Setting up a good email autoresponder system is important for an online writing pro and blogger (not to mention small business owner) because it helps you build your list right from the very beginning.
Related: All About Building Your List
Some people go the free route because they worry that their list won’t build or convert for them, and they want a return on their investment.
The problem is that you eventually have to transfer your list to a paid model with more capabilities and no intrusive advertisements that you’ll have to compete with when you email from a free autoresponder.
Many marketers choose to use Aweber. This tool is affordable when you pay for it, but the first month has a nice $1 trial fee and it’s just $19 a month after that if you decide to continue on with it.
Aweber is also one of the preferred autoresponders because of the vast number of tutorials they provide, along with a simple, step-by-step walk-through with prompts when you’re setting up your system.
Personally, I prefer Mailchimp.
Your Squeeze Page Matters
You’ll want to have a squeeze page in place for building your list. You can do this right on your home domain, and place your blog at yourdomain.com.blog if you want to.
The squeeze page should have a nice graphic presentation. Everything should be above the fold, so that no scrolling is necessary. You want to have one main headline and one or two sub-headlines on the page.
Directly across from the opt in form, you can either have a list of bulletpoints or a built in video that encourages people to sign up for your freebie. You want this to be short, yet create a sense of urgency about how they can’t wait another day to get started.
The opt in form shouldn’t be complicated. It should match your site graphics and simply ask for a name and email address. If you start asking for phone numbers and more, you’ll lose subscribers quickly.
You also want an opt in on the main blog home page of your site. That way, if someone lands on yourdomain.com/blog, they’ll see an opt in form up in the sidebar above the fold of your site.
If they click through or enter your site on a specific blog post or page, you also want them to see an opt in form below each entry. This is perfect because if they’re reading and scrolling, they may not remember to back up to the top of the page after they’re finished.
What are your best tips for making your opt-in form more attractive? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section, below.
