Email collection splash screens

When the phone rings in your campaign office do you ask the caller's name, email address and physical location before letting them ask their question or make their comment? Of course not.

Whether it's in person, by phone, or online, people approach your campaign with reasons of their own. Think long and hard before you impede them online with an email harvesting splash screen.

I so strongly dissuade my clients from email collection splash screens that I don't have access to stats on how many folks leave a site when confronted by a splash screen, but if you're using one, your web person can tell you. Ask how many folks never click through and how many decline to give away their info. Then determine whether or not you need to rethink your approach.

Consider getting contact info online much the way you do offline: first meet the needs of the caller/visitor and then make it easy to give you the info you want. Online this translates into an elegant site design with a prominent subscribe button. It may also mean writing a pitch for newsletter subscription in your blog (if you have one). Either way, you'll want to think about what's in it for the visitor before you sell them on handing over their info.

Whatever you do, remember it's easy to change (and to track) your effectiveness online. So try an approach and map how it works. Then change it if you don't like the results.

--Louella Pizzuti