5 ms·

It still blows me away that people put their email address in forms, and that email marketing affects sales. I guess while they keep working, people will keep

It still blows me away that people put their email address in forms, and that email marketing affects sales. I guess while they keep working, people will keep creating popups.

ssharp 9y ago
Why? You might come across his site, think it is interesting but need to move on to something else. Email is a really easy way to get reminders, learn more, etc. Email converts well because the people on the email list have already shown active interest in whatever you're doing. It's a high quality base to market to.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
jmuguy 9y ago
I don't normally but I went to the site, saw the little spin the wheel deal, and went ahead and signed up. The difference is - his site/company doesn't look like some scammy crap just syphoning up emails to spam them.
cableshaft 9y ago
> email marketing affects sales I get emails from board game web shops all the time informing me of their sales. If I see something I'm interested in the email I'll click through and possibly purchase something. I just did it with Funagain Games a few days ago, when they announced a 'Lonely Hearts' sale, of games that play well solo. They had some good deals on there, so I grabbed bought a game at 25% of the price I've seen it at elsewhere. If it's for a product you're really interested in, I think email marketing works.
- dawnerd 9y ago
  Same here, but I get emails from funko instead. Hard to admit just how much it's affected me buying things...
mathofma 9y ago
Founder of Mini Materials here. I'm a designer myself, and I absolutely hate e-mail popups. BUT - it just works. The wheel captures a huge percentage of emails and that leads directly to sales.
Broken_Hippo 9y ago
I don't. Most of them get marked as spam and I unsubscribe. But on the other hand, my bras cost $60-$120. Each. I wear a specialty size. In the US, no physical store near me sold it. Victoria's secret didn't have it. Its the only time I wish I was still overweight. The store that sells my bras here emails me when they are on sale. At those prices, I usually buy not long after the email. The email marketing that works for me are similar things. Simple advertisement, though, gets blocked.
Nagyman 9y ago
I have a hypothesis that a lot of less-than-savvy internet users think filling out those pop-ups is just akin to a login form. "Oh, I have to fill out my email to see this, sure!" That doesn't explain the efficacy of increased sales though :) The experience _can_ be ok, if it's easy enough to dismiss. The pattern that drives me a little nuts is the "intent to close tab" event trigger. I just wanted to switch tabs, calm down, I'm not leaving your site.
- elif 9y ago
  I've been a professional coder for 14 years if you consider that savvy... I am constantly finding products that interest me, and have no hesitation of putting my unaliased gmail address into random product sites. You may be surprised to learn that my inbox is not a cesspool, there is nothing in there which I didn't ask for. I believe the aversion to spreading email addresses online is actually a holdover emotion from a time when spam was an unaddressed real problem and where obfuscation was possible. Today, your and my email address are already in hundreds of purchasable lists... and the battle is fought by gmail instead of by me.
  - Nagyman 9y ago
    Awesome. Not overly surprised that someone with years of experience can manage what they're subscribed to AND identify those sites that won't abuse the implied trust in handling that email address :) Agreed, spam prevention has come a long way on both the client-side (gmail) and regulations (CAN-SPAM), forcing clear unsubscribe paths. Yes, the damage of past behaviour is hard to reverse. Next generation of users don't allot much attention to email, so liking/following is the way to "subscribe to product info". Otherwise, those exclusively email-based popovers are just a nuisance to that audience; good ones include other channels.
- softawre 9y ago
  ctrl+tab switches tabs, most sites use mouse movement to show you the popups. Switch to keyboard shortcuts :)
  - 9y ago
skybrian 9y ago
Depends what it is. I don't normally respond to marketing email, but appreciate email from Steam that a game on my wish list is on sale.
graeme 9y ago
What makes it fundamentally different from clicking a link? "Click this link to read more about cinder blocks" "Enter your email here to read more about cinder blocks" In both cases, there is the promise of more information. Presumably, you would agree that the information in the link might persuade you to buy from the site, assuming you're interested in cinder blocks. What then would be your reason for being unswayed by similar information in email form? I'm guessing you just have an opposition in principle to marketing via email, but not an opposition in principle to marketing on a webpage. The reason email works, by the way, is that you get the user's attention. The first time someone hits your site, they may have 2000" tabs open, they may get a notification on their phone, etc. Email lets you confirm their interest and reach them later. It solves the distraction issue.
- monsieurbanana 9y ago
  What makes it fundamentally different from clicking a link is that now they will be the ones initiating the contact. Call me cynic, but I don't think the majority of people have my best interests in mind when they send me advertising emails. Note the plural in "emails". If you're not interested in what they offer you can't just choose to ignore them, that will only result in more emails.
  - graeme 9y ago
    Well, you can choose not to enter the email and just explore the site. In a non scammy site, you'll find useful information. The email is an option for those who choose to use it. Going off your last sentence, you're assuming everyone who sends email is a spammer. Indeed, given your habits, if you have received emails from companies, you've probably mostly received spam. For instance, you sign to an account or buy something --> company proceeds to send dozens of emails, unsolicited, and ignores the unsubscribe. This is terrible, but it's not what happens when you enter your email on a non-spammy site. There, they usually send reasonable emails with a working unsubscribe link. Conversions in this case depend upon not annoying the prospect. If you never enter your email in popup boxes you likely only receive the spammiest of email marketing. Edit: oops, I thought you were OP, and so assumed you never enter your email. If you do enter your email and get spam - well, I guess we have different experiences. My spam almost exclusively comes from product orders, not from info boxes I chose.
nerdponx 9y ago
I actually started doing this again, for companies that I already know and like. Sometimes I do actually want to subscribe, and having a big reminder in my face helps, well, remind me.
kharms 9y ago
If I intend to make a non-Amazon purchase I always sign up for the newsletter and then use the coupon that inevitably arrives a few days later. I have a separate email account set up just for this.
sorenjan 9y ago
I got really disappointed that he recommended things that I really dislike and think is both annoying and a bit scummy (I'm not suggesting that he is scummy though), like popups, newsletters, upselling, editorial ads, and so on. But apparently it works, so it will be around for a long time. Things like that makes me uncomfortable, but then again you have to grow your business somehow, and he seems to be a good guy.
jpindar 9y ago
It blows me away that some HN posters don't have a junk address for this kind of thing. Edit: I first wrote throwaway address, but that's not what I mean because it implies that you never check it. I skim through the subject lines of my junk subscriptions address occasionally. If there's something that sounds interesting enough I'll read it and maybe buy something.

It still blows me away that people put their email address in forms, and that email marketing affects sales. I guess while they keep working, people will keep creating popups.

ssharp 9y ago

Why? You might come across his site, think it is interesting but need to move on to something else. Email is a really easy way to get reminders, learn more, etc. Email converts well because the people on the email list have already shown active interest in whatever you're doing. It's a high quality base to market to.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

jmuguy 9y ago

I don't normally but I went to the site, saw the little spin the wheel deal, and went ahead and signed up. The difference is - his site/company doesn't look like some scammy crap just syphoning up emails to spam them.

cableshaft 9y ago

> email marketing affects sales I get emails from board game web shops all the time informing me of their sales. If I see something I'm interested in the email I'll click through and possibly purchase something. I just did it with Funagain Games a few days ago, when they announced a 'Lonely Hearts' sale, of games that play well solo. They had some good deals on there, so I grabbed bought a game at 25% of the price I've seen it at elsewhere. If it's for a product you're really interested in, I think email marketing works.

dawnerd 9y ago
Same here, but I get emails from funko instead. Hard to admit just how much it's affected me buying things...

mathofma 9y ago

Founder of Mini Materials here. I'm a designer myself, and I absolutely hate e-mail popups. BUT - it just works. The wheel captures a huge percentage of emails and that leads directly to sales.

Broken_Hippo 9y ago

I don't. Most of them get marked as spam and I unsubscribe. But on the other hand, my bras cost $60-$120. Each. I wear a specialty size. In the US, no physical store near me sold it. Victoria's secret didn't have it. Its the only time I wish I was still overweight. The store that sells my bras here emails me when they are on sale. At those prices, I usually buy not long after the email. The email marketing that works for me are similar things. Simple advertisement, though, gets blocked.

Nagyman 9y ago

I have a hypothesis that a lot of less-than-savvy internet users think filling out those pop-ups is just akin to a login form. "Oh, I have to fill out my email to see this, sure!" That doesn't explain the efficacy of increased sales though :) The experience _can_ be ok, if it's easy enough to dismiss. The pattern that drives me a little nuts is the "intent to close tab" event trigger. I just wanted to switch tabs, calm down, I'm not leaving your site.

elif 9y ago
I've been a professional coder for 14 years if you consider that savvy... I am constantly finding products that interest me, and have no hesitation of putting my unaliased gmail address into random product sites. You may be surprised to learn that my inbox is not a cesspool, there is nothing in there which I didn't ask for. I believe the aversion to spreading email addresses online is actually a holdover emotion from a time when spam was an unaddressed real problem and where obfuscation was possible. Today, your and my email address are already in hundreds of purchasable lists... and the battle is fought by gmail instead of by me.
- Nagyman 9y ago
  Awesome. Not overly surprised that someone with years of experience can manage what they're subscribed to AND identify those sites that won't abuse the implied trust in handling that email address :) Agreed, spam prevention has come a long way on both the client-side (gmail) and regulations (CAN-SPAM), forcing clear unsubscribe paths. Yes, the damage of past behaviour is hard to reverse. Next generation of users don't allot much attention to email, so liking/following is the way to "subscribe to product info". Otherwise, those exclusively email-based popovers are just a nuisance to that audience; good ones include other channels.
softawre 9y ago
ctrl+tab switches tabs, most sites use mouse movement to show you the popups. Switch to keyboard shortcuts :)
- 9y ago

skybrian 9y ago

Depends what it is. I don't normally respond to marketing email, but appreciate email from Steam that a game on my wish list is on sale.

graeme 9y ago

What makes it fundamentally different from clicking a link? "Click this link to read more about cinder blocks" "Enter your email here to read more about cinder blocks" In both cases, there is the promise of more information. Presumably, you would agree that the information in the link might persuade you to buy from the site, assuming you're interested in cinder blocks. What then would be your reason for being unswayed by similar information in email form? I'm guessing you just have an opposition in principle to marketing via email, but not an opposition in principle to marketing on a webpage. The reason email works, by the way, is that you get the user's attention. The first time someone hits your site, they may have 2000" tabs open, they may get a notification on their phone, etc. Email lets you confirm their interest and reach them later. It solves the distraction issue.

monsieurbanana 9y ago
What makes it fundamentally different from clicking a link is that now they will be the ones initiating the contact. Call me cynic, but I don't think the majority of people have my best interests in mind when they send me advertising emails. Note the plural in "emails". If you're not interested in what they offer you can't just choose to ignore them, that will only result in more emails.
- graeme 9y ago
  Well, you can choose not to enter the email and just explore the site. In a non scammy site, you'll find useful information. The email is an option for those who choose to use it. Going off your last sentence, you're assuming everyone who sends email is a spammer. Indeed, given your habits, if you have received emails from companies, you've probably mostly received spam. For instance, you sign to an account or buy something --> company proceeds to send dozens of emails, unsolicited, and ignores the unsubscribe. This is terrible, but it's not what happens when you enter your email on a non-spammy site. There, they usually send reasonable emails with a working unsubscribe link. Conversions in this case depend upon not annoying the prospect. If you never enter your email in popup boxes you likely only receive the spammiest of email marketing. Edit: oops, I thought you were OP, and so assumed you never enter your email. If you do enter your email and get spam - well, I guess we have different experiences. My spam almost exclusively comes from product orders, not from info boxes I chose.

nerdponx 9y ago

I actually started doing this again, for companies that I already know and like. Sometimes I do actually want to subscribe, and having a big reminder in my face helps, well, remind me.

kharms 9y ago

If I intend to make a non-Amazon purchase I always sign up for the newsletter and then use the coupon that inevitably arrives a few days later. I have a separate email account set up just for this.

sorenjan 9y ago

I got really disappointed that he recommended things that I really dislike and think is both annoying and a bit scummy (I'm not suggesting that he is scummy though), like popups, newsletters, upselling, editorial ads, and so on. But apparently it works, so it will be around for a long time. Things like that makes me uncomfortable, but then again you have to grow your business somehow, and he seems to be a good guy.

jpindar 9y ago

It blows me away that some HN posters don't have a junk address for this kind of thing. Edit: I first wrote throwaway address, but that's not what I mean because it implies that you never check it. I skim through the subject lines of my junk subscriptions address occasionally. If there's something that sounds interesting enough I'll read it and maybe buy something.