6 Ways to Squeeze More Value Out of Email Sign Up

What happens after someone subscribes to your retail email updates? Something like this?

If you're only communicating a "thank you for signing up, you'll see an email from us shortly" or "you can unsubscribe at any time" - you're missing a golden opportunity. Today we look at 6 ways to extract more value from your site visitor after the email sign up.

Preference Center

Many e-tailers either have no preference center, or bake it into the inital email sign up form. Unless you really need to ask for more information than just an email address (and there are legitimate business reasons you may need to ask for more), it's a good idea to capture the email, then deliver a follow-up screen with optional inputs, as Urban Outfitters does.

This way, you don't kiss subscribers goodbye that don't want to bother with a long form, and you still get some good information with which you can segment your list by.

Social Network Profiles

Visitors who want to invite you to their inbox may also want to add you to their social network. You don't know if you don't ask. It's a perfect opportunity to inform them you do have Facebook/Twitter/Youtube/etc presences.

Loyalty Programs

I've come across several retailers asking for account signups after email sign up, but most customers won't sign up for an account until...the...last...minute...if they absolutely have to. A membership club with special perks/points/etc. may be more enticing, but you really have to romance it.

Forward to a Friend

I'm on the fence about spam-your-friends-with-this-contest tactics, but some sort of spread-the-love call to action could help you grow your list.

"Keep an eye out"

Informing the subscriber they will be receiving an email with a special welcome discount will motivate some to keep an eye out for your message, open and even respond to it more than when you say nothing and send the first email 'whenever.'

Text Messages

Victoria's Secret could be more descriptive about the benefits of signing up for text messages, but it's good to at least inform visitors of the option if you have it.

There's nothing wrong with combining these tactics (or even getting creative and inventing your own follow-up calls to action). The important thing is that you ask for something after the email sign up.

Looking for help with ecommerce? Contact the Elastic Path consulting team at consulting@elasticpath.com to learn how our ecommerce strategy and conversion optimization services can improve your business results.