9 Tips to Improve Email Signups for Online Retailers

It’s important for Internet businesses to capture opt-in emails throughout the shopping experience. Building an email list is one of the most important marketing efforts any online store can do. 

Well, let me clarify.  Your email list won’t matter much if you don’t have a strong email program, but email list building is still a key effort to set up your email program for success.

SO, HERE THEY ARE - 9 TIPS TO IMPROVE EMAIL SIGNUPS FOR YOUR ONLINE STORE

ORDER CHECKOUT:

Most online retailers get the majority of their email signups through the checkout process.  Let’s start with tips focused in this area:

1.  I’m a big proponent of the pre-checked opt in box in checkout. Pre-checked is the KEY here. From what I’ve seen, this is the best, fastest and least expensive way for an online store to build a customer list.

2.  I would suggest taking to time to develop short, powerful copy to “sell” the customer into getting on your list. Something like…”Sign up today to receive special offers, first looks and what’s hot now from [Store Name]” or something more aggressive “Sign up today and receive $X Off today’s order!”

You can expect a strong email signup % to orders.  I see most online retailers at a minimum 50% signup rate to as high at 80%.

THROUGHOUT YOUR ONLINE STORE – besides a basic email signup in you store navigation, here are some additional tips to increase your email signups.

3.  Contests/Sweepstakes – for example, many online retailers implement sweepstakes for their list building initiatives.  I recommend if you have a sweepstakes, your prizes should be related to your key products.  This is as opposed to offering a cash prize or a trip.  You’ll get too many unqualified email addresses this way.  You just don’t want the maximium number of signups, you want the maximum number of qualify customers or potential customers.

4.  If you have a Catalog Request Form, then make sure to include email signup there. I’ve seen this work very nicely.

ORDER CONFIRMATION EMAILS - here are more overlooked techniques to get your customers who didn’t sign up in checkout to sign up after their order or post sale.

5. Another way to capture email signups is through the order confirmation email. If you can implement segmentation into your order confirmation email or other order related emails, you can ask non-email subscribers to sign up and not bother those who already took this action. 

Here’s a practical example for new customers’ order confirmation emails.  What’s nice about this approach is that all customers get these emails even if they didn’t opt-in to your email program.  Plus, order confirmation emails are the most read emails by your customers.  Also, they are usually saved and not deleted immediately like other marketing based emails.

Anyway, the technique is to display an image in your emails that has a call to action to sign up for email.  Perhaps you can offer an incentive on their next order or another promotion. If the customer signed up for emails from you already, they get a more editorial image for a cross-sell or to encourage a repeat sale.

6.  The basic version of the above tip is to always include a call-to-action in the email confirmations to sign up for the email program.  This is likely very appropriate for most online stores.  The customers who already signed up for your email program will ignore the message, which is okay, while you will capture some of the customers who didn’t sign up initially.

CUSTOMER SERVICE – more tips to increase your email signups through interactions with your customer service team.

7.  One more tip is to include a call-to-action in any customer service emails.  So, when a customer emails you, you can include the call-to-action in the email signature of your response. 

8.  Do you use live chat on your site?  If you do, you can incorporate an email signup call-to-action within the live chat conversation (where appropriate) or at the end of the conversation.  You’ll need to train your live chat agent to do this, but it’s worth it.  Don’t miss this opportunity.

9.  When a prospect or current customer calls into your store to order, make sure to prompt them to opt-in to your list.  A small little bribe such as free shipping on today’s order might be enough to convince a new customer to get on your list.

So, there you have it…9 of my favorite tips to improve your email signups for your online store. 

Do you have more tips?  Let me hear from you.

Good luck and go get those email signups.

David Wauters
OnlineStoreCoach^TM

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