Innovative Ways to Build an Opt-in Email List

With so many opt-in email lists out there, our list really needs to come up with a hook to attract and subscribers. It needs to have something special or different. It could be something you offer inside every newsletter issue, like interviews with experts. Or the hook could be a unique incentive that website visitors can take advantage of immediately when they sign up.

Here are some ideas that you can incorporate into your own website to entice new subscribers to opt-in to your list.

Build your List by Creating a Private Members Section on your Site

Create a private web site and have people sign up to get free, immediate access. For example, you could say, “Subscribe to our newsletter and get free access to our private membership area”.  You can choose to have them receive a username and password that they will use every time they want to login, or you can just provide a link to the site in your welcome email.

Your private members only site can be as big or as small as you want. Some of the things you can include inside are: reports, software, articles, eBooks, etc. Inside the site, you can market your business, as well. And you can follow-up to let them know about updates, new products they might be interested in, the latest news in your industry, etc.

Build Your List by Giving Subscribers a Free, Tangible Gift

Instead of offering a free eBook (or a whole package of them) like most everybody else, promise to give your visitors something they can hold in their hands if they give you their contact information.

For example, you could say “Subscribe today and get our new report mailed to you via First Class.” You could print out your report on standard 8 x 11 sheets of paper, fold it up, put it inside an envelope, and mail it off.

Or you can offer a tips booklet and mail it to new subscribers. Or you can create your own CD full of information targeted toward your market and mail that. Or if you have a wholesale supply of a product of interest to your subscribers, then you can send one to each new subscriber. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Follow-up possibilities include: articles (your own or written by others), tips you pick up, news in your niche, reviews of products or other interested, related websites, etc.

Build your Email List Through a Contest or Sweepstakes

Hold a free contest or sweepstakes at your website where they must give their contact information, including their email address, to enter. Make the prize something that your market will be interested in. Otherwise, they’ll never want to enter.

If you already have a newsletter up and running, you could offer free automatic entry for new subscribers. For example, you could say, “Subscribe to our free newsletter and get automatic entry into our contest.” You’ll also want to retroactively include current subscribers.

You can announce the winner(s) at the end, as well as send any new contest announcements or product announcements. Or you can make this an ongoing contest, where you give away the same thing to one (or more) lucky people every month. That way you’ll entice many subscribers to stay on your list.

You can find products to give away through wholesalers or drop shippers. Or you can create it yourself. One of my favorite ways to do this is create a CD-Rom with a guide or report (or sometimes several) that my market will find interesting.

Once again, you can follow-up with tips, articles, news, new product announcements, or just an announcement of each monthly winner(s).

These are just a handful of ideas on how to entice new subscribers to your list.  It is important to be thinking outside of the box and coming up with ideas that you can use to grow your list on a regular basis.

Email Marketing is a very effective tool to use in your business.  One key however to using Email Marketing successfully is to build your list of subscribers.  Without an active list of subscribers your Email Marketing efforts may not produce the results you are hoping for.

Here are a few tips to help you increase your list of subscribers:

Make it easy for subscribers to sign-up for your list–  Make it easy for people to sign-up for your email list by placing your subscribe form above the fold on your website.  This will help make sure that it is seen by visitors.

Offer multiple ways to subscribe to your list – Provide your prospects and clients several ways to subscribe to your email list.  Provide a link in your email signature, add it to your facebook pages, add it to your print material and always as them for their email address when you do business with them.

Make your subscribe form simple – If your subscribe form is simple in most cases you will have a better response rate.  To get started in most cases you will want a name and an email address.  You can always ask for an address and phone number later in the process.

Give your prospect or customer a reason to subscribe –Often in order to capture interest and trust of your client of prospect you must offer something in exchange for them providing their name and email address.  Provide an incentive.  This incentive can be a coupon, free report, teleconference, or even just a newsletter packed full of information.

Ask for referrals –When you do send email out to your list add a line in there asking them to forward it to others that may benefit from your information.  In a lot of cases this will prompt the person receiving the information to also sign up for your list.

Remember that effective Email Marketing starts with your list.  Using these tips will help increase the size of your list and make it more effective.

SourceOne Technologies offers Email Marketing assistance with various programs available from the do it yourself system to a full service system.  To find out more please use the form below.