Where Do I Sign Up? 2

Last year I penned a piece on some ideas for a brand's email sign up page Where Do I Sign Up?.

Essentially it boiled down to

1. Make It Easy to find and do – ideally above the fold Top Right, but it’s worth testing this.
2. Provide only one newsletter subscription page that includes information about all available email newsletters
3. Clearly state when users have navigated to the newsletter sign-up process
4. Don’t pre-select any newsletters for users unless they have clicked on a link that named a specific newsletter
5. In multi-step processes, let users know how many steps remain
6. Explain the ‘value proposition’ – what’s in it for me?
7. Manage expectations – what will I get when and how often?
8. Have a clear Privacy Policy and if you use incentives - be transparent
9. Send a confirmation email, or maybe even the last newsletter – but tell the subscriber to look out for it
10. On the confirmation page / email get subscribers to add you to the contacts list!

But of course the brand website is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to where you can begin that email relationship. The opportunities are endless...well, almost....so here are a few suggestions

Point of Sale - A quick request of email address and name with POS integration to your email platform can result in a welcome email literally as the customer walks out of the door

QR Codes - These can just about be added to anything and everything with a link to the registration page. Imagine next time you're in the queue at the cinema..and next to you is poster with a QR code promoting the venue's newsletter?

Facebook - No need to direct fans away from Facebook either. Just register them for the email where they are. But maybe make it look a little more appealing than this Reiss attempt

Twitter - Perhaps promoting the email program with any welcome Tweet to new followers

SMS - Great if perhaps promote using outdoor media at large events such as football games. It's been a very successful tactic at Wembley I know.

Foursquare - Great opportunity to capture email addresses during check-in registrations for promotions and as part of any location based loyalty programme

Apps - An article in the Observer this weekend reminded me about the power of apps ( especially the momentum of Android). It's a real opportunity to grab an email address, especially when you consider that a large number of downloaded apps remain that...downloaded and unused!

Product Registration - We recently purchased a new washing machine and was amazed that at the point of registering my machine for it's guarantee, not no real argument was made for me to give an email address - at the very least offer to send me the Guarantee via email?

In-store - In a previous post I've mentioned this great piece of work by Best Buy and how they used interactive screens in store to capture email addresses from customers who were just about to walk out...and maybe buy elsewehere.