Offer a specific benefit for joining your list. For instance, 'join my list in the next week and receive this special report'. This gives visitors a compelling reason to actually join your list, especially if you do not charge them anything to join. Some examples of what you can give are discounts, audios, videos, reports and ebooks.



Always split test landing pages for your opt-in forms. Start by creating two opt-in list landing page models. Make both landing pages similar, but change one detail. For instance, one page could use a blue headline and the other could use a red headline. Send identical pay per click traffic to each page until you determine which opt-in landing page is more effective.

Test a squeeze page format for your landing page. This can be similar to a short copy format, but in general, it usually only contains one paragraph of language that could be described as sales copy. In many cases, a squeeze page is simply an opt-in form that contains two or three sentences of copy inside of the actual form. Remember to test this format with pay per click traffic.

Consider setting up a joint venture list with other successful business owners in your niche. You can each agree to write one or two lessons in the series. In the end, you will have a series of powerful lessons that position you as an expert by associating you with other experts and that also have a natural upsell mechanism built in: affiliate programs.

Communicate to those browsing your opt-in list landing page that they will be receiving a newsletter/ezine if they enter their information. You are better off trading a lower opt in rate for potential spam complaints. Several complaints could get you banned from the current autoresponder service you use for list building.

Do not use your own autoresponder script when building a list. Autoresponder services spend the time to get whitelisted by major email clients. You will never be able to do this on your own, which means your email will get filtered at a much higher rate. Additionally, it is easy to get blacklisted if you have no bargaining power.

Use print media to generate more leads. If you advertise online, your advertisement will always be alongside a direct competitor. If you use classified ads, you might be the only advertiser pitching an online newsletter for your given niche. You may want to look at local and regional newpapers with reasonable circulations and prices.