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Giving Visitors A Real Incentive
To Subscribe By James Martell In a recent edition of our newsletter, we talked about the importance of using subscriptions to bring visitors back to your website. As you may recall, almost three-quarters of visitors fail to return to a website unless some type of incentive is offered. By enticing browsers to sign up for a free newsletter or report, you can secure their attention in an inconspicuous yet efficient way. What’s the good of a website if it doesn’t attract and retain new clients? In order to keep them interested, you have to find out what they need. Build a relationship with your audience that will draw them back to your website time and time again. Once you build trust with your readers, they will be encouraged to use the services you offer or buy the products you recommend. It makes sense (and it’s easy). Think about it for a moment. If you compiled a list of 1,000 people who were interested in your business, you could send them an e-mail that takes action, by addressing sales, inquiries, or other points of interest. Without a list, or anyway to contact them when you do have something of interest for them, you are simply out of luck. So, enticing your visitors with a solid incentive to subscribe to your newsletter needs to be a top priority.
For example, Don Campbell from Expand2Web.com and member of my bootcamp developed a free ebook entitled "10 Steps to FREE Website Traffic" that he gives away for free as an incentive for his visitors to subscribe to to his newsletter. This little incentive increased his newsletter sign-up rate from less than 1% to over 10%. Needless to say, a worthwhile exercise.
If you're looking to create an incentive, consider your industry and the type of business you’re running. Provide an incentive to website visitors they can’t refuse by linking it to your products and services. You already know they’re interested in your business, so why not take advantage of it? An incentive should be of some value to current and potential clients. Don’t skimp on the prize. The bonus could be as simple as a one-page report filled with tips or as elaborate as a free e-book or MP3 mini-course. Remember, it’s about quality, not quantity. You want your clients to be impressed by your knowledge, yet design and distribute it in a way that doesn’t break the bank. Newsletters and other computer-based formats are ideal because there are no delivery costs involved. Taking my own advice, I began thinking about various incentives for my kit car site. I poured over a list of ideas and chose to take advantage of my personal experience. When I first decided to have my dream car constructed, I had no idea where to start or what to do. Taking the early stages into account, I realized that this would be a problem for most newcomers, not just me. I contacted a friend of mine, who happens to be an expert in the replica market. I asked him for an interview and asked him a series of questions about what someone should know when they’re getting ready to purchase their dream car. The interview lasted about 90 minutes, which I am now dividing up into six 15-minute segments for my new free 6-day mp3 mini-course.
Visitors who subscribe to my KitCarConnection.com Newsletter will receive a free copy of "Kit Car Basics – An Insider’s Guide to Purchasing Your Dream Car". It’s that easy. A little bit of brainstorming and I was on my way to building a long-term audience. Creating a great incentive can be just as simple for you. If you’re having difficulty, put yourself in your clients’ shoes. What would reel you in - hook, line and sinker - if you were a new visitor to the site? If you do not have the skills necessary to design an impressive final product, seek help. And keep in mind, even if your newsletter or report contains a wealth of information, visitors will be put off if you cheap out on the cover -- so be sure to enlist the services of TrustyCovers.com or KillerCovers.com. If you want to be considered a professional, market yourself as such. In no time, your website numbers and newsletter subscribers will gain stability and the effort will pay off, ten-fold. All the best,
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And
it's relatively simple to do
with a little brainstorming
and focus.
Andy
Wichary, President and CEO
of
I
plan to offer one segment
per day and know it will
boost interest in the
KitCarConnection.com
Newsletter by providing the
perfect incentive.
