Like To Build An Email List? Give Yourself 7x The Chance.

How many times have you heard this?

"It takes seven points of contact before an idea becomes so familiar that people feel comfortable enough with it to take action."

Yes sure, we’ve all heard it before. No? Never come across this notion well, it was developed by Keith Abraham, and is now regarded as a fairly standard part of purchasing psychology.

How does this relate to building an email list? Well, in their online experiences, most people have come across an opt-in box which is the usual way of collecting email addresses, so this is an idea and process which should already be familiar to them. However, there will always be someone who comes across one for the first time, and for the other more savvy browsers, many of those are becoming increasingly wary or uncomfortable about handing over their email address, so unless there is something that they particularly want, those seven points of contact need to be made with each and every site they visit.

Now, what would be great is if you could take these realisations and condense the necessary seven experiences or seven points of contact into just one experience or visit.

Here’s how we do it. Instead of offering just one way of opting in or subscribing to your list as most marketers do, give your visitors multiple ways of subscribing, in fact seven ways of subscribing. As they browse through your site, at each point offer a different way of opting in. This will help you to make those crucial points of contact starting with:

1. An opt-in pop

This is a special opt-in box that opens automatically in the middle of the page, usually after a set amount of time, and often stopping you from interacting with the rest of the page until you take some action. They can be annoying so it’s important that you have something of real value to offer. As annoying as some people find them to be, opt-in pops are highly effective. Just make sure that you use a latest generation hover-pop or slide-in pop that over-rides standard pop-up blockers. Also consider whether this approach is appropriate for the market you are targeting. For instance, it wouldn’t worry the internet marketing crowd who expect to be marketed to fairly aggressively and are always on the look out for new and affective methods, but it may be poorly received by a crowd interested in culture and the arts. In those instances you might try something more subtle such as a static but prominent offer on your home page for something like

2. A written report

This should be something that your readers will find to be of great interest, some of your best content. PDF format is often perceived as having enhanced value and will hold all formatting across multiple platforms. If this report has multiple sections then consider converting it into

3. A video report

Video is perceived as having even greater value than a PDF, and if you can transpose the content from your written report into multiple short videos, say about two minutes each (everyone can spare two minutes a day) then you can offer this as a series that you send one at a time over a chosen period. This allows you to make multiple contact, lets people get to know and trust you more and allows you the additional impact of music and branding. Video also tends to be handed on and if you post your videos to YouTube, this could become a secondary viral source for your lis building. I know a lot of people think of video as scary but it can actually be cheap and simple and needn’t even require a camera (good for those of us who are bit more shy.)

4. A link on every article or post

At the bottom of every piece you post to your site consider a simple text link that says something like ‘Enjoyed this article? Subscribe for notification of all important updates and subscriber only offers. Privacy ensured.’ You can even do this as a ‘set and forget’ link that will append itself automatically.

5. A link in the footer

A simple text link is all that’s needed here built into the footer template so it’s there on every page. It’s a good idea to refer to it in other spots though such as in the promo for your video series, or where you offer the PDF report on your home page, just so they know it’s there.

6. A link in the header

This is essentially the same approach as in your footer but you might consider including a small image or icon here for to jazz it up a little.

7. An exit pop

As the name suggests, an exit pop is similar to an opt-in pop but this time it’s triggered by leaving rather than arriving at your site. Again, this should be used with discretion and in this case you might consider a slightly enhanced offering. These can also be highly effective.

Now let’s assume our visitor has enjoyed the content on offer, feels comfortable with the idea of subscribing and thinks, "Hmmm... I might give it a try." The more clicks they have to make to complete this process, the less likely it is that they will actually complete it. Make someone go looking for an opt-in box and you will loose most of them. So here’s the other major reason for multiple ways of subscribing. If it’s as simple as scrolling up or down to the footer or header, or clicking a link at the bottom of an article you’ve just read, how do you think that will affect your opt-in rate? Analytics show the percentage increase is quite impressive, well worth the small amount of extra work and simple enough for anyone to do.

Ultimately this is a one time set up that lets you condense those crucial seven points of contact into one experience, gives your visitors multiple ways and multiple reasons for subscribing and gives you a 7x advantage when it comes to effective list building and a healthy list is a vital ingredient in any online business. But there’s nothing to be gained from just having the knowledge, now its time to get out there and try it yourself.

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