Recommended by David

Why opt-in box?

From the e-mails I’ve received following my last post about using blog software to create a website, I’m encouraged that some of you have got stuck in and done it. Some of you have even decided that you would give blogging a try as a result - something that you hadn’t even considered before - so well done to all concerned.

The common concern now though is how to get people to read your blog, or at least get them to your site - in other words, how do you get traffic. Traffic, or more correctly the lack of it, can be a problem for the owners of all websites, but particularly for bloggers. It can be soul-destroying regularly writing new content for your blog, if you have no readers of the posts you’ve slaved over; at least with a “normal” website the bulk of the work is done once it has been uploaded to the net, not so with a blog.

So, this is the first of a series of posts (not necessarily consecutive posts) on the subject of traffic. I’ll give you my thoughts on traffic generally, but with specific mention of any resources/tactics applying to blogs as we go along. Throughout these articles, you’ll see that I am preaching what I practise and you’ll get insights to some of the features on my blog.

The first priority is not how to get visitors to your site, but how you are going to get them BACK to your site. You know yourself how quickly you can surf from one website to another, sometimes forgetting to bookmark a site you found interesting. Visitors to your site will do this too! This is just too important to leave to your visitors; you have to take action so that you know who has visited your site and so you can invite them back again. Here’s where the opt-in box comes in.

Anyone willing to complete their details in an opt-in box, provides you with sufficient information so that you can e-mail them to (at least) invite them back to your site. This is very important to bloggers like myself to let you know about a new post on the blog. If you’re on my list, chances are that this is how you came to be reading this.

A few basics regarding the opt-in box:

• Ask for the minimum of information from your new visitor. Don’t be too intrusive with your questions otherwise they will just move on. First name and e-mail address is all you need. (Okay, I know I ask you for your country when you join my list, but this is not generally seen as a threat to privacy. Incidentally, I ask this because some of the product licences I own restrict me geographically from promoting the product in certain countries.)
• Adopt “best practice” immediately. Even if you live outside the US and expect your visitors to be national rather than international, be aware of the Can Spam legislation and ask your visitor to confirm their sign up via a confirmation e-mail (double opt-in).
• Be prepared to accept that no matter how much thought you put into your opt-in process, there will be some visitors who do not confirm their opt-in. Your biggest problem here is “spam blockers” which can stop even legitimate e-mail. Give guidance to your visitors how they can ensure they receive your e-mails. (If you are on my list, but haven’t heard from me recently, you have an over-zealous spam blocker. CLICK HERE and read the “WHITE-LISTING INSTRUCTIONS” section.
• Give your visitor something of real value in exchange for their information. Typically, this can take the form of a free report, mini-course, tip of the week, 20 quality e-books (why does that sound familiar!)* just make sure it is relevant to both the content of your site and the interests of your visitor.

Don’t be put off from having an opt-in box, because you think it is beyond you, technically. I can’t claim to know how mine works and I certainly don’t know how to write the code to make it happen. All you have to do is to get the tools that will do the job for you. Any auto-responder worth its salt will be able to create an opt-in box for you and will show you how to do it. All you have to do then is to copy and paste the code into your website/blog.

If you’ve not yet got an autoresponder CLICK HERE for every internet marketer’s favourite and sign up for a FREE test drive.

If you need both an autoresponder and shopping cart CLICK HERE for the service I use and get a 30 day test drive of both for just $3.95.

In the next article on traffic, I’ll discuss how to get visitors to your site for the FIRST time.

*New to my blog? Don’t forget to claim your 20 free QUALITY ebooks. CLICK HERE to find out more.