Should you ask for name when collecting emails addresses on landing pages?

Most landing pages just ask for your email address -- which is likely because the fewer fields, the better the conversion.

The problem is addressing your subscribers in the emails you'll send them.

How do you open your email copy when you don't have the person's name? Without calling our their name in the body or subject line, wouldn't the email seem generic?

Invest in good copywriting. 'Generic' is much more likely to come from a lack of tone and personality than a lack of personalization. Which of these feels more generic to you?:

Subject: Alan, Get 20% Off BrightJourney Premium Today

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Subject: You're a top BrightJourney-er, we're giving you 20% off

Good news! We're offering 20% off premium plans to our most active free members.

This. Means. You! Our analytics show you love BrightJourney, so check out the freshly-discounted premium plans: http://brightjourney.com/this-isnt-real

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Some other things to note are:

• good email marketing integrates at more points than just the landing page, so hopefully you're incrementally prompting for or bringing in other data gathered at later stages.
• there are services you can pay a tiny amount per email address or batch of email addresses to get data other companies have already gathered for them.