By: Dan Hodgson
People are becoming more and more
selective when it comes to giving out their email addresses online. Many feel they receive more than enough
email already and don't want anymore that will be perceived as “junk”. As a result, people will only subscribe to
email lists from which they believe they'll receive a lot of value. I know I behave this way, and I bet you do
too.
When I see an email opt-in box on a
small business website, the opt-in message often says one of two things: either “sign up to our email list” or “sign
up to our newsletter”. These messages
don't provide any real incentive for a potential subscriber to give up their
email address. They don't communicate
what value the subscriber will get by doing so.
Because of this, new subscriber sign ups will be rare.
In order to effectively build an email
list, you need to dangle a proverbial carrot, that thing your website visitor
really wants. They need to be given a good
reason to provide their coveted email address to you. Otherwise, when they leave your website
you'll be empty-handed.
So, what should you offer for free as
your opt-in incentive? Here are 5 solid
opt-in incentives to encourage your
website visitors to sign up to your email list:
- Ebook or report – These are ebooks or reports in PDF format that get delivered instantly by email when someone opts-in to your list. Think about what your prospective customers would like to know about. What would they like to learn from you? If you're a hair salon perhaps it's an ebook about the top 10 hair styles for 2012. If you're a business consultant, it could be a 5 page report on how to handle the top 5 management issues in any organization.
- Webinar – Webinars are great when you want to demonstrate or show people something visually. These are common in the B2B services industry, but they can also be effectively used in B2C markets as well. Those attending your webinar can also interact with the presenter at specific points. This gives you a format to answer any questions and receive valuable feedback from your audience. They get valuable information from you and you get feedback from them, creating a win-win.
- Prize drawing – Who doesn't want something for free? Essentially these are like sweepstakes where you randomly pick a winner after a certain period of time or after reaching a certain number of subscribers. I've been seeing a lot of these lately and they can work quite well. You just need to think about what you'd like to offer for free and when would you like to select the winner. If you're a restaurant, maybe it's a prize drawing for a free dinner for 2 people.
- Coupons or special offers – This strategy can work well for nearly any business. What discounts would you like to offer consumers? Focus on coupons for popular items if you'd really like to ramp up your subscribers. The coupons or special discounts you're offering should be special and unique to the opt-in incentive. I don't recommend placing coupons that also appear in coupon mailers or magazines sent to consumers. Otherwise, potential subscribers won't perceive it to be as valuable. Come up with something specifically for your opt-in incentive.
- Audio clips – Audio clips are great when you want to address new subscribers in an audio format. They can be interviews you conduct with others in your industry who are valued in the eyes of your subscribers. You can also do interviews with internal team members addressing important issues or topics your new subscribers would like to hear about.
By having a solid incentive to offer
website visitors, you'll find your email list opt-ins will increase
substantially. Select one of the five
strategies above and customize the free giveaway to your business. I'd recommend testing a few different
strategies to see which one works best for gathering up new subscribers.
If you have any questions, feel free to
contact me via Twitter or through my company website. Both are listed below.
© 2012 Dan Hodgson
Dan Hodgson is President and Founder of
Etude Technologies, an Internet Marketing company based in Cincinnati,
Ohio. Etude Technologies shows small to
medium sized businesses how to leverage the Internet by building powerful web
presences and generating leads online.
This would have easily come in as an intro for a white paper of a company trying to set up online presence. You got all valid and interesting points here that have never been brought up anywhere before. Thumbs up! california corporation
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