Dive summary:
- So called email marketing "rules" are a general understand the community has about tactics for growing email lists, but to really gain subscribers some of those industry standards should be broken.
- The idea that popups are off limits is stale as many companies are having success with what they call "popover boxes" that ask browsers to subscribe to the email list and can be customized to appear after a certain number of views or other variables.
- Gone also are the days of requiring a double opt-in or requiring explicit permission to add subscribers to the email list as these tactics are just self-imposed road blocks to growing an email list.
From the article:
"Many companies are finding success with popovers. Patrick Starzan, vice president of marketing and distribution at the comedy video website Funny or Die, says nearly 80 percent of subscribers signed up in response to the popovers the site has been using for more than four years. The popovers appear only after someone has visited at least three pages on the site, and Starzan says he hasn't received any negative feedback about them.
Popovers work best if they're simple, direct and include a bit of humor. So, don't clutter your popover with a lot of words. Keep the language light and fun, and give people a reason to opt in."
