Now that we have a dedicated opt-in page, it’s time to begin driving traffic to the page so we can build our list. We can start by using our social media bios and posts to begin driving traffic.
Before we explore social media practices, we need to know which platforms your ideal subscribers are using. Next, we need to make sure you’re using those same platforms to communicate with your audience. If you’re not already using those same platforms, it’s time start!
Leverage Your Social Media Bios
Each social media platform provides a section to tell a little about yourself. A call to action should be included on each of your social media bios with a link to subscribe. The premise is simple: when you actively engage on social media, people will want to know more about you. As a result, they will visit your profile, and if they like what they see, they may click your link that leads to your opt in offer and *fingers crossed* join your list.
Create Compelling Social Media Content
Once your profile is complete, it’s time to post. Plan out your content in advance, and be sure to include posts about your freebie. Engaging with your audience is a big factor in your growth on social media, so make it a point to converse with others via comments and reposts. Here is a way to engage fans and drive traffic using each of the popular social media platforms.
Twitter: Twitter allows you to add clickable links to your posts, so you can tweet a description of your freebie with a call to action and a clickable link. You can also tweet an image of your opt in, along with the description and link to your dedicated opt in page. Send out a tweet once daily, or every couple days at different times, to share your offer with your Twitter followers.
Facebook: Similar with Twitter, you can post the description, an image and a clickable link. However, Facebook offers more space to post, so you can use this to your advantage. For example, if you are a productivity coach and your opt in freebie is an ebook detailing 10 tips to maximize your productivity before noon, you can post one of the tips, mention it’s from your latest freebie, and include a link to sign up in the post.
Instagram: Images are everything on Instagram, so you have to flex some creative muscle here. But first, let’s talk about links. Instagram does not allow clickable links in posts, so you will need to add a call to action and link in your profile. Then, when posting about your opt in on Instagram, you will direct readers to click the link in your profile to sign up.
When creating images to promote your opt in, consider the images that will grab your ideal subscriber’s attention. You can use an image with or without text here.
When writing the post itself, similar to Facebook, you have plenty of space here to share valuable information. You can include snippets from your opt in, or helpful tips and resources that you might share in your regular newsletter. When doing so, remember to direct people to click the link in your profile to subscribe to your list.
Pinterest: Pinterest is also image-driven, but you can link a pin directly to your opt in page. When creating pinnable images, a long vertical image works best on Pinterest. Be sure to use a strong image that your ideal reader will likely find irresistible and add a brief but compelling text headline directly on the image. With Pinterest, you may also write a description for the pinned image, and you can link the image to your dedicated opt in page.
To begin using social media to drive traffic to your opt in freebie, create 2-3 posts and at least one specifically sized promotional image for each social media platform. In this way, you can add your opt in posts to your social media content rotation schedule.
Use these techniques to engage with your ideal audience on social media, share valuable information, and ultimately attract new subscribers to your list.
A dedicated optin page is a page that stands on its own to attract subscribers. Before we start seeking out subscribers and driving those potential subscribers to our website to join our list, we need to create a place to send this traffic. This is where a dedicated opt in page comes in handy.
Creating a dedicated page doesn’t not have to be an overwhelming process, the goal is to get people sign up for your offer. Once you understand the basic elements that need to be on the page, you’ll be all set!
The Basic Elements Of An Opt-in Page
When designing an opt in page, simple is best. The goal is to speak the language of your ideal subscriber, so they understand your offer is for them. The following are the basic elements that every dedicated opt in page should include:
A compelling headline – hook your reader immediately to keep them on the page.
A description of the offer – also known as “what’s in it for me.” The description of your freebie should list the out the benefits the reader will receive (or experience) as a result of joining your list and downloading your freebie. A bulleted list can be a simple, concise way to present this kind of information.
An image – the image can be a graphic of the opt in offer, such as a cover image for an ebook, or a screen capture if it’s a checklist. Your image can also be a brief video that describes the freebie. The goal is to give your reader a visual representation of what they will be getting. Remember, an image speaks louder than words!
Subscription form – Naturally, you will need a way for your reader to provide their name and email address. Your optin form will be embedded directly on the page.
A subscribe button – After your reader enters a name and email address, it’s time to tell her what to do. A call to action should be inserted as a clickable button. Your button can say “subscribe” or “submit” or something similar.
What comes next – You can close out the page with details for your reader after they subscribe. For example, you can let them know to look for a confirmation email. You can also include a picture of yourself, a thank you, and a re-iteration of the primary benefit the reader will experience as a result of your joining your list.
Once you set up your first optin page, you may want to create another one to target a different market segment. As you publish each dedicated opt in page, be sure to periodically check the metrics to see which pages and features convert best.
Now that your opt-in form is set up, it’s time to begin driving traffic to your offer. Since most people are using social media anyway, let’s start driving traffic to your offer by using the most popular social media platform available – Facebook.
As long as you have a Facebook account, you can use these tips. Of course, the more active you are on Facebook, the better results you will see from using the platform. If you aren’t as active as you would like to be, building your list can be the impetus to kick start your efforts!
There are a couple of ways to use Facebook as part of your list building efforts.
Option 1: Set Up An Opt-in Tab On Your Facebook Page
Your Facebook fan page is designed to support your list building efforts. You can invite your fans to sign up for your list directly within the Facebook platform by embedding your opt-in form as a tab on your page. Most email marketing services will give you the option to do so.
If you’re not sure whether or not your email marketing service offers this as an option, you can look up “Facebook page” or “Facebook integration” in your service’s help section to find the tutorial.
The process to integrate your email service with Facebook is pretty straightforward:
Create an opt-in form within your email marketing service provider platform.
Login to Facebook, go to your page and add the service provider’s app to your page.
Then, from the Facebook app, you will login to your email service account, select the list you want to use, select the opt-in form you want to display, and activate.
This is roughly the process for most email marketing services. Now you can have Facebook fans sign up for your list directly within the platform.
Option 2: Promote Your Lead Magnet In Your Facebook Posts
A second option to use Facebook in your list building efforts is to post about your freebie and your list on a regular basis. When posting about your lead magnet, be sure to include a link where people can sign up.
You can post about your lead magnet anywhere on Facebook. The trick is to come from a place of value and not look like a spammer. If you want to promote your list in Facebook posts, demonstrate the value you provide in your offer and your regular newsletter communications.
For example, instead of creating a post with the title of your freebie and a link, you can provide a valuable tip from your freebie, along with the offer to join your list. You can also post about the types of content you regularly share in your newsletters, to demonstrate the benefits of joining your list for your fans.
Since you can only embed an opt-in form on your Facebook page, you can sprinkle these posts throughout your regular posts on Facebook. Since your audience is already on Facebook, go to the people, meet them where they are already, and drive them to your website and opt-in page.
This is the final leg of the preparations we need to make to the opt-in form and opt-in page. After all, we want to make sure we are getting the best results for our list building efforts that we possibly can.
Whenever we set up something new, we need to build in mechanisms to help us to determine what’s working and what needs improving. The same holds true for our opt-in pages and forms. We need to test and track our results in order to figure out which versions perform better.
Why We Need to Test and Track Performance
Just because we set up an opt-in page or form, it doesn’t mean that we can set it and forget it. Here is an example of the benefit of testing and tracking the performance:
Example 1: Looking at your website analytics, you got 500 visitors to your opt-in page last week. Of course the goal is to get them to subscribe to your list. The data shows you have a 3% conversion rate. This means 15 people signed up for your list. You don’t change anything about your opt-in form or page, so you stay roughly in the 3% range for conversions the following week.
Example 2: After looking at your website analytics, you see you received 500 visitors to your opt-in page last week, and had this same conversion rate of 3%, or 15 people. However, you tweaked your page to test out a different version, and that updated page got you a conversion rate of 20% the following week, or 100 new subscribers.
This is a difference of 15 subscribers versus 100 subscribers over the same time period, all based on a reach of 500 visitors to your site. What difference could this make in your list building efforts?
Consider the impact over weeks and months, and you can see the power of testing different formats to see what works best. And testing does not mean re-doing your entire opt-in page or form, it could mean something as simple as playing with headlines, copy, or color schemes. The slightest change can result in a major impact, which is why you want to test for the best results.
Set Up Your Testing and Tracking
Most email marketing service providers have options to test and track the performance of your forms already built in. For example, when you login to your account, you can see how well your forms are performing by going to the forms section. If you cannot find it, visit the help or knowledge base section on the website.
You may also have the option to do what is call A/B split testing. What this means is that you can create 2 versions of the same form to test which performs better. If you choose this option, your provider will give you the code to copy/paste into your website, and half your visitors will see the first opt-in form, and the other half will see the second opt-in form. The visitors will be “split” into 2 groups that see 2 different forms, and your analytics will show which form version performs better.
Remember Example 2 mentioned earlier? Testing can have a major impact on your list building efforts, so the time to set up your tracking will be time well spent.
Things You Should Test
Testing is a continuous process. Now that you know the value of testing, you have to know what to test. The easiest way to start is to test two headlines against each other. You can also test the color of your sign up button, different calls to action, or different images.
As you become more familiar with split testing, you can get more creative with your opt-in pages and split testing. When testing, you can let your test run for a week or two and keep the version that works better. Or you can try something else altogether. The goal is to enjoy the best conversion rates you can.
Yesterday we identified your target audience, the people you want to join your list. Now it’s time to look at your lead magnet – when is the last time you looked at your opt-in offer? Is it stale, in need of an update?
List building is a continuous process, though we don’t always treat it as such. It takes some work to create a lead magnet, and integrate the opt-in form, and set up all of the pages in the autoresponder. Once we have it finally set up, we simply drive traffic to it. We don’t always schedule time in to re-examine the lead magnet to be sure it fits in line with what our audience needs over time. Remember, needs evolve, and your audience may evolve as well. Your lead magnet may be stunting your list building efforts.
Now that you know your customer avatar, it’s time to figure out if your opt-in offer makes your avatar run to hit the subscribe button. Do you need to tweak your existing offer just a bit to bring it up to date for your audience? Or do you need to do a major overhaul, or start with a new offer?
The goal of your lead magnet is to speak to the needs of your audience right now, and make them so excited to sign up and receive it! They should want to sign up immediately, and take action to get the results you promise. Is your opt-in offer doing this?
In order to answer this question, you will need to figure out what your dream subscriber needs help with right now. What are they struggling with today? What challenges are they facing that your lead magnet helps them with, or solves for them? What keeps them up at night, and what keeps them motivated to press forward? Can you tap into the emotions of your dream subscriber, to entice them to subscribe?
Once you can answer these questions, you can define the topic of your lead magnet. Topic aside, what’s the best format to deliver your lead magnet? Is your content best delivered as a downloadable ebook, video, an email course, or a multimedia format? Which format is most appealing to your audience?
Now look at your lead magnet. Take a couple days to revise your offer as you need to, including the quality of the content. With so many offers to choose from online, you want your subscribers to be impressed with the quality of your lead magnet, so much that they stick around to receive more from you.
When you revise your lead magnet, you will probably need to revise the opt-in forms and pages, thank you pages and autoreponders you have already set up to deliver the offer. You will also want to make a list of all of the pages where you mention the offer in case you need to make some changes.
Once this has been completed, there is a final component to set up before we work on driving traffic to your offer. Stay tuned!
