
      hinders your sales.

      Dedicated to mutual success,

      Shaun
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