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February 13 2003 Publisher's Note: Acquisition is Key as Well Never Fails. No sooner had I completed last issue's publisher's note "It's All About Retention" when I got a call from a prospect who is now a client. Their goal? Not retention but acquisition. they want to grow their e-mail list from 500,000 to 1.5 million by the end of 2003. Tripling a list this size isn't impossible, but it takes some thought and planning. Especially when your timeframe is short (T-minus-11 months and counting). Adding to the challenge? Although the goal is measured quantitatively, the reality is that they need to be quality names. I define quality as e-mail responsive names who will open, read and interact with the e-mail -- and they must, of course, be the target audience the organization wants to reach. Additional background: this client has a number of websites, all of which have mechanisms requesting that visitors register and provide their e-mail address. Step 1: Registration One of the first things I ask about is the abandon rate. I'll be talking in more detail about abandon rates in my ClickZ article later this month (to be published February 27 2003). Here's the quick version: Your abandon rate is the percentage of visitors who start your registration process but don't finish it. You look at the number of people who landed on the first page of registration vs. the number who actually added themselves to your list. You'd be surprised at how high abandon rates can get -- I've seen as high as 90% (yes -- only 10% made it all the way through registration). Why? Often an overly long registration process (more than 5 to 7 questions) or an overly personal or promotional registration process (where you ask for buying responsibility, USPS address, etc) will do it. Other times there's a disconnect between what they clicked on and the registration landing page. I start here because if the rate is high, the interest is there and it's just a case of removing the obstacles so people can finish registration. Things like adding a 'step 1 of 3' navigation system can help, as can minimizing the questions and making sure there's no disconnect. You can often tweak some things and make your registration more effective without spending much money. Step 2: Driving Traffic to Registration Once you optimize the registration process itself, it's time to look at the traffic drivers. Again, I like to work backward and look at how clients are driving website visitors to the registration. (This was the focus of my ClickZ article in early February). There's a way to measure this as well. You want to figure out what percentage of visitors go from non-registered to registered. In a perfect world, anyone who visits and spends any amount 0of time on your site is someone you probably want to build a relationship with via e-mail. Toward this end: Are the 'register now' messages clear and feature/benefit oriented? Are they prominent on your site? Do you blend the message into activities the visitor may be undertaking -- i.e. if they are looking at your e-mail newsletter archive do you remind them they can sign-up to receive information like this via e-mail in the future? Be sure to focus on the visitor's experience-- put yourself in their shoes. Step 3: Driving Traffic to Your Site Most companies spend a good percentage of your marketing budget on this piece. But it's not a good use of money unless the other pieces are in place to convert visitors. in addition to looking for lists to rent, consider ads in e-mail newsletters, partnership agreements, co-registration deals and other avenues. Too many companies overlook options that are free or inexpensive because they have a 'direct e-mail' mentality. And speaking of offline -- don't forget about this world when you're growing your list. It sounds strange, but I've used direct mail, print publications, fax and a number of other offline methods to grow online lists. Conclusion: Rocket Science? No. But there is a lot of science -- and art -- that goes into growing an opt-in list effectively. It's not impossible to triple your list, but you need to focus on quality as well as quantity and optimize each step of the registration process. Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you have to say. Feel free to contact me with any thoughts or questions about e-mail.
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