BLOG / STARTUP CULTURE

5 (Really Good) Reasons NOT to Collect Names on Email Opt-In Forms

By The Leadpages Team|Published January 12, 2013|Updated October 29, 2025

Welcome to the Marketing Show Podcast. If you follow Marketing Show, it goes without saying that you collect email addresses on your website... right? Everyone knows that building an email list is a must, but there's still some confusion and controversy over what other information you should collect from visitors when they subscribe. Should you ask for a name as well? As far as we're concerned the answer is simple: Nope! Having looked at the pros and cons in a variety of businesses, Clay and Andy are firmly in the "don't collect names" camp (and still manage to maintain great relationships with their clients). Plug in those headphones and listen to our best five reasons for skipping the "name" field on opt-in forms. Subscription and Download Options:

• If you want to download this episode, you can sync with the iTunes store
• Or right-click here for a direct download

Got a question?

Leave us a voicemail at (707) 969-7469 with your questions about building a loyal and excited audience, or just click the button below to connect: If your question is selected, Clay and Andy will play it and hook you up with answers on a future episode of the Marketing Show Podcast.

Share the love

And if you found this podcast valuable, we'd be completely humbled and honored if you'd do two things:

1. Leave a rating and review in iTunes, and...
2. Tell a friend who could benefit from tuning in.

Thanks!

Introduction

[0:00:00]
Clay: Hello everyone. My name is Clay Collins, and with me is Andy Fossett, who runs our coaching program. Andy, how’s it going?
Andy: It is going fabulously today, Clay.
Clay: Awesome.
Andy: How are you doing?
Clay: I’m doing great. It’s a beautiful day here in sunny Minneapolis, Minnesota. How’s it going in Hawaii?
Andy: Hawaii is ironically raining right now. It’s a hipster rain.
Clay: (Laughs) Yeah, I’m sure people in Portland or Seattle are sipping fancy coffee, staring out windows, wishing they could be in Hawaii—and you’re there for them.
Andy: Definitely.
Clay: That made no sense, but let’s just go with it.

Episode Topic Introduction

Clay: So today, we’re going to be talking about the five reasons why you should not collect first names on opt-in forms.

Andy: Yeah. There are a lot of skilled marketers who do collect first names—and even full addresses—but it’s definitely not for everyone. We’ve got some well-considered reasons why you might want to give it up.

Clay: Yup, completely agree. Pat Flynn—someone I have tremendous respect for—likes collecting first names. We’ve always had a policy of not doing it, and reasonable people can disagree, but today we’re laying out our five-point case against collecting first names.

Reason #1: More Fields = Lower Opt-In Rates

Andy: Point number one—it’s been verified again and again. When you collect more than one field, opt-in rates go down.

Clay: Exactly. With every new field—like asking for a first name in addition to an email address—conversion rates drop.

Andy: It can make sense for B2B or webinar registrations where you’re qualifying leads, but for most consumer-oriented businesses, it’s unnecessary.

Reason #2: Personalization Doesn’t Fool Anyone Anymore

Clay: Second point—people are not fooled by seeing their name in the subject line. This isn’t the early golden age of the internet anymore.

Andy: Right. No one thinks you personally wrote that email just because their name appears in it. People understand how email marketing works now.

Reason #3: Real Emails Don’t Use Names Anymore

Andy: Your real friends don’t start emails with “Dear Tommy.” People just don’t do that anymore—especially when typing on phones.

Clay: Exactly. Platforms like Facebook don’t even have subject lines anymore. People just message “What’s up?” or “Heard you got engaged. Congrats!”—not “Dearest Andrew.”

Andy: And if you do get an email like that, it’s probably from a Nigerian prince.
Clay: (Laughs) Who’s ready to send you several million dollars if you’ll just share your bank number.

Reason #4: People Use Fake Names

Clay: Next point—people often enter fake names in the form. I’ve seen things like “God” or “I don’t want to tell you.”
Andy: Exactly, and every time you send them an email, it reminds them it’s not personal—it’s a bulk message.
Clay: Right. It’s disingenuous to fake personalization when the relationship is automated.

Reason #5: You Make More Money Without It

Andy: The final point—you and I, and our clients, make more money when we don’t require a name.
Clay: True. We’ve measured this, and income increases when we remove the name field. It’s not the only metric that matters, but it’s an important one.
Andy: Absolutely. If you want to stay in business, profits matter—and simplifying your form can help.

Verdict

Clay: So, what’s the verdict?
Andy: Five to none—5–0 against collecting first names. There may be exceptions for high-touch sales processes, but generally, collecting names just hurts performance.
Clay: The verdict is the guillotine—for collecting first names! (Laughs)

Segment: Opt-In / Opt-Out

Clay: All right, let’s move on to our new segment—Opt-In / Opt-Out.
Andy: Sounds good.
Clay: For anyone new, this is where we each share something we opt in or opt out of in marketing trends.

Andy’s Opt-In

Andy: My opt-in relates to today’s topic—marketers are becoming more respectful of privacy and conscious of how they collect contact information. That’s a great step forward across industries.

Clay’s Opt-Out

Clay: My opt-out isn’t as deep—it’s about using the word FREE in all caps. Just because something’s free doesn’t mean you should scream it.
Andy: (Laughs) We all do it sometimes.
Clay: True. I think marketers see others doing it and assume it works—but often it’s just a trend that spread accidentally.
Andy: Like an urban legend of marketing.
Clay: Exactly—like “pee in the pool and it turns red.” (Laughs)
Andy: I’m going to test that one.
Clay: Please don’t. (Laughs)

Closing Remarks

Clay: Thanks, everyone, for tuning in to The Marketing Show.
Andy: We really appreciate it. Please go to iTunes, leave a review and rating, and send us your questions.
Clay: Thanks for listening, everyone. Take care!

[0:11:27] End of Audio

Would you like me to turn this into a blog-style article or formatted podcast show notes next (with subhead summaries and SEO keywords like “email marketing best practices”)?