Tips For Boosting Your Opt In Rate

by Miles on Monday, June 21st, 2010 | No Comments

Building a list can be extremely challenging. Even if you’re doing everything right, you still might not be getting the opt ins you’d like. Fortunately, there’s hope. By following a few simple guidelines, you can boost your list’s opt in rate significantly.

The biggest thing to remember is that your opt in information above the fold. What’s the fold you ask? Think of your website like a newspaper. Before unfolding a paper, you are presented with all of the most important headlines, and your website should work the same way. When someone goes to your site, they should be presented with anything you feel is important (in this case, and opt in form) without having to scroll further down the page. The fold is that point where a user has to begin scrolling down to read the rest of what’s on a page, and you definitely want your opt in form above that point.

If you have an online store, consider putting your opt in form at the end of the checkout process. Be sure to put it below the “Thank you for your purchase” message, but above any other information on the page. You want the customer to know that their transaction was successful, but you still want the opt in to appear before the fold. This helps the customer avoid confusion, and frustration, and it helps you increase your opt in rate.

If your opt in form appears on a page where the reader might want to do other things after they’ve filled out the opt in form, be sure to include a note to let them know that they will be redirected back to that page after they’re done signing up for your list. If one of your readers is enjoying a video, or getting ready to download a few things from your site, they may be reluctant to do something that might take them away from that page. If they know they won’t lose the page they’re on, they’ll be more inclined to leave it temporarily to opt into your list. It probably goes without saying, but make absolutely certain that your opt in form does take your visitors back to the page they were on. It would be a shame to lose new subscribers over a technical hiccup.

If you keep your opt in form in a prominent place, and make signing up a hassle free experience for the subscriber, you will see a significant boost in the number of sign ups you get. Following the steps above will get more attention to your opt in form, and consequently, net you more subscribers.