Make it simple

Your newsletter or mailing list sign up should be as simple as possible and gather the minimum amount of information that is still useful for the business. You want to make it simple, easy and quick for end users to sign up so that they don’t get discouraged and can make an impulse decision to be a part of communications. For example, you would primarily require the user’s email address (to contact them in future) for a newsletter or mailing list signup, there’s no point asking them for their name, mobile number, business name etc. unless it was absolutely necessary for the business analytics. You should keep it simple, generally this means only requesting the user’s email address and possibly name, although you can make name a non-mandatory field to reduce friction and allow users to sign up quicker.

Make it visible

Your mailing list signup should be shown as often as possible to users in a way which still maintains a good user experience but is also seen in many places. Generally, our suggestion regarding mailing lists sign up forms is to make it an integrated part of the footer, which is visible on every page and generally includes overall information about the site and business anyway. Keeping this simple form as part of the footer ensures that users don’t need to search for the signup, it’s just there. In instances of more intense marketing and audience building, you could consider a popup (which triggers once or twice per session and not on all pages) which requests their email.

Reward Users

Rewarding users for signing up to your newsletter can be a great way to rapidly build your audience. It might be something very small such as 5% off their first order which has little impact on your bottom line, but which drives real value for users. They’ll be more inclined to sign up if they feel like there is something in it for them.

Integrate with CRM Platforms

While it’s not an absolute requirement, integrating your forms with 3rd party CRM systems such as Salesforce, Hubspot or MailChimp makes it much easier to keep your audience’s data secure and structured, allowing you to use it more easily. We suggest these types of integrations strongly to our clients. Platforms such as MailChimp have a generous free tier which is great for businesses just starting to build their audience, while it has significant room for growth as your business and audience gets going. It’s also very easy to integrate with WordPress which is a popular website CMS platform. Building audiences through 3rd party platforms helps build the value of the business and is considered a big asset to organisations.

Build Your List from Other Forms

Have you ever noticed you’ve been signed up to a mailing list which you are sure you didn’t sign up for? That’s likely because you’ve been automatically added to a businesses mailing list because of a submission you made through a different form, such as a sign up or contact form. It’s very common for businesses to sign users up to their mailing list during any interaction where their email address is exposed. It’s suggested to include a tickbox (which is default ticked) when signing users up to your mailing list from non-mailing list forms so that it remains transparent – It’s unlikely they’ll untick it the majority of the time.

A mailing list is an important consideration for businesses and marketing teams and should be implemented using 3d party integrations on your website, not only for your newsletter sign up forms but also for your other forms. If you’re looking for a trusted web designers in Sydney, contact Designpluz today.