How to Manage Email Signups via OLX

I think it depends on the volume of sign-ups you receive.  We don't get that many, so I usually end up doing some online research to gather whatever additional information I can find.  (LexisNexis, while expensive, is helpful as it shows possible email addresses on the record...assuming they live locally or have a really unusual name.)  Once I determine that I'm not adding a duplicate, I tell OLX to either update the existing record or create a new one.  And I have a RE Default Set assigned in OLX for all new records added by OLX...that puts in Gender: Unknown, Marital Status: Unknown, Preferred Address Type: Blank Address, Preferred Address Info Source: OLX Sign Up, Send Mail: No, Has No Valid Address: Yes, etc.  This helps a lot in getting consistent information entered.  But there are a number of records now in our database with no real information, and that can be frustrating.  I wish OLX would at least allow us to collect Zip Code, to help reduce duplicates.


And I wish we could use OLX for our Foster Care Inquiry process...that runs separate, generates an email that I then use to enter into RE.  It only has 5 fields, 6 if name is split first/last, but because OLX only allows for one sign-up form and 3 fields on the form, we can't do that and it must remain a manual process.  I'd love to see SignUp Forms like Donation Forms, where you can have multiple, and put them on different pages of your site, collecting different types of information.


But to your question, I like OLX, and it is far more efficient than when we used Constant Contact, so I'm okay with it...and with the mostly-blank records it creates.

There are studies cited that the more fields on the form, the less likely people are to complete them (or start them), and while I get that, I wish it were like the Donation Pages...do whatever you want, but here's a Best Practices Guideline with links to various studies and articles to help you understand why you should consider slimming down your form.  I'd be happy just adding Zip Code to the regular form.  But I'd also like to have different forms for different purposes.