subject: 5 List Building Secrets! [print this page] Email opt-in lists can bring with them the best direct marketing opportunity available to man - if they are done correctly. Here are five easy ways to grow your email opt-in list whilst retaining a high number of quality of prospects.
Make Your Opt-In Form Highly Visible
Many internet marketers only place their email opt-in form on their homepage, assuming that this is the most popular page on the site. This is a mistake for two reasons - firstly, not everyone will arrive on your website's home page (they may land on a splash page or a content page) - secondly, having only one place to opt-in is far too limiting. For these reasons, you should aim to have your opt-in available and highly visible on every page (or at least the majority of pages) of your website.
Provide Something of Value
Too many times, we see different websites offering the same cheesy, low value PLR (Public Label Rights) eBook in return for an opt-in. Whilst you may want to use a PLR product as a base to work from, and perhaps to gain ideas, you really should try creating a freebie that is both unique and that resonates with your site as a whole. By this, I mean, at least ensure that the colour scheme and graphics match up with that of your website. Of key importance though is that you provide something original and useful. Taking a weekend off to put your own eBook together will pay huge dividends down the line. If you're not a great writer, hire a ghost writer and provide them with the raw information.
Create Referral Incentives
Create an additional product (eBook, audio recording, etc) that your current subscribers can receive in return for referring three or five friends to your site (or opt-in page). You can either promote this offer on your site, or in your email auto-responder series, or both. Either way, make sure its appealing, useful and of high quality. Getting this trick right can equate to a ratio of about 1:1, which means that for every signup, you are assured of another signup free.
Create a Contact Us Add-on
This tactic is particularly powerful, but needs to be implemented ethically. On your contact us form, create a checkbox that reads "Also sign me up for your newsletter" or something similar. Make sure that the checkbox is not checked by default, as this will just result in angry visitors and a high unsubscribe rate.
Hold a Competition
This is possibly the oldest trick in the direct marketer's book, but is nonetheless still incredibly effective. Hold a competition with a decent prize (possibly one of your products or services), and allow people to enter by opting in to your competition list. Provided that you market the competition well (and offer a desirable prize), you should receive quite a few opt-ins. When implementing this tactic, consider the average value per lead, and then work out a marketing budget for the competition using that figure.
More than anything else, growing your opt-in list is a long term process. Commit to the process, continually research new ways to grow the list, and have a little patience - All of these traits will pay off in the long term.
