BrontoFire: Sign Me Up!

Two days before Halloween 2007, BrontoFire was Born. In the middle of November, we took it live. Last month, we debated the merits of a good "From Name." Earlier today, Kimberly and I hunkered down in the green room and went back and forth on how 4 well-known online retailers promote (or hide) email sign-ups on their website. The results...

Wal-Mart

Kimberly: The subscription button is a clear call to action. It is given a lot of space and I didn't have to search hard to find it.

DJ: I agree; however, why do I have to scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up? Also, why do the subscription banners differ? Sometimes they show links to other newsletters and sometimes they don't. I think the sign up banner that gives me the option for "more newsletters" is the stronger call to action. 

Grade: B-

FTD.com

Kimberly: Great location. I love the "why sign up?" link. A little weak in the imagery (blends into the navigation bar)

.DJ: While I like that FTD put their sign up at the top, it's still not clear enough for me. Make it pop! I do like that they didn't fall into the "Sign up for email updates" trap and instead used "Sign up for savings!" 

Grade: B

Sephora

Kimberly: What a loss of opportunity! A potential customer really has to work hard to find a way to sign up (this should simply not happen).

DJ: Again - Kimberly - I could not agree more. 

Grade: D

(Please study more next time)

Victoria's Secret

Kimberly: This kills me, DJ. Their overall marketing campaigns are too smart for this to be an oversight.

DJ: I didn't realize they had a sign-up. Oh wait...there it is! All the way at the bottom, blending in nicely with the pink background (note sarcasm).

Grade: F

(Simple changes raise the grade.)

Take-aways

Kimberly and I decided to stop at 4 reviews. We could have gone on forever, but it was too depressing. This is not rocket science - view your "sign ups" from the consumers perspective.One of the goals of BrontoFire is to encourage your Marketing Team to have discussions like these in order to improve. Finally, please send along some good examples as you come across them. Please. Pretty please (we really do want to hand out an "A")

DJ Waldow and Kimberly Snyder
Account Managers at Bronto