Arguably, your subscriber list is the most important component of your online business. One of the fundamental building blocks of building a list and thereby, a strong Internet Marketing business is called a “Squeeze Page.” A squeeze page is a web page that primarily exists to capture your visitor’s name and email address. Typically, a free report or even a video course is offered as an incentive to join the list, but not always.
Once you’ve captured the name and email address, you can use that information to build trust with the visitor – and establish your authority in your niche – with the goal of selling them products or services over time. The best marketers out there know that having a solid email list is worth its weight in gold, as it gives you more than just a few seconds or minutes to build a rapport with your visitor.
By properly implementing a squeeze page on your site, you can build your own list and achieve terrific results. However, in order for a squeeze page to work, you need to make sure you have all of the right elements in place and that they are properly optimized. Unfortunately, many marketers set up their squeeze pages all wrong and don’t achieve the desired success. The key thing to remember is that a squeeze page is not just a web form that takes them to a download page the moment they click “submit.” As a matter of fact, if you plan this out carefully, you’ll achieve a lot more than just getting one new subscriber out of the deal.
Consider the mindset of the visitor, they want something free and they are willing to give you a name and email address in exchange for it. That knowledge is power. You may want to you split your free item into two parts, or better yet, offer a video version of the free report. You can then give the free report away for them entering their name and email address and then give them the video course if they spread the word about your squeeze page. This method will not only build your list but it will cause your site to go viral as each new subscriber attracts another.
TRAFFIC IS THE FUEL FOR THE SQUEEZE PAGE
You can have the best product in the world, the slickest content known to mankind, and a website design that is cooler than a polar bear’s toenail, but if you don’t have traffic coming to see any of it, there’s absolutely no point. You should be setting some time aside every day to build an audience and direct them to your squeeze pages. If traffic generation is not your strong suit, then perhaps you could partner with someone who can generate the traffic for you. Either way, you’ll want to turn on the traffic spigot for your squeeze page.
Most sites use a combination of methods to drive traffic and the most popular methods are:
- Pay Per Click (PPC)
- Organic Traffic
- Article Marketing
- Social Media
- Press Releases
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Classified Ads (craigslist)
- Video Marketing (YouTube)
- Forums
- Blog Commenting
- Banner Ads
- Joint Ventures
All of the methods above have pros and cons. However, they are ALL paid traffic options. Many people believe that there is free traffic vs paid traffic. The reality is that all traffic is paid traffic — you pay with your time or you pay with your money. You should pick the currency you value the least… But if you want to go fast, using money is generally a better option. Just be sure to investigate the monetary paid options carefully before investing.
PRO-TIP: When investing in paid traffic, Facebook Ads, for example, start off small. Spend a few bucks to see how your ad will perform. Run various ads simultaneously, then run with the one that performs best. Scale your spending slowly.
SIMPLE SQUEEZE PAGES CONVERT THE BEST
Your landing page is the first thing your visitor is going to see when they visit your site. The key to making an efficient and profitable landing page is to give the visitor very few distractions when they get there. Remember, you want to funnel them towards opting into your email list, so you have to make sure every element on your landing page is pushing them towards that goal.
First of all, the page should be as simple as possible. If the graphics are too flashy it may distract your visitor and derail the whole process. If you look at the most successful marketers’ landing pages, they all have a similar setup. It’s NOT because they are all sheep or lack creativity — it’s because it works.
★ Here’s what you’re going to need ★
A Headline — You’ll want to grab their attention and hook them into your page.
A Product Image or Video — This should be the main visual focus of the page. (Typically on the left side.)
An Opt-In Form — The area where your visitors input their email address. (Typically on the right side.) Some marketers will also ask for a first name, which will then be automatically added to the follow-up emails.
PRO-TIP : Your copy should be short, enticing, and simple. The visitor has very little invested in being on your page. Therefore, you’ll want to be relevant and engaging as quickly as possible to get them to opt-in.
One thing to consider is adding the opt-in form that is only viewable when the visitor clicks a button. The button text may read, “Yes! I Want This FREE Report!” or similar. And once the visitor clicks the button, a popup will display the form. The reason is that you’re training your visitor to start taking actions, like clicking buttons, to get results. This is the very beginning step of an action-centered funnel.
NOTE: Aside from opting-in to your list and any required legal page links, you should have nothing for your visitor to do on your squeeze page. Don’t make this a multiple choice endeavor for them. Keep your squeeze page as simple as possible and you’ll get good results. You may have to change the headlines, colors, or even the free offer to maximize results. But if your page is simple, the variables that influence your opt-in rate will be significantly reduced.
EVERYONE LIKES GETTING SOMETHING FOR FREE
You should give your visitor something of VALUE for their information. People are more likely to do so if you are giving them something for free. While we refer to it as a bribe, you should always be honest and ethical. The most common forms of these incentives are free reports or ebooks.
Offering this free gift does several things beyond just giving the visitor a reason to submit their information. First of all, you are offering proof that you are an authority in the space by giving them the answers and content they are looking for. Secondly, you are creating a sense of trust between you and a potential customer by offering them something for free before you start to sell them anything.
There are plenty of sources of materials that you can give away. There are many sellers of Private Label Rights materials (PLR). You can use these materials as your own, including your custom graphics and name on the cover — but check the License Terms first! You will need “Giveaway” rights to the materials as well. You can also make a free, “surface-level” version of your own product to give as a bonus. In many ways, this is better because it’s an easier sell to go from the free version to the paid version.
PILE ON THE INCENTIVES TO PILE UP THE OPT-INS
Let’s talk about viral list building now, because if you get this going right it can change your entire business! Once you’ve gotten a visitor to join your list in exchange for one free gift, you have a special opportunity. Don’t just give them the item and say bye. This is where the real “marketing” needs to kick in! Since you already know this person likes free gifts, why not offer them at least one more free gift? This time, ask them to invite friends to your squeeze page in exchange! This is a WIN-WIN because they get more free stuff while spreading the word about your squeeze page.
Here’s how it works: Right after the prospect “opts-in” to your list, they are sent to what we call the “small download” page to get their free gift. On THAT same page, you’ll place a message letting them know that they can get a SECOND free gift if they choose to share the squeeze page. The page sharing is done via a “share gate” software. There are lots of share gate tools out there which reveal hidden content once the user shares your page. That’s when you reveal a link to your “big download” page which has both free gifts on it.
The key to getting people to share is that the second gift has to be CONGRUENT with your first gift. It could be an audio version of your report or perhaps a free video or even a piece of software. The important thing here is that it appeals even more than the first. It has to be higher in perceived value to work.
Make sure you deliver immediately on your promise by sending them to a download page where they can get their gift and see the offer for the second gift. You have them on the hook, so don’t let them slip away by delaying this process one second more than you have to. Even a span of a few minutes could drop you off their radar.
The main goal of creating a two-gift squeeze page is to build your list virally. Remember that when your prospect shares your squeeze page with his friends, he’s endorsing your page. That endorsement is very powerful and will bring more visitors to your site. Use the two-tier free gift method to make the most of your traffic!
A STEADY FLOW OF EMAILS WILL BUILD UP TO STEADY SALES
So you just picked up a prospect… great! Now don’t drop the ball here and forget to follow up with them. You’ll want to begin sending them messages via your auto-responder. The important part is that they hear from you often and that you provide value in every message leading up to a sales pitch. The best way to do this is to have a series of emails already queued up to go out daily for each new subscriber.
In the beginning, you won’t have much rapport built with the prospect yet. Sure, they have your free gifts, but they may need a little more connection to you before spending money with you. Don’t freak out about this, its just the way they get to know, like and TRUST you. Trust-building is very important when you’ve built a list of prospects — they need a little time to get to know you before they’re ready to invest.
Fortunately, it just takes a well thought out auto-responder sequence to take care of the rapport building for you. You can write a sequence out that’s one email per day for 10 days. In the sequence, you can talk about points you made in the free report you gave them. You also share related stories to add additional content to your rapport-building messages. Your follow-up sequence in your auto-responder will handle the rapport-building and allow you to naturally transition to a sales pitch.
Whatever you do, don’t neglect your follow-up sequences. That’s the whole reason for building a squeeze page in the first place — to lead towards sales from people who’ve never heard of you. You just have to put the work in once and your auto-responder will take care of the rest!
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