How to Increase Opt-In Page Conversions
Lately, I hear a lot of complaints from Internet marketers. They complain that people just don’t opt-in to squeeze pages any more.
It’s harder than ever to get an opt-in. Partly, this is because of spam, fear, and paranoia. Once upon a time, all you had to do was include the magic words, “Sign up here to get e-mails”. No kidding, that’s all it took.
People would opt-in like crazy! E-mails, e-newsletters — everything was so new and exciting. My, how things have changed. Today, we are deluged with e-mails. People are constantly changing e-mail addresses. People have multiple e-mail addresses - heck, some people even have a fake e-mail address that they never check, just to deal with all the spam.
Cutting through the clutter is a challenge. How can you make sure you are getting real opt-ins from people who will actually read the e-mails you send out?
There are proven methods for increasing your opt-in conversions; all it takes is a small amount of work.
Try these three tactics to boost your opt-ins:
Make a powerful offer. You need to offer an ethical bribe - a special report, a newsletter, a piece of software - in order for people to opt-in. However, to the average person, saying “Sign up for my newsletter” translates to “Give me your e-mail address so I can spam you”. Obviously, you need a more creative approach. Whatever your ethical bribe, make it amazing. Don’t just offer a special report. Offer a killer report, filled with great writing and unique material. Don’t just offer the same old stuff that can be found anywhere. Make it something that they can only get through you. Make sure that it addresses your customer’s needs!
Use a bigger, “responsive” HTML button. Go to my website: www.RayEdwardsCopy.com and look at the button on the subscription form on my squeeze page. Notice that it’s larger than most buttons you see on subscription forms. Notice also, that when you hover your cursor over the button, the background changes color from red to green. That is a subtle, psychological hint that takes people from “Stop” to “Go!” Yeah, that’s a little sillybut, in my experience, it increases conversions. I can verify this through some colleagues of mine: Michel Fortin, Eric Graham - The Conversion Doctor and Armand Morin, as well. My recommendation is that you try this kind of button, too.
Keep distractions off your opt-in pages. Take another look at my opt-in page. Do you see how clean it looks? There are no distractions to take attention away from the opt-in option. Of course, there are legal disclaimers at the bottom (right where I need them), but they are very subtle. And when you click on them, those legal notices open in small pop-up windows - after all, I want them on this page, not heading off in another direction.
While these suggestions seem very simplistic, they really work. Try them for yourself, and watch your opt-in rates soar!
Last 5 posts by Ray Edwards
- Jobs for Copywriting - July 30th, 2008
- Attracting More Clients - May 25th, 2008
- Automatic Testimonials - Forever! - May 6th, 2008
- Using Audio to Boost Conversions - May 6th, 2008
- Copywriting Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them - May 6th, 2008
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