Most beginning marketers know in their heads that the money is in the list but few will begin building a list in the beginning. Once they do start, they are likely to just put an opt in box in the sidebar of their blog and call it good.
This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in list building. When people come to your site there is so much information for them to read, and actions for them to take, you lose a lot of subscribers by only having your opt in information on your website. The best way to build a list, and convert your traffic from lookers to subscribers is to create an opt in page.
What is an opt in page?
An opt in page aka squeeze page is a page you set up with one intention, and one intention only ~ to get someone to sign up to your list. That’s the only thing you want them to do, that’s the only choice you make available. They either sign up or they click the back button. It is a short page, with just enough information to get them to enter their information.
Creating an opt in page will increase your subscriber rate enormously. Since there are only two options to get off the page, sign up or click the back button, you will find most people will opt in to get your gift or ecourse. If you are providing a nice incentive (gift) for them to give you their email address, most people wont say no.
What are the pieces of an opt in page?
Being such a simple page the opt in page does not have many elements. The first must have element is a freebie to give to your subscribers. This is a free report or an ecourse you create or have created for you. This will be given to the subscriber in exchange for their email address and name. This does not have to be a huge ebook, but it does have to have some perceived value.
The second element on your squeeze page is your headline. This is where you grab their attention and make them want to keep reading. This is what lets them know if you what you have is a match to what they are looking for. Here’s an example of one of my well converting squeeze page headlines. “Learn from a Giant Squid How to Make Squidoo work for You” Learn step by step how to choose a topic, find great products to promote, set up a new squidoo lens and start making money!…” This is for a 10 day ecourse on how to use squidoo to make money. This site converts quite well because people come looking for how to do squidoo and that’s just what this page offers.
A quick list of benefits people will receive from opting in, what they will learn, how it will help them to know the information provided. You can do this in a bullet point list, which makes them very clear and accessible. Make sure you are talking about benefits, from the reader’s perspective, how is your information going to help them?
The last thing you need is an opt in box. This is created by your autoresponder service. Add a title and mention your free report or ecourse within the opt in box, then have space for them to fill in their name and email address. Once you’ve done that the autoresponder will create the code for you opt in box, and all you have to do is copy and paste it into your opt in page.
Yes, an opt in page is just one simple page, with a few elements, but it is also a very powerful tool. If you want to increase the conversion rate from readers to subscribers an opt in page is a must have tool.
Posted under Internet Marketing
This post was written by Jackie Lee on May 20, 2009
