I had my social profile links tucked down at the very bottom of the page. The opt-in form – if I had one – was hidden on a separate page entirely.
The marketing gurus would have you believe that I made a huge mistake by making it hard to opt-in like that.
The money is in the list, right?
No disagreements there.
But in many cases, making it harder to opt-in can build you a better list.
To start with,
Slapping Up Opt-In Forms And Free Ebooks
On Your Site Is One Of
The WORST Ways To Get Opt-Ins
When you do that, you sound like an insecure teenager, desperate for a little attention to bolster your flagging self-esteem.
Not only that, while you might end up with more subscribers, the lead quality is low. Many of them will be unresponsive freeloaders that aren’t interested in what you have to offer.
When you “sell sell sell” people on signing up to your list, you build a list of unqualified people who have no intention of giving you money.
Freeloaders.
I’d rather have a tiny list of extremely responsive subscribers than a list of tens of thousands that are apathetic about spending money to solve their problems.
In another post, I explained why you shouldn’t put your opt-in form above the fold.
By making it harder to opt-in, I increased a client’s opt-in rate by over 250%.
Free Updates Or A Specific Offer?
On themcmethod.com, my main opt-in form is a page about How To Build An Automatic Sales Machine.
On the page, I explain how to use an email autoresponder as an automatic sales machine. I finish by asking people to sign up for more information.
People sign up to that list almost every day. Since I’ve made it harder to opt-in here than the typical sidebar opt-in form, you can bet that all of the subscribers on that list are interested in learning more about autoresponders.
They are high quality leads.
That’s Why The Following Results Shocked Me
A few weeks ago, I added an “Email Updates” sign up box to Drop Dead Copy.
I wanted to see if anyone actually cared to subscribe via email. I prefer email updates when I subscribe to other blogs. I was curious to find out if anyone felt the same.
Turns out, they didn’t.
In almost 2 weeks, I’ve had close to no signups to the free updates list.
Yet it’s at the bottom of every post. It’s EASY as pie to sign up. It’s impossible to miss.
Despite this easy-access signup form, the bulk of my subscribers are still coming from the automatic sales machine page.
The bulk of my subscribers are coming from a form that is hidden beneath 1000 words of text.
What’s More Compelling – Free Updates Or A Specific Offer?
I expected more people to be interested in free updates.
But most people are interested in a specific offer (My autoresponder course.).
They want help with their problems…
…not random updates about copywriting and email marketing.
Specific Offer Wins Hands Down
Think it’s time to start building a list?
Or want an easy way to increase your opt-ins?
The secret: create a better offer.
Make a list of problems that your target prospect has.
Then create an autoresponder that solves those problems.
Two things will happen –
- Your opt-in rate will increase, and
- You will build a better relationship with your market
Screw “above the fold”.
Create a better offer for your autoresponder and watch your opt-in rate skyrocket.
John, The Autoresponder Guy
P.S. The money isn’t in the list. It’s in your relationship to the people on that list. When you create a compelling autoresponder, your subscribers will be more engaged and you will make more sales. Period.