But you can¡¯t just put up a link that says ¡°free newsletter¡±. No one cares! You need to carefully craft an opt-in box that works like a big net, catching the exact type of ¡°fish¡± you want as your ideal clients and customers.
Also remember, don¡¯t hide your box at the bottom of your web pages. Right now, most testing shows that the best place for your opt-in box is the upper right corner¡ loud and proud!
Here are six simple things you should have in your opt-in box that will help you get more signups than ever before.
1) An Attention-Getting HEADLINE
Remember that online readers SKIM copy - they don¡¯t read it word for word. So the headline in your opt-in box may be the ONLY thing they read, which determines whether they sign up or not. So don¡¯t waste this space saying something like ¡°Free Newsletter¡± or even worse¡ ¡°Sign up for our mailing list.¡± Ugh! Instead, tell me the MOST exciting thing your ezine will give me!
Examples:
¡°Are You Ready to Blast Off Your SALES This Year?¡±
¡°FINALLY: Learn How to Keep That Weight Off For Good¡±
¡°Insider Secrets to Writing Novels for Big Bucks¡±
2) A Raving Description of Your Ezine
Work hard at putting together a description of your ezine that gets prospects excited to sign up! Remember they¡¯re tuned into station WIIFM (¡±What¡¯s In It For ME?¡±). Tell them what your information is going to DO for them as well as everything they GET. Examples: How-to articles, quick and easy tips, free resources, insider secrets. Aim for your description to be between 15 and 30 words.
3) A Field to Enter Their FIRST NAME.
Getting people¡¯s names along with their e-mails allows you to personalize your ezine for them. For example, if I was on your list, your e-mail would come to me saying, ¡°Dear Ali¡¡± The subject line could even say, ¡°Ali, here¡¯s your free tip¡±. Why do you want to do this? Studies prove that having the recipient¡¯s name in the subject line of your e-mails can increase your open rates by 60%!
The problem is, many people value their privacy and are hesitant to give you their full name. For this reason, just ask for their FIRST name. It¡¯s been proven that you¡¯ll get MORE names from people if you only ask for the first name. (And their first name is generally all you¡¯ll need anyway.)
4) A Field to Enter Their Primary EMAIL ADDRESS.
Many people have a backup or personal e-mail address that they use just for receiving newsletters and promotions. The problem is they are often from free e-mail services like Yahoo or Hotmail. These services filter e-mail like crazy, and their mailboxes fill up quickly, so there¡¯s a good chance your e-mails won¡¯t even reach these recipients.
The solution is, simply ask for their primary e-mail. It¡¯s amazing, but simply ASKING them to enter their primary e-mail will get you more quality e-mails on your list! (You¡¯ll also get less bounce-backs from undeliverable e-mails. If you get too many of those, it raises a red flag to some spam filter programs.)
5) A BUTTON That Says ¡°Subscribe¡± or ¡°Sign Me Up Now¡±
Make it very clear what they should click on to activate their subscription once they type in their name and email. Don¡¯t use something confusing like a link that says ¡°submit form¡±.
6) Your PRIVACY POLICY, right then and there.
Everyone¡¯s scared to receive more spam these days, so put your prospects at ease. Don¡¯t make them wonder what you¡¯re going to do with their e-mail addresses. State right next to or below your opt-in form what your policy is. Mine is, ¡°We will never sell, rent, trade, or share your e-mail with any other organization.¡± (Feel free to use that yourself.) DON¡¯T make people click on a link to read your privacy policy - it looks like you have something to hide. In fact, in some U.S. states, it¡¯s now required that you state your privacy policy right at the point of opt-in, so it¡¯s a good idea no matter where you do business.
Want to See a Sample of This in Action?
If you¡¯d like to see many of these components in action, see my pop-under box at www.ezinequeen.com/popup.htm.
And if you¡¯d like MORE step-by-step instructions on how to get more signups at your website (and beyond) and build your list bigger than ever before, see my SPECIAL REPORT: ¡°101 Simple, FREE and Low-Cost Ways to Quickly Build a Massive EMAIL LIST¡±, which you can learn more about here.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, ¡°The E-zine Queen,¡± is creator of the award-winning ¡®Boost Business With Your Own E-zine¡¯ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to marketing articles and FREE audio class, visit
www.EzineQueen.com