Website success depends largely on providing an incentive-i.e., a free email newsletter-to encourage visitor registration and an email address. Acquiring those email addresses is the first step toward creating lasting relationships with site visitors. If a website does not attempt to capture the visitor’s email address, the individual may never revisit and the relationship is lost.
In the third chapter of Internet Marketing Strategy for Publishers and Authors authors Don Nicholas and Jane E. Zarem point out a few website design tips for making sure your site captures visitors’ email addresses effectively.
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- A detailed description of the free email newsletter, and its benefits, should appear in a “can’t miss” space on the homepage.
- The description might include a sample page of the current issue, with an offer of a download of the full newsletter in exchange for the email address and permission to receive future issues.
- Registration should be easy. Just secure that email address-you’ll have opportunities to fill in additional data through further contacts such as email alerts and other relevant messages.
- The ultimate goal, of course, is to escalate the messages to revenue-producing product offers.
- In addition to signing up for the free email newsletter, a site may offer access to blogs, RSS feeds, tools, favorites and other special content if the visitor signs up with a user name and password.
