Email subscription forms should be simple and direct, encouraging site visitors to become opt-in participants in email marketing campaigns.

Email marketing is one of the best ways that ecommerce businesses have to engage shoppers, introduce new products, and make more sales. But these powerful campaigns demand a steady flow of new subscriptions to fuel success.

What follows are three tips for creating better email subscription forms. These suggestions are very tactical, and work best when they are combined with good site design, quality products, and newsletters that deliver what they promise.

1. Describe the Prize

Too many ecommerce sites include an email newsletter form as an afterthought, placing it at the bottom of the page and, effectively, doing nothing to promote it. If the only explanation offered for the form is “Get Our Newsletter,” why would anyone bother?

Instead, describe as succinctly as possible what the site visitor gets for signing up. Will there be a discount? Invaluable information? Let them know.

This description of the prize, if you will, does not need to be long, but it should be present.

2. Get More Information Later

Email list segmentation is an important part of email marketing. Basically, the more a marketer knows about the customer, a better job that marketer can do of making relevant, high-converting offers that the customer likes. But avoid the temptation to ask a whole bunch of information up front.