The question about the "right amount of questions" to ask of people signing up to your opt-in form is a tough one to answer, we get it all the time. Then we have to give the lame answer "that depends." But it's true, it does depend. It depends on what you really need for your business. There are varying degrees of data collection methods. Here are a few...

Name
If your business relies on sheer quantity and "just ok" quality of email addresses then you might only ask for email address and maybe first name if you want to ever personalize your email marketing campaigns.

Postal Address
Some businesses need a full address because they'll be sending postal mail to them. If you do need this make sure to make it required so your visitor can't leave the form without filling it out. What's also great about getting a postal address is if your recipients email bounces you can send them a direct mail piece asking them to call you and update it.

Phone Number
Phone numbers can be especially important if you need to call your customers at any given point to confirm something. And just like gathering postal information, you can call them if their email bounces to get an update. Expect to get a percentage of people giving bogus information as well, but many won't especially if you give them the reason why you're asking for it.

Product Interest
We have many customers who want to market to their recipients by the product or service they have an interest in.

Age
Asking for age, again depending on the business might be a bit tricky. One way around this is by having a birthday club where you give something to your registrant as a gift. It can be in the form of a discount or something free.

Danger Zone Data
Credit Card information, household income & gender can all be a bit personal and turn off your registrant especially if they're required. Expect a lot of bogus information here if you're asking for it, there are just too many scams going on online and people are generally afraid.

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