How to maximize your e-mail capture rate
Consider this example:
You manage a fishing website and you’ve managed to figure out that all the traffic on your webpage is from fishermen between the ages of 40-50. You formulate two offers.
- Enter your e-mail to win a free worm.
- Enter your e-mail to win an all-expense paid trip to Kissimmee Florida and fish with legendary fisherman Bob Redfern.
Examining Offer 2 more closely, perhaps it would be interesting to know that more people sign-up as the draw date approaches. When designing your capture, you have to make sure you feature important and attractive information and steer clear of overloading the visitor with unnecessary information. In this case, highlighting the contest’s closing date will encourage people to enter more impulsively because they realize it is a limited time offer. Remember, in the end the success of your capture depends on it being an attractive and enticing offer.
Once you have figured out what (in this instance, a fishing get-away), you must begin to think about how. There are numerous ways to attract attention and capture e-mail addresses. Registration forms, pop-ups, multi-address captures and rotating captures are some of the most popular. This said, you should not just arbitrarily pick one.
Pop-ups, for instance, are a great way to optimize captures because you force your traffic to see the capture. A capture that’s seen works better than one that isn't. Keep in mind, however, that thousands of failed captures have revealed a few hardened facts – and they point to a lack of understanding what your visitors want. For starters, it is fairly likely that your visitors don’t desire vague promises of ‘Free Tips’, ‘Special Offers’ or ‘Free Newsletters’. All of these so-called offers are universally regarded as empty and/or poorly disguised fluff pieces which offer no entertainment or reward. This isn’t to say you cannot give your visitors information – as long as it has value. Data and statistics are incredibly relevant to most people. As are real opportunities to save money. Recalling the fishermen website example again, the latest information on seasonal migration trends, lake conditions, cabin/hut/boat rentals and deals, getaways, equipment sales, or even permit and licensing news would be indispensable.
You could also provide visitors chances to win valuable merchandise in exchange for their contact information. If you choose to go this route, however, make sure you keep these few pointers in mind:
- Ensure the prize is related to the product or service you are promoting. So, if you are trying to appeal to fishermen, the prize should not be a state-of-the-art curling iron. Offering something unrelated to the website may garner a few captures, but it won’t help generate any genuinely qualified leads.
- Be specific with your description of the prize. This will help avoid confusion as well as bolster your credibility.
- Word the request for contact information so that the person will want to be notified if they win. This encourages willing participation.
- Very importantly, ensure that the visitor is confident that their privacy and security are respected.
- If you are asking the visitor to opt-in for more mailings, the request should be polite and should highlight the chance to save money with more opportunities. Of course, the opt-in should be optional.
- It is also a good idea to include mention of an actual previous winner to promote legitimacy.