A Value Exchange for an Email Address

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Collecting email addresses is an ongoing challenge for marketers. This is because most people automatically think when you ask for their email address, that they will get a barrage of unwanted emails from you. Thus, it is important to give the customer valuable reasons as to why they should give you their email.

Your website is usually the first place you look to collect email addresses.Tell the subscriber exactly why they should sign up for email and what message they should expect. List three to five great reasons why people should sign up for your email.

A second place is your front line customer service staff. If you were to ask your front-line people why a customer should provide their e-mail – you will be surprised by the amount of different answers you get. You should make sure that Customer Service knows why a customer should provide an email address, both for the customer's benefit and for the benefit of the company.

If you're not already giving customers the value reasons why they should sign up, what can you do? Write down ten good reasons why people should subscribe to your newsletter; then post it on your website, list it for your front line staff and share it with your co-workers.

Try to give your customers/prospects something of true value in exchange for their email address. Maybe provide a sneak preview of a new product, a member’s only sale, valuable information, or a discount coupon that can be used immediately. Convince your co-workers and front line staff of the importance of e-mail address collection, perhaps even creating an incentive for the employee collecting the most addresses in a month.

If you can show your customers the value they gain from signing up for your email, and then deliver that value, you'll find those objections of giving up the email address easily handled.

(This post was first written by Philip Looney in June, 2007. I have taken the liberty to edit it a tad. Interestingly, it is almost 2010 and the same challenges remain.)