6 Ways to Catch More Opt-ins Than Ever Before

Remember that when you have new visitors at your website, your #1 goal is to get them on your ezine list! That way you have permission to contact them again and again, educating them about your helpful services and products that they came to learn more about.

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.

© 2005 Alexandria K. Brown

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 articles and FREE audio class, visit http://www.EzineQueen.com

---

PublishAmerica - Publishing Parasites

I have to admit to being readily impressed by company names. Maybe it's an age thing. You see, I was around when we had nationalised industries here... Read More

Why I Started My Ezine

Why I started this E- ZineSit back, and travel with me.I discovered my need to write and gather inspiring stories about baseball as I drove on route... Read More

Become an E-Book Author ... Make Money From Your Knowledge!

"E-Book" is short for Electronic Book---an organized set of content delivered in an electronic format. There are many different types of e-books including packaged executables, PDF, and... Read More

Three E-zine Alternatives You May Not Have Considered

During the free e-zine publishing teleclasses I offer every month, I always get a few people who say to me, "You know, publishing an e-zine sounds great,... Read More

Why Self-Publish Your Book?

When I meet an author with a great book concept, one who's definitely the right person to write that book, right away I'll often encourage him or... Read More

7 Useful Free Services For E-publishers

If you want to have an online business, without doubt, you should have your own newsletter. Why is that important? Most people won't buy your product on... Read More

The Number One Tried and Tested Method For Exploding Your Ezine Subscriptions

We all know how cagey and stubborn prospects can be and we know that only a tiny percentage will buy our products the first time they see... Read More

How To Write Powerful Newsletters, Offline And Online

The theory of writing for newsletters is very similar to that of writing for press releases and other media work, but with newsletters there is one crucial... Read More

22 Ways to Grow Your Subscriber List

1. Don't bury your subscriber form, place it on your home page and or every page and make it VERY easy to find. 2. Add a one-liner... Read More

An Embarrassment of Riches - Part II

The DOI Foundation has unveiled the DOI-EB (EB stands for e-books) Initiative in the Book Expo America Show 2001, to, in their words:"Determine requirements with respect to... Read More

7 Ways You Can Make a Huge Impression With Your Ezine Welcome Message

Many times I receive a Welcome Message from someone after I subscribe to their ezine that leaves me wondering what I just jumped into. A welcome message... Read More

Email Filters Catch Dolphins Along With Sharks

What's the point in spending hours preparing a newsletter, message or report if it's automatically filtered into the junk folder before the recipient even sees it? Spam... Read More

The Sure-Fire Ways To Increase Your E-zines Readership!

You Have Won! Hold an ongoing prize drawing in your e-zine. The prizes should be something of interest or value to your subscribers. Most people... Read More

Ezines ? An Excellent Approach To Internet Marketing

What is an ezine? An ezine is an abbreviation for "electronic magazine", also simply put, a "newsletter". Ezines are extremely popular today and are used as an... Read More

Employee Newsletter Ideas - 7 Creative Ideas for Your Employee Newsletter

Employee newsletters are an effective tool to communicate with your employees. Here are 7 employee newsletter ideas...#1. Provide Information about Your CustomersThe more familiar your employees are... Read More

Five Solid Reasons To Publish Your Ezine In a Blog!

Get Your Ezine 'Out There'!Placing your ezine in a Blog or a RSS Feed only takes minutes to do. It's easy, fast and free. There's no reason... Read More

How to Make Your eZine Work for You Long After Its Published

If you publish an email newsletter, do you convert the issues to HTML and archive them on your website? If you haven't been doing so, you should... Read More

Producing Ezines for Growing Your Business

What an ezine is ? An ezine is an electronic newsletter sent out by email at intervals of your choice to a list of subscribers. An ezine... Read More

The Power of Personality

Owning an online business and publishing an ezine can be very frustrating, AND rewarding! There can be 100's or even 1000's of websites and/or ezines that are... Read More

Ebook Rebranding - The New Ebook Marketing Power?

Well, it is definitely yes!In the early day of internet marketing, giving away ebook free was a very good list-building strategy. It worked extremely well. But it... Read More

Convert Your Newsletters into Immediate Cash

One-Page Newsletters can do more than help you keep in constant touch with clients and prospects and educate them to desire your products and services. Each issue... Read More

Secrets To Successful Publishing

Have you ever wondered what would it take to compete successfully with the "big guys" like Simon & Schuster and even get to the top of the... Read More

10 Ways, How To Get Significant Exposure For Free

Ezine are one of the best source of information on the web today. They are generally free and can make a huge impact marketing success if used... Read More

Email Newsletter Format: HTML or Text

An email newsletter is probably the most effective way to communicate with your target audience. One of the main considerations before you create and deliver an email... Read More

Why Do We Publish?

WHY DO WE DO THIS?A major "character" in Mark Salzman's first autobiography is his father. Sometimes his father paints. But his father hates painting. He likes it... Read More

Write Your Weekly Ezine in 5-Minutes! (or better yet, dont write it at all)

How to write your ezine in 5 minutes by legally and ethically stealing other people's articles...There are virtual storehouses of awesome articles and reports just waiting online... Read More