How to Set Up That Whole Opt-In Thing Everybody s Talking About. Introduction

Transcription

1 How to Set Up That Whole Opt-In Thing Everybody s Talking About Emily Levy Consulting Helping You Get Your Business Online Even If You re Not a Techie Introduction If you re building an list, you need to have a way for people to sign up for it. That s true whether they re signing up for an e-zine, an online event like a teleseminar or webinar, to receive an e-book, or something else. It used to be that a free e-zine was seen as so valuable that the promise of that alone was enough to persuade people to give you their addresses. But too many people are overwhelmed with the quantity of they get these days, so that s no longer successful for most entrepreneurs. Current best practice is to give your website visitors some sort of valuable free gift (in digital form) in exchange for their addresses. After all, having their address is valuable to you, and it s only fair to give them something they ll value in return. In the simplest terms, the process you want to lead your prospect through is this: 1) They join your list. 2) They receive their free gift. 3) You them awesome information and opportunities. 4) They fall in love with you and pay you to help them. Of course, it s not that simple to set up what s known as an opt-in sequence. In working with my clients I ve found that creating this process 1 Introduction 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a whole may be shared with attribution and link to

2 the first few times can be really confusing. So I m going to walk you through step by step. I ve broken down the steps as much as I can without giving specific instructions that vary depending on what marketing system you use, whether or not your website is built on WordPress, or what format your free gift is in (a.pdf document, a video, an audio, an event, etc.). I recommend you read the entire guide to get a general understanding of the process, and then follow along one step at a time as you create your opt-in sequence. Take a deep breath, and let s begin! Table of Contents Single Opt-In Versus Double Opt-In... 2 Visitor Experience... 3 Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Opt-In Sequence And Delivering a Free Gift 5 How to Get More Help... 7 Single Opt-In Versus Double Opt-In Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you join an list, you re asked to click a link in your before receiving the promised free gift, and other times that step is absent? That s the difference between single and double opt-in. With single opt-in, the visitor takes one step: submitting the opt-in form. With double opt-in, the second step of confirming the address is required. Each of these two methods has advantages. 2 <Table of Contents 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a whole may be shared with attribution and link to

3 Primarily, double opt-in gives you a cleaner list, because you ll end up only with s that are spelled correctly and really get a message to the user, as opposed to something a visitor typed in simply to get to the next screen and receive your gift. Only after clicking the ed confirmation link is the visitor actually added to your list. The advantage of single opt-in is that there s less chance of a visitor getting distracted or giving up before completing the process of joining your list. So you may get more opt-ins this way, but some of them will not have correct and valid addresses. Most management systems (EMS) and customer relationship management systems (CRM) allow you as the business owner to choose between the single and double opt-in methods. Notably, MailChimp, the most popular starter management service because it has a robust free level, allows double opt-in only. In this guide, steps that are required only for the double opt-in method are clearly indicated. What You ll Be Creating Visitor Experience It may be easier to understand how the steps in creating your opt-in sequence fit together if you think first about the process you ll lead visitors through. Give me a second, and I ll sketch it for you: 3 Visitor Experience 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a whole may be shared with attribution and link to

4 In case the words on the drawing are hard to read, here are the steps: Visitor arrives on your web page. Visitor completes opt-in form. Double opt-in only: o Visitor sees page telling them to check their . o Visitor clicks confirmation link in message. Visitor arrives at webpage (often called a thank you page or a welcome page) that contains link to free gift. Visitor also receives an containing a link to the thank you/welcome page. There are a few things I want you to notice in the sketch on the previous page: Whether you use single or double opt-in, the visitor ends up in the same place. 4 Visitor Experience 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a whole may be shared with attribution and link to

5 There are both web pages (orange) and messages (pink) involved in the sequence you ll be setting up. Each of the colored rectangles represents something you ll need to create. These will be discussed in the next section. Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Opt-In Sequence And Delivering a Free Gift 1. Create your free gift. This could be a document in.pdf format (like this one), a video or video series, an audio, or anything else that can be delivered in digital format. Your free gift can also be an event, like a teleseminar or webinar. 2. Upload your free gift to the internet. Host your document on your website or on an outside service like YouTube, AudioAcrobat, GoogleDrive, etc. 3. Get the link. Copy the link or (embed code) for your free gift and paste it somewhere you ll be able to find later. 4. Create the content for your pages. This includes both written copy and any images you want to use. Pages you ll need: Landing page. This is the page where the opt-in box appears. It should also include compelling copy leading people to want to opt in. 5 Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Opt-In Sequence And Delivering a Free Gift 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a

6 Thank you/welcome page. In a later step, you ll insert the link or embed code for your free gift onto this page. If using double opt-in, you ll also need a page that tells people to check their and click on the confirmation link, or you can use the default page created by your marketing system/crm. 5. Create the content for your confirmation(s). You ll need: If double opt-in, you ll need an message telling people to click to confirm that they want to join your list, or you can use the default created by your marketing system/crm. A confirmation message that includes: o Link to the thank you/welcome page o Access information for your online event (if applicable) 6. Create the web pages listed in #4 above. Log into your marketing service/crm to do steps 7 through Create the list you want visitors to join (or choose an existing list). 8. Set up the confirmation (s) listed in #5 above. [Important note: this is NOT the same as setting up an campaign or broadcast. If you don t know how to do it, go to the support area and search for edit confirmation message. ] 6 Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Opt-In Sequence And Delivering a Free Gift 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a

7 9. Create the opt-in form. 10. Copy the embed code from your opt-in form. 11. Insert the embed code into the landing page of your website. 12. Test the system by opting into your own list. Follow through all the steps until you re actually looking at your free gift. 13. Congratulations! You ve created your opt-in sequence. 14. Now share the link to your landing page! 15. Remember to send good stuff to the people on your list. How to Get More Help Now that you know the steps, are you ready to jump right in and create your free gift and opt-in sequence? Or do you need more help? There really are a lot of pieces to this process, and if you don t get them all right, when you get to step #11 you may find that something s not working. Or perhaps you can t get that far because you don t know how to create a web page, use your marketing system/crm, or upload documents. You might want help knowing how to create a compelling free gift and how to use the technology involved in creating audios, videos, and online events. I know all this stuff is a challenge, and that s why I created the FAB Lab Membership Program. It s designed to be your lifeline to all things techie, specifically related to your online business or professional practice. 7 How to Get More Help 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a

8 As a member you ll have access to a growing library of video tutorials and trainings on the use of online tools like teleseminar and webinar services, WordPress websites, marketing systems, and more. You ll get regular Mastermind calls with me to get your questions answered. You get access to a private Facebook group to have your questions answered in-between calls. And more. What would it be like if you could start your next project that involves online technology knowing that if you get stuck, you know just where to go for help? How much more quickly could you build your business, reach more people, and bring in the income you need if technology was no longer such a challenge? What are you waiting for? Learn more about the FAB Lab Membership Program If the membership program is not the right fit for you and you d rather apply for a Personal Intensive Day with me or explore a coaching/consulting/implementation package, I invite you to request a consultation today. To a life abundant with connection and meaning, Emily Levy P.S. Yes, setting up your opt-in system has a lot of moving parts, yet it s one of the most powerful ways to build your list. When you re ready for help, I m ready to help you every step of the way. My team and I offer a variety of support services in addition to the membership program, including: 8 How to Get More Help 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a

9 Strategic consultation and coaching Done-For-You tech set-up Website development Script development Marketing plans On-air interviews Staffing online events Contact us for more information. We d love to help you! 9 How to Get More Help 2014 Emily Levy Consulting. This document as a