Friday, May 23, 2008

List Building - Get Opt-In Rates Soaring Today

Thinking about list building pages, you probably think: headline, bullet points, opt-in box, am I right? Well, of course. Those things are mandatory, or you won't collect many names. Yet, under the stuff you see on the list building page, there's a psychological perspective to consider. Why do people sign up for other people's lists?

The first thing they see on the list building page is your headline. How well written is it? Does it tell readers: What's in it for me? Or the WIIFM principle. What's in it for them is very, very important. Your headline has to show people some benefit of being on your list. If it's something you want, you're more likely to sign up, right? For instance, if you consider the title of this article, you want more opt-ins or you wouldn't be reading now. Well, it's the same thing with your squeeze page. If you don't give people a good reason to join your list, they won't.

Even then, they may not join if they aren't curious. I mean, their mailboxes are already so crammed with messages, why would they want one more from you? They won't unless you make them crazy to know something that you're going to tell them. So, tease them a little. They want to know the "how." You're reading because you want to know how to get better results with your list building pages and ultimately, more opt-ins. You're wondering how to do it.

Your title should lead them to the discovery that if they sign up for your list, they'll find out how. So, to get them going make your title "punchy." That means it should hit them right in the face and get them to read more. Punchy is like curious, amused, and interested all at the same time. An example might be: "How to Find Happiness in a Simple Bullet." What in the world is that about? Well, it could be about philosophy, or it could be about bullet points, right? Want to know? You read more, right? List titles are always good, too. "6 Ways to..." or "15 Different Things to Consider When It Comes to..." and whatever. There are a gazillion ways to use that one.

Use the same concepts when writing your bullet points, too. You want them to be mini-headlines, not full sentences or worse, paragraphs. Keep them short and easy to read. "How to set up an automated money-making system" or "How to get others to send traffic to your website for FREE." If you're a business owner, you'll surely want to know how you can do these things. They're benefits for obvious reasons--more traffic, more money. They're easy to figure out, but interesting enough to make people want to know "how" even more.

You need a sense of urgency, too. When will they be able to do these things? You'll notice in the title to this article, I used "today." Don't you want more opt-ins right away? I know I do, and I already have a pretty big list. You create urgency in any part of your list building page, but one often overlooked place is the "submit" button in your autoresponder box. Change it to say, "Claim your..." or "Instant Access..." or something other than plain old submit. Otherwise, you may end up in the bookmarks file, where people intend to come back, but never do.

Having a great list building page is important to building a great list. Without compelling copy, people probably won't join, so remember to let readers know about the benefits of being on your list, but not in detail. Make them curious. Give them a sense of urgency, too. Why would they want to sign up immediately? That's what they need to know. If you try these tactics in your copy today, you'll probably see your list building efforts improve immediately. Isn't it worth a shot?

Tellman Knudson, CEO of OvercomeEverything, Inc., is a master list builder and well-known for his first project, List Crusade. Tellman teaches you his system for explosive list building at MyFirstList.com.

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