Essential requirements when building an email list

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An opt-in page is a must-have for building your email list and hence for building an internet
marketing business
The primary reason for this is that most visitors to websites don't become buyers on their first visit.
In fact, chances are that they will one become buyers after several visits. So you need to find a
way to reach them again.
Building your own list of targeted email subscribers should be the highest priority for any serious
internet marketer. The money really is in your own email list. You can get as much as 90% of your
business from those with whom you build email relationships.
Internet marketing and list building go hand in hand. In the same vein, for building your email list of
subscribers you decidedly require an auto email responder. List building without an auto
responder is practically impossible.
So, in internet marketing, you need to build your own list for which you need an auto email
responder and you need to find ways to get people to sign up for your email list.
But how do you get people to sign up for your email list?
The best way to do this is with an opt-in mechanism (a tool to get website visitors to agree to
accept emailed information from you). Two basic formats of opt-in mechanisms are used:
1. The Opt-in Form
At the minimum such opt-in mechanism should be an opt-in form on your website or blog.
The opt-in form should not only be very prominently displayed on at least your website's home
page, but it should be skillfully crafted. You need to present your opt-in offer in an irresistible way
for your visitors to give you their email addresses before they leave your site.
What are you offering them in exchange for their email addresses? How will your visitor benefit by
opting in for
your email list?
The opt-in form must be distinguished from the opt-in page; another primary, and more effective
mechanism for collecting email addresses.

2. 2. An opt-in page or a squeeze page (also called a lead capture page and a registration page).
Whereas an opt-in form on a website or blog merely provides an opportunity, albeit compelling, for
visitors to subscribe to an email list, the opt-in page is wholly committed to getting people to sign
up to an email list and serves no other purpose whatsoever.
So, the most important feature of an opt-in page, contrary to an opt-in form on a website, is that it
has one purpose and one purpose only and that is to collect e-mail addresses.
You don't want to put any other information and advertisements on this page because it could
divert your visitors attention from what you want them to do. They should be presented with only
one thing, one task, and that is to sign up for your list. This will undoubtedly increase your sign up
rate, so try not to crowd your page with information not relevant to your goal of getting sign-ups.
Compare the function of an opt-in page, where everything is focused on convincing your visitor to
sign up for your email list, with the opt-in form, which constitutes only a subsection of a website
with lots of other information your visitors have to deal with.
While you don't want your opt-in page to be over-crowded, you do want to write some compelling
web copy that convinces people to opt in. This does not need to be long at all and should focus on
how they would benefit by signing up. List the benefits clearly and strikingly in bullet points.
Oh, and the headline! Be certain your headline grabs their attention. It is the most important part of
your opt-in page. According to David Ogilvy, founder of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency,
"On the average five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows
that, unless your headline sells..., you have wasted 90% of your money."
Video squeeze pages are becoming increasingly popular and possibly have a higher conversion
rate especially if a short video on you opt-in page is used to provide more content about your offer
and a preview of what people will get when they sign up for your email list.
You will also want to give something valuable away for free in exchange for their e-mail address.
This is strongly recommended, because it will certainly increase the sign-up rate. More often than
not the free gift is an information product closely related to the subject at hand. Just make sure it is
a quality product, perhaps even something you paid for!
Very important also is the issue of your credibility. Can your prospective subscribers trust you with
their email address? You would need to convince them on your opt-in page that you will use their
email address for the sole purpose of sending them information that they will benefit from and that
you will treat their email addresses in the strictest confidentiality.
Check out examples of opt-in pages in your market. It will give you a good indication of the design
and composition of an effective opt-in page. You'll probably find that these are quite simple and
often the most compelling opt-in pages don't even contain a header graphic. Your riveting headline
will do the trick!
In view of the above, I think you would agree that as much as you need an opt-in form on your
website, chances are much greater that people will sign up for your email list from a single landing

3. page as an opt-in page totally dedicated to motivating them to give you their email address. This of
course in exchange for something really special, something simply irresistible.
Your opt-in page is one of the cornerstones of the email list building process and therefore integral
to internet marketing. It is not an optional extra.
But, hey, it's really easy to create a compelling opt-in page. As a single, landing page it must be
one of the easier types of websites to produce.
Andre Kalis is a career internet marketer and certified researcher. He has conducted research on
the opt-in page and its function in the internet marketing process.
He shares more of his insights into email list building, opt-in pages and auto email responders at
http://canearnonline.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andre_Kalis
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