I Care About You But I Don’t Need Your Name

It’s a dilemma for list builders whether or not to ask for a name on sign up.

There is evidence that potential members of your list will sign up more willingly when they have to give out as little information as possible.

I started by asking for a first name when members signed up and I always tried to personalize each message sent out.

However, I have now had a change of heart and I only now ask for an email address.

Emails to your list members need to be personalised and as much like an ordinary email as possible. Corporate sounding messages do not really work as they tend not to engage with your client’s real life anxieties. Your members will respond better to emails that are honest and that speak from the heart. They like to hear about your dilemmas, challenges and failures as much as about your achievements and successes. After all, success is very much about how you respond to difficulties. (I remember Bill Gates saying once that he liked to hire people who had experienced failure.)

But to personalize your message, you do not necessarily need a name. (I know that this is controversial and that some marketers will disagree with this.) When I look at emails from friends, they don’t mention my name very often. Perhaps I should be offended by this? Perhaps they have stopped caring about me? But emails are not like old-fashioned letters which always started ‘Dear …’ even if the recipient was far from dear to you. In fact, when I see my name in an email now, it can seem condescending or patronizing – just the kind of impression that you are trying to avoid.

So messages to my list will no longer mention your name. This does not mean that I don’t care about you. I value you as if you were my own family. Please don’t unsubscribe because I don’t mention your name!

PS I have been thinking about list building very carefully since I arrived late on a course run by Alex Jeffreys. He is a determined, dedicated and enthusiastic marketer and he gives great value. I am learning a lot from him.

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