The Death Of Opt-In Boxes
May 7th, 2009
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by Scott Tousignant · Filed Under: Publicity Tips
The rise of social media and the emphasis placed on sharing and giving has led me to ponder the thought of opt-in boxes becoming obsolete in the not so distant future. Over the past few years the emphasis has been placed on building your list. I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked, “What’s the size of your list?” Having a list of subscribers is definitely nice and has proven to be very profitable for my business. It’s great to be able to send out an email and watch the sales pour in.
If building a list has been profitable why the heck would I want to see opt-in boxes become obsolete?
Let’s first take a look at how I have built my list. It’s basically been in the traditional sense where I have had a squeeze page or opt-in box on a sales page where I offer a free report or audio in exchange for the visitors name and email address.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the barrier that this has placed on the viral-ability of my free reports.
First of all, less than half of the people who arrive at my ’squeeze page’ actually opt-in for the free report, free book, free audio, or free video. And I’ve got to tell you… the content in these free gifts is unbelievable. I absolutely over-deliver with my free gifts. I guess it kind of drives me nuts when I see people passing up such an incredible offer.
You can take a look at many of the free gifts that I offer my visitors and followers in the fat loss niche by visiting Fat Loss Quickie Free Stuff
Two of the books that I give away for free were actually selling on Clickbank for $47 each before I decided to take them down and give them away. Many of the people who read these books mention that they would have paid for them and I even received a request from someone asking if I could turn them into a physical book so they could carry it around with them.
I also deliver a significant amount of content in the Fat Loss Riches Report where I discus how to harness the power of social media to make money while transforming your body.
I really want this content in as many peoples hands as possible. I am certain that requiring the visitor to provide me with a name and email address in order to get the report will significantly restrict the number of people who read these information packed books.
I have been paying attention to my behaviors when I visit websites throughout the day and when I read emails from my fellow Internet Entrepreneurs.
One thing that I have noticed is that I can be absolutely head over heels excited to get my hands on a free audio or report as I’m reading through an email where the marketer is explaining what is contained in the free report.
As excited as I am at that moment, if I visit the page and there is an opt-in box chances are extremely high that I will not sign up for the free report.
If I was all hyped up and excited about getting this report and I end up not signing up for it, imagine how a person who just randomly lands on your page will respond.
When Free is NOT FREE
If I have to provide you with my name and email address in order to get your free report, I’m sorry, but your report is not free.
My email address is priceless. I value what enters my inbox and I don’t give it away to just anyone. Providing you with my name and email address is a real cost to me.
I have really taken notice of this with the rapid growth of Twitter. I can’t stand the auto DM’s that I receive after following someone and within that direct message they say, “Thanks for following me. Here’s a free gift.” That free gift is a link to a squeeze page where they are offering some free report, which in most cases is something that I don’t even want.
That’s not a free gift at all. Immediately the red flags go up and I think to myself, “This person is more concerned with getting rather than giving.” In order for me to get something from them I have to give something in return first.
The Taste Test
Lets face it. Most of the free reports out there are a means of providing your visitors with a taste of what they were to receive if they purchased your complete program or service. Why put up a barrier in order for them to receive the taste?
Lets use the analogy of a grocery store taste testing station where they are giving away free samples of the best chocolate chip cookies out there. You just walk right up there, grab your cookie, eat it, go ga ga over it, and then start telling everyone else that they should head on over to that chocolate chip cookie stand to get themselves a free sample.
Now imagine if this chocolate chip cookie stand was to require you to give them your name and mailing address before your get your free sample. To make matters worse you don’t actually get the cookie right away. You have to go to the customer service desk and verify your address by showing them your drivers license.
Would you take the time to fill out the form? Would you tell others to head on over and sign up for the free chocolate chip cookie sample?
Sure some people would go through that hassel, but it’s safe to say that most people wouldn’t.
Break Down The Barriers
If your ‘free samples’ were in more peoples hands how would that effect your business? If everyone was buzzing about how great your ‘free samples’ are, how would that effect your business? If everyone thought of you as selfless and truly looking out for the needs of others, how would that effect your business?
It’s time for you to break down the barriers that are holding people back from absorbing your free gifts and sharing them with others.
It’s All About Sharing
Social media is all about sharing. You see it everywhere. You’ll find links to content on Facebook, YouTube, Squidoo, Myspace, and just about every social network out there.
When it comes to Twitter people are constantly sharing resources and useful information with each other. When we see something that really grabs our attention we re-tweet it as a way of sharing it with others.
Make your free reports as easy to share as possible. Take down the barrier of the opt-in box and encourage others to pass it along.
Become a true giver. Don’t ask for anything upfront in order for them to receive your gifts. Share your gifts freely. If your free reports contain valuable information they will surely change many lives and will be passed along to many others who will benefit from your teachings. You will be rewarded in the long run and build a following much larger than you ever could have by requiring your visitors to give you their name and email address first.
Note: I owe David Meerman Scott a great deal of gratitude for opening my eyes up to these concepts. David’s book World Wide Rave is a must read in my opinion.
I also owe my mentor Deborah Cole Micek @CoachDeb a great deal of credit for first introducing me to these ideas years ago and for being the first to set me on the wonderful path of social media. If it wasn’t for Deb, I wouldn’t be where I’m at in business today. You Rock coach!
I would love to hear your feedback. Do you think opt-in boxes will die?
I have one up here on my blog, but notice that I’m not capturing names and email addresses in exchange for a report.
Do you consider your Twitter followers or Facebook friends to be just like having a list?
Will the rss feed replace the opt-in box?
Let me hear your thoughts and opinions. They mean a lot to me.
I have to say Scott, that what you are sharing here goes against most of the principles you and I have both been taught over the last few years.
And I’m a bit conflicted about it.
We know from experience that those people that DO choose to opt-in are more likely to buy because they’ve taken that first step (unless they supply a fake email).
But we also know that we’re LUCKY to get half of the visitors to get the free offer. It’s more likely going to be 1 in 3.
So that means 2 out of every 3 people do not get the BENEFIT of what we have to share. And since we’re talking about solutions to people’s problems, that’s a lot of people who are going to be spinning their wheels because they value their privacy (or fear of email) more than the solution.
This brings up the principle philosophy of what you’re talking about here. If it’s all about reciprocity, then it’s really about who gives the gift first?
In squeeze page land, the visitor has to make the first move, typically. Give me your name and email and I’ll give you something I think you will like.
You’re talking about “download my report and give me your name and email if you want to get more (or buy from me)”.
It will be interesting to play this out and see what happens. I may start giving away my free intro course at http://TeleseminarFormula.com for example without the name and email. That will be my test to see if what you’re proposing here not only helps more people, but also results in more profit for business.
Thanks for another great social media discussion here!
Bob Jenkins
Oh boy, this is going to be a great discussion. I appreciate your thoughts and opinions Bob. I would like to touch on your point about a visitor to your site being more likely to buy something because they took the first step and gave their name and email address.
First of all, I’m really excited to see you try this out with giving away your intro course to Teleseminar Formula without requiring an opt-in. Your intro course is loaded with great information and I sure would love to see it in the hands of more people.
Here’s a question for you… If a visitor to your site downloads your intro course would that not be considered a first step? They’ve proven that they want to learn more about making money with Teleseminars by downloading the intro course.
You touched on a great point that 1 in 3 people who visit your site actually opt-in. Then that person still has to check their inbox or spam folder and click on the confirmation link. So realistically it’s probably 1 in 5 people that actually get your free gift.
I’m sure that you know your conversions for how many people join your Teleseminar Formula after they discover the strategies that you reveal in the intro course.
By taking down the barrier of the opt-in box the chances of your intro module being viewed is going to be greater. If more people view it, more people will join.
Plus if your page doesn’t have an opt-in box I would be more likely to share your intro course with my friends on Twitter because it wouldn’t look like I’m blatantly trying to sell them something.
So much to ponder on this topic, but I’ve got to say that I’m really feeling great about taking my opt-in boxes down and allowing my followers to freely share my free reports and gifts.
I can’t wait to hear what others have to say on this topic.
Scott Tousignant
Hi Scott and thanks for an interesting post. This has been my feeling all along and as a “child of the Internet” I fondly recall the original intent, apart from ArpaNet, of the Net as a free sharing of ideas back and forth. This has been how I have approached my own model and so far so good…:) Thanks again and I’m sure this is going to be an issue that will be looked into by many…especially given the success it has already brought you. Take care and all the best.
Lyle
Hey Scott,
Are you still list building with the “ask a question’ form box you have on your homepage?
I’m not ready to ditch the opt-in boxes. That’s going against about 100 years of direct response marketing from send a self-addressed-stamped-envelope (SASE) to enter your name and email.
Twitter and social media have only been around a few years so it’s still too early to declare the death of old school list building.
I do agree that giving away a ton of quality information is key. I did that with my PLR video case study on my blog and the response was awesome. So there is a place for it on the blog to give videos and audios away (for real no opt-in) but not ready to follow suit on the sales pages, at least not yet.
I think a lot of consideration is to be given on the persons goal. The folks I’ve seen doing similar things want to sell coaching programs down the line.
I think then it makes more sense but for straight up information marketing where folks aren’t interested in the next level of coaching/speaking/backroom deals…not too sure about that tactic.
But kudos for mixing things up! Keep us posted.
Hey Alan,
I love your response and appreciate you adding to the discussion.
Yep, I’m getting loads of of opt-ins to my blog and the opt-in form on my home page where they can ask me a question. But they’re opting in for a different reason other than getting a free report. It’s not so much a bribe. They opt-in to my blog after I’ve already given to them first through content on the blog. I also capture name and emails of my customers once they purchase a program from me so I can email them any upgrades or unadvertised bonuses.
My view on opt-in boxes on a sales page is that they are very distracting. As an affiliate I never send traffic to a sales page that has an opt-in box. I send my traffic there because I want to make a sale. I don’t want them to get distracted by a free offer.
This is a growing trend. Especially with super affiliates. I’ve had many of them in the past ask me to take down my opt-in box or they wouldn’t promote me.
My blog sign ups have rapidly increased by giving away my free reports without having them opt-in.
Within my free reports on the second page I have links for them to follow me on Twitter, friend me up on Facebook, and check out my blog.
So although I’m not getting their name and email address by having them opt-in to get my free report, I end up getting it over at my blog plus getting their friend and family members names and email addresses because I’ve made it easy for them to share my reports.
I have one or two links to affiliate products in some of my free reports as well. Some of these products I haven’t promoted in over a year. All of a sudden the sales for these affiliate products are pouring in as a result of my free reports getting in many more peoples hands.
Like I mention in the blog post, I do love sending out an email and seeing sales pour in. But I also love that a blog post that I wrote over a year ago still generates dozens of sales each month.
The money is not always in the lists, although the list is certainly nice
But out of your list, what percentage actually buy? Is there a way that you can create that direct response without a list?
I’ve actually stopped using the {!firstname} in my emails because I find so many people use fake names or just type in a bunch of letters. It’s a bit embarrassing when you send and email that you think is personalized and it comes out…
Hi fkhtcsky, I’ve got great news to share with you
There are a few blogs that I read daily. Lynn Terry’sbeing one of them and David Meerman Scott’s being another.
I purchased Stomping The Search Engines through Lynn because of the content that she delivers on her blog, not because of a direct response email. I’ve been receiving The Net Effect for several months which Lynn earns a commission on. All without direct response marketing.
If you create raving loyal fans and you have a medium where you are in constant contact with them whether it be your blog or your Ustream Channel, it is like doing direct response marketing all the time.
Food for thought for sure. I do like to go against the norm though. It was tougher than nails to get my personal training clients to drop from 60 minutes of working out per day to only 10-20 minutes. I had to twist their arms, but it was the results that convinced them in the end.
One other important note. I find that all this talk about “List” makes it sound like we are treating our followers like a number instead of human beings. That’s where social media has really improved my business. It’s much easier to actually connect with my customers, get to know them better, understand their concerns and challenges, and provide them with real practical solutions.
Since I have begun to give away my free books and reports without the opt-ins, it’s actually helped enhance my relationship with my followers. It’s been a wonderful experience.
New trends are emerging though. Rather than capturing name and email address, many wise businesses are capturing phone numbers so that they can text message their followers with information.
I think it’s just the way that we capture information that is going to change. RSS instead of opt-in box for example. Cell phone number instead of name and email address as another example.
It’s all exciting and I can’t wait to see where it all goes.
Thanks again Alan, I really appreciate your thoughts and opinions. It has really added to the discussion.
Scott Tousignant
Great post and glad that my ideas caused you to re-think this.
The whole opt-in thing was a holdover from the postal direct mail business. When you send a physical mailer you HAD TO opt-in to get a report or respond to an offer. If you didn’t call an 800 number or send a business reply card, the offer could not be fulfilled.
On the web, we have a completely different model for information delivery. And smart people like Scott understand that.
My book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” is number one PR and marketing book in the world being published in 24 languages. Like Scott, many people ask me “how big is your list:”.
Answer = Well, zero. I don’t have one. Some people think that’s foolish. Maybe. But it works for me and my book has remained number one for more than two years.
I have had this sentiment for years. The challenge was getting old school sales people to let go…there was also that balance between delivering leads each month…those opt-in boxes are not leads, but people at the very top of the sale funnel. Sales would be keen to take ANY name if their lead funnel was starting to dry.
Right now, we don’t have an opt-in list on our web site, just RSS feeds. My personal belief is, some people do like a digest of news, rather than read every RSS thread in their reader. Perhaps this is why you are getting a 50% click rate on your newsletter?
As another David Meerman Scott fan, I agree with you: opt-in boxes are reaching the end of their shelf-life. They are increasingly becoming a disincentive to following through to a free download and are at odds with the new social media sharing ethos.
Where they do still have a role is for signing up to something that’s being delivered – regular updates, newsletters, &c – where an email address is an obvious pre-requisite.
So I predict a division emerging along roughly 80/20 lines, with 80%-90% of content available gatekeeper-free and the remaining 10%-20% accessed through opt-in with accompanying traditional list-building benefits.
How about a hybrid.
Give them something full of value up front for free, and tell them that if they like your stuff, to provide their contact info to get more of it.
If you’ve triggered even a slightly positive emotional response in them, they’ll gladly give it you.
I also read David’s book, World Wide Rave, and enjoyed it quite a bit.
While I agree that great content that has no barriers to consume is much easier to share and go viral, one major flaw with doing JUST that is the simple fact that people forget.
How many times have you downloaded a great report/ebook with no opt-in, made a note to yourself that you’ll read it later, then later never came?
I’ve done it many times.
IF, however, you opted into a follow-up system (autoresponder), you were regularly send reminders about the report, the great content it contains, and the chance of you reading and benefiting from it increased.
People forget, unless you remind them, remind them, remind them.
You can’t do that without a follow-up system.
I think it really boils down to:
Do you want to spread an idea, or nurture a relationship?
One will get you exposure, the other will create a long-time customer client who believes you can consistently add value to their lives.
Let your YouTube videos and blog posts be your World Wide Rave mechanism – let them create the initial buzz about you or your product. But always make sure that after the ‘buzz’ mechanism has done its job, that you shift into creating relationships by getting their contact details and following up with them.
Both have their place, but I don’t think one totally replaces the other.
Derek
Hello
If you are making enough money.
Why do you need to continue to broadcast ads?
Or are you bullshitting?
Stan
Derek, am I ever glad that you shared your thoughts and opinions with me. First of all I clicked on your link and visited your site http://www.theactionmachine.com
What an awesome product you’ve got there. I’ll look into it in greater detail after I comment here.
I totally hear you Derek. There a many free reports buried in my computer that I have never read. Follow up emails help as a reminder, but in many cases they still didn’t get me to open it up.
Heck there are actually programs sitting in my computer that I paid for and still didn’t open up. I know that I’m not alone in that.
I think it’s best to catch the person in the moment. Get them to open it up in their browser immediately, even if they don’t download it.
I do think it’s possible to create that reminder without having an opt-in box. Take David’s blog http://www.webinknow.com
David never sends me a follow up message or any email other than the blog broadcast that lets me know there is a new post.
I visit David’s site every day. There have been times when I haven’t downloaded a free report or watched a video that David recommended. I say to myself that I’ll read it later or watch it later. Of course I get too busy and forget. But the next day when I go to his blog to read his post it’s a reminder that I should check out the report that he mentioned yesterday.
If you have a daily or weekly Ustream broadcast you can continually remind your followers about the free report as well.
I guess that’s the shift that I’m seeing. The raving fan and loyal followers that don’t need to check email because they don’t want to miss your video broadcast or online radio show, or your daily blog posts.
Let’s face it. Many of the people on our email lists don’t even open up the email. The people who do read your emails regularly would most likely read your blog posts if you just had an rss feed or blog broadcast.
I also believe that you can nurture a relationship without having a followup email system. The two ‘marketers’ that have built the best relationship with me have done so without having me on their email list. I feel connected to them because I read their blogs daily, listen to their radio show, and watch their videos.
Creating a community atmosphere is always great as well. Whether it’s a forum or a Ning community, it’s great to see interaction between the ‘guru’ and the followers.
I’m still in my infancy stages of this way of thinking. I’m basically doing what you are talking about with a ‘hybrid system’. That’s probably the best way to start and begin testing this new approach. So far it’s been working very well.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and opinions, I truly appreciate and value them. They have created a great discussion here. There is no one single correct way to do things that’s for sure.
Now… to check out your website and learn more about The Action Machine
Scott Tousignant
Hey Stan,
I also checked out your website and it’s great to see that you are offering inspirational advice to others and trying to make a difference in the world.
I also appreciate how you are ‘keeping it real’ on your website and sharing your true thoughts and feelings.
I understand the frustration when it comes to the false promises, hype, and misinformation when it comes to learning how to make money online.
My first year of online business was very frustrating. I spent a fortune in products and only made $20 and that was during a time when I had just claimed bankruptcy after closing my health club so money was extremely tight to say the least.
Hiring a mentor was the best thing that I ever did. It provided me with a shortcut to success.
No I’m not bull shitting you and no I do not broadcast ads…
What I do is share my experiences with my followers, let them know what is working for me, and provide them with information to help them make an informed decision.
I’m not broadcasting ads… I’m recommending products or services that have had a positive impact on my business and life.
I love what I do. I love that social media allows me the opportunity to connect with my followers. I love that I can build a relationship with someone half way around the world even though I have never met them. I love to share my experiences with people and I am passionate about make a positive difference in the world.
There is hope Stan. There are great people out there who have your best interests at heart.
Keep up the inspiration on your site and share your journey with your followers. You are an example to them and can have a big impact on their lives.
Scott Tousignant
An engaging and reflective post, thank you.
As a product manager (and roes previously), it always amazed me how many colleagues seemed to have a hard time designing with the ‘customer’ in mind. We’re all customers of ’something’, so why the inability to think as a customer when designing your own offerings? As such, your own self-observation of behavior was important.
If it’s ‘free,’ that should mean ‘no strings.’ As with you, if I cannot get the ‘free’ product without giving of myself first, I recognize it for what it is. And, most of the time, the ‘bait’ tends to be just another watered-down doc not worth what I gave up (my identity).
Yes, to an extend, social network ‘followers’ do serve similar to a list. Posting status updates does tend to drive traffic depending on topic.
Good post.
JT man did you ever nail it especially with the word ‘bait’. If the information that you offer is of great quality there is no need to set a ‘trap’ for your visitors.
Love your blog http://jtpedersen.net I just added it to my Google reader.
I’m really glad that we’ve connected. Are you on Twitter?
I’ve ordered David Meerman Scott book from Amazon since I can’t really comment since I have not read it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a believer of putting out a crappy PLR report as bait. The most important thing in my list building efforts is that I build a relationship with my subscribers. I take their trust in sharing their email address with me very seriously. I do not flog them with a barrage of sales pitches. Far from it.
With that out of the way, I worry that this type of “death of” declarations can hurt someone starting out. It appears David Meerman Scott is a well-known speaker who has a huge publishing house (Wiley) behind him and his book. It’s easier for him to declare the old way dead when you have the marketing/PR departments of Wiley behind you.
By having people opt-in via your RSS feed, you’re still list building and you still have an opt-in box for that, so it’s not really death of opt-in-boxes. But perhaps the method of getting people to opt-in.
That’s what I see is different is that you’re changing the way you get people to opt-in by not forcing them to do so to get your reports. But that opt-in box is still front and center on your site as it is in David Meerman Scott’s blog.
I’m with Derek on using a hybrid model. I provide a lot of free information on my blog without strings attached.
But there is a reason why Amazon sends me emails about new books, etc. Because that model still does work.
Thanks for the bringing this subject out. I see where you’re coming from but I also see arguments for the other side of the coin as well. I love the direct response business no matter the medium (TV, direct mail, Internet) and I’m always open to different ways of doing things and this is something worthwhile to test out.
This has been an awesome discussion with you Alan. There are definitely a boat load of arguments for “long live the opt-in box”
This is open discussion and it’s great to hear everyone’s perspectives. I love it!
You said, “I worry that this type of “death of” declarations can hurt someone starting out. It appears David Meerman Scott is a well-known speaker who has a huge publishing house (Wiley) behind him and his book. It’s easier for him to declare the old way dead when you have the marketing/PR departments of Wiley behind you.”
I believe that David’s publishing company damn near flipped when he said he would make his book available for free on iTunes. I think he did that for a week or so.
Also, I believe there is no better time to be starting out with an online presence. With the ‘old way’ of building your list it required several joint ventures, great ppc campaigns, and a variety of other methods.
Now you can put out a video and become a hit over night. Some of my friends have built a following of 100’s of thousands of people through subscriptions on YouTube. There’s no opt-in box there, but the subscribers are notified when the publisher puts up a new video.
I’ve been on David’s blog feed for a little while now. I’ve never received a direct response email from him. I’m only notified when there’s a new blog post. I didn’t even get an email about the release of his book… no hyped up email direct response campaign at all. Yet I rushed out and bought the book because I was reading his blog every day.
With social media it gives the little guys and gals a chance to become stars a lot faster than the ‘old ways.’
You are absolutely right Alan… as of right now, the changes that I’ve made is “HOW” I get people to opt-in and not totally eliminating the opt-in box all together.
I’m using that opt-in just as a blog broadcast and to get the important questions from my followers.
I believe this is a wonderful time to get creative with our marketing and the ways that we attract and keep in touch with our customers. There are so many options at our finger tips and for the social bugs out there like me, all of these options make marketing a whole lot more fun.
We’re all different. Some people would rather just run a bunch of ppc ads and never write an email or ever try to build a relationship with a customer. And for some people that method has made them millions.
I guess that’s what makes it so great. There are a large number of options for us and it’s up to us to match the best options that suit our personalities and styles.
Alan, it’s been great to hear you share your passion for direct response business and I look forward to seeing how you evolve those methods. Keep up the great work at your blog!
Scott Tousignant