Opt-ins are a not-so-secret marketing weapon to building your email list fast…and without too much time or effort.
In case you’re new to marketing for your business, don’t worry! An opt-in page is simply a landing page that you use to capture a prospective customer’s email address. From there, you can send them offers for your biz.
However, your opt-in won’t convert visitors to subscribers if you’re not providing something your audience is actually looking for.
That’s what this blog post covers today: how to create an opt-in your audience actually wants!
How to Make an Opt-in Your Audience Actually Wants
1 | Identify a problem or question from your audience
You might think that you need an opt-in that’s one size fits all in order to attract a broad range of people, but that’s not the case! A good opt-in offers a solution to a single problem or answers one question in your audience.
To discover that problem or question, put yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes. What are they looking for on your site? How does your brand provide value to them? What do they want to achieve?
Here’s a real-life example from one of our biz friends! Styled Stock Society is a brand library that offers members thousands of gorgeous stock photos.
Members are busy entrepreneurs who don’t have time to take or edit their own photos, so what does Styled Stock Society offer as an opt-in? A free stock photo bundle that’s already cropped and sized for sharing on social media. Bingo! That opt-in solves a unique problem that their audience has.
Related Post: Tripwire Funnels: What They Are & How to Use Them
2 | Make the opt-in process simple
How long would you wait for a web page to load before you left and went somewhere else? Not long, I bet. On average, people wait just three seconds for a site to load before bouncing. Eek!
We’re a lot less patient nowadays, so keep that in mind when setting up your opt-in form. Make the process as simple as quick as possible. If you don’t keep your language to the point or make your forms crystal clear, you’re just giving your site visitors an extra reason to bounce.
All you need on your opt-in form are two fields to obtain your reader’s name and email address, plus a button or link that states what will happen when they submit the form. “Access the library,” “Send me my freebie,” or “Yes, sign me up!” are all good examples.
Related post: 6 Things you Must Have on Your Opt-in Page
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3 | Provide instant gratification
You’ve already decided what to offer, and you’ve set up your opt-in page and form. Awesome! Now you need to make sure that your opt-in is something that gets delivered instantly.
Remember how we just talked about patience? People won’t want to wait for something they signed up for or were promised. So choose an opt-in that can be downloaded or delivered via email in an instant. A PDF, video, MP3 file, or automatic access to members’ only content shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to receive.
Make sure your opt-in is something that gets delivered in an instant. People won’t want to wait. A PDF, video, MP3 file, or access to members’ only content shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to receive.Click To Tweet4 | Set up a free resource library
Once you have 5 or 6 freebies to offer your customers, why not set up a resource library? When you’ve created a ton of valuable goodies for your customers like downloadable workbooks, email courses, or checklists, you want one secure location to house it all.
Enter: the free resource library. Your free resource library will grow your email list even more, and it’ll give your customers more incentive to sign up and follow your brand.
Some quick tips for setting up a free resource library:
- Offer a variety of freebies in your library that will appeal to many of your target customers.
- Choose a user-friendly service like Dropbox or Google Drive to make it easy for your audience to download your content.
- Keep your library password protected! Remember, you’re exchanging your expertise and valuable content for your potential customers’ email addresses. Don’t give it away for free.
Related post: How to Create a Free Resource Library
Final Thoughts
By following these tips for creating an opt-in, I know you’ll see your email list grow!
If you’d like an easy-to-use, customizable template for your new free resource library, check out our Freebie Library Templates.
You’ll get an opt-in page template, a thank you page template, a password-protected library page template, and all stock photos you see on the demo site. With the Freebie Library Templates, you’ll have your resource library set up in no time!
