Good Practices for Newsletter Subscription Forms

[chrison600]

Hi all,

Just looking for advice on what to require vs not require on a web form for newsletter subscriptions. Right now I'm of a mind to only require an email address, but I'm thinking that might lead to too much garbage. Email, name, and phone? I'm going to have fields for all contact info, but only require a minimum.

Thoughts?

Chris

[Duncan Pollock]

FirstName / LastName / e-mail address is all you need to build a subscription list so why ask for anything more?
The likelihood of junk signups is rather remote. Why would anyone fill in the form if your newsletter is of little if any interest to them? Unless you're using the word Free, I can't see anyone responding to an invitation to receive something they neither need nor will benefit from.
In any case, you need to incorporate an opt-out option with your newsletter when you send it out -- and, although it isn't perhaps obvious, you have the right to reject a signup anyway!

Duncan