In This Issue

• From the Editor


• Successful Squeeze Pages


• Recommendations

From the Editor

Finally getting a chance to catch up on my email. I'd fallen so far behind that I had over 10,000 in the SPAM folders. No chance that I'm going to sort through the mess to see if any good ones fell into the SPAM bin. I hate when that happens. I'll do my damndest over the next week to get replies out to the ones that made it through. If you emailed me and haven't heard back by the end of next week, please resend your email and I will answer it.

Successful Squeeze Pages

A squeeze page is a simple web page that is designed to capture opt-in email addresses. You need to contact the average visitor about seven times before they make a purchase from you. The most assured way to do this is to use the email address they gave you on the squeeze page. Once you have a way to contact your visitors, you can pitch them again and again.

Typically, your squeeze page will be the first thing that visitors to your site will see. Although some marketers have put their squeeze page elsewhere on their sites, you will generally be more successful using the first page. Your squeeze page should be unequivocal. Visitors have only two choices, sign up for your list, or leave.

Maximize Your Chances

By making the squeeze page the first page of your site, it maximizes your chance of getting their email address. The trade must be quite clear. There should be no other option. Either they give you their email address, or they get no access to your free offer, whether it is a gift, a mini-course, a newsletter, or instant knowledge.

If your offer is to be successful, it must stand out from the thousands of other similar offers. You must find a unique angle that catches the reader’s attention and entices her to leave her first name and email addy.

Squeeze Page Outline

Your squeeze page is really a mini sales page. It has exactly the same divisions as a regular sales page, but the copy is very much abbreviated.

Start off with an attention getting headline. Make sure that it puts your most compelling sales point right in their face. Follow it up with a welcome message and some strong copy that builds on this headline. Focus on what your reader wants, not what you care about. Add a couple of tantalizing bullet points. None of the copy should include any part of the information you are giving away.

Just try to tantalize them. And finish it up with the email capture form. Although it’s okay to use graphics on this page, don't over do it. You don't want anything on the page that will distract them from giving you their email address. Make sure to include text that states clearly that their email address will not end up on some Spammers list. I like to put it right under the email capture form.

Once you have captured their name and email address, you should redirect them to another page you control. This page could be a sales letter, but I prefer to send folks to a thank you page that tells them to expect an email that contains a confirmation link. I also include information on how to “whitelist” my email address. A good source of a sample whitelist page is http://cleanmymailbox.com/whitelist-sample.html.

Once you have their name and email address and your new subscribers click on the confirmation link, - you are using double opt-in aren't you - that’s the time to send them to a “special offer” sales page. Make sure that the free download is clearly visible on this page. I made this mistake on my free download last week and you guys were quick to tell me about it!

Don't make this page too long, but do tell your new subscribers how often they will hear from you and when to expect your next regular mailing. You have to balance between so infrequently that people forget who you are, and so often that people get tired of hearing from you. I mail once a week, and only very occasionally a second time.

Oh yeah. In case you were wondering, you do need an autoresponder if you are going to make use of the addresses you capture on your squeeze page. If you don't have an autoresponder, let me recommend Aweber.

P.S. Have you seen my new site Mr Idea's Ebookstore. As the name implies it is stocked with ebooks, scripts, websites and more.

Recommendations for this Week

Have you checked out this new site that will give your website a link without requiring a reciprocal link? The search engines love this. It's in the Beta stage right now, so it is free to join. Check it out at: Qassia

If you are interested in working from home, I have a free ebook that outlines five different work at home opportunities. To get your copy just click HERE.