Fear and paranoia, with a healthy dose of spam, has made it harder to get people to opt-in. At one time, it was so easy. All you had to do was add a form that said, "Sign up here to get e-mails", and the world would flock to your site.



People would opt-in like crazy! E-mails, e-newsletters -- everything was so new and exciting. My, how things have changed. Today, we are deluged with e-mails. People are constantly changing e-mail addresses. People have multiple e-mail addresses - heck, some people even have a fake e-mail address that they never check, just to deal with all the spam.

Cutting through the clutter is a challenge. How can you make sure you are getting real opt-ins from people who will actually read the e-mails you send out?

Well, yes. There are ways to increase your opt-in conversions. These simple tactics don't take a lot of work, but they are very effective.

Try these three tactics to boost your opt-ins:

Make a good offer. People don't want to opt-in unless they are getting something in return - a video, a special report, a piece of software. To most folks, opting-in is the same as begging for more spam. So you need to try a creative approach. Whatever your ethical bribe, make it stunning. Offer quality work with great writing and important information, something that addresses your readers' needs. Don't just offer the same old tired deals. Make it something that they can only get from YOU.

Use a bigger button. Go to my website at www.RayEdwardsCopy.com. Check out the big button on my subscription form - it's larger than most other buttons I have seen. While you're there, check out how the color of the button changes from red to green as their cursor glides over it. This subtle psychological influence takes people from "Stop" to "GO!". It may sound silly, but it works! And it's not just me saying so - this has been verified by other colleagues, like Michel Fortin, Armand Morin, and even Eric Graham, The Conversion Doctor.

Don't allow distractions on your opt-in pages. Look again at my opt-in page. There are no distractions to compete with my opt-in button. Sure, there are legal notices at the bottom, but I need them there. Those legal notices are displayed subtly. When you click on the legalese, they open in small pop-up windows, keeping people on my opt-in page for longer.

While these tactics seem simplistic, they really work. Try them, and increase your opt-in page conversions today.