Two Essentials To Boosting Your Email List Subscriptions

We've covered the importance of building an email list to get more from AdWords starting here.  An email list allows you to not just follow-up with customers, but stay-in touch with the vast majority who don't buy right away.

Over time, your conversion rates rocket with effective follow-up.  Moreover, you have an instant contact list you can turn to for the launch of new products and services.

Of course, there's catch.  You need to get your visitors to give-up their contact information and join in the first place.

This can be a challenge.  After all, they've likely had experience with a business who has abused their address in the past... and they may feel like they just don't have the time to read anything else even if they do trust you.

In other words, simply telling them to join to get "updates" or your monthly newsletter just doesn't cut it.  Sure, you may get a few subscribers here and there.  But, it's nothing compared to what you could have.

Just imagine what would happen to your bottom-line if you could get just 20% (a relatively low number) of your visitors on your list?

If you only received 100 visitors a day, then that's 20 people joining your list.  At this rate, it only takes around 2 months to build a respectable size list of over 1,000.

So, how can you get your numbers at least this high?  Well, it's more than achievable simply by offering value in exchange for names and email address.

There are two key ingredients you can use to boost your opt-in or lead generation rates:

1. "Sell" your visitors on the value they get by joining your email list or newsletter.  Do you give "inside" access, offer money saving tips, offer special offers, or give other valuable information they can't get elsewhere?  You need to sell the opt-in just like you would any other offer.  Free still has a cost, time.  Your visitors should know why they should invest their time in you. 
2. Offer a valuable free report, video, audio, or other content.   It may only take an hour or two to put together a short report with tips related to your product or service.  For instance, "The Top 10 Keys To Making More From AdWords" or "The 10 Biggest Mistakes Made When Hiring A Photographer" (which you also happen to solve).  With this type of report, you just list off each key and then add to it.  You don't need to be a world-class expert or writer to do this fast.

Even better than short reports, are those that are more thoroughly researched and tell a story (or argument).  For instance, let's say you're a real-estate agent.  You might create a "Manifesto" on what's wrong with the real-estate industry and how you do things differently.  Another idea might be that you sell a health supplement and you write a "Tell-all" about why most are worthless...even dangerous and why you're different.

Do you see the power in this?  In addition to boosting your sign-up rates, this free content does 3 things:  Educates your prospects on the need for your paid products and services, builds relationships, and establishes you as the expert.  

The key is your freebie should offer real value -- maybe even something you would have otherwise sold or used to sell.  Other quick ways to get it done are to do an interview with either yourself or another expert, record a presentation, or offer a simple service, such as consulting.