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Easy steps to improve the rankings of your website in the search engines.

A guide to getting more free traffic for website owners who want more visitors but don't want to have to deal with technical solutions.

Author Bio

Dave Wedge is a UK based publisher and author who also runs a consultancy business helping his clients to build their business on the Internet.

He had a long career in IT and software development and worked his way up through a number of senior management roles before deciding to become self employed and start his own business in 2001.

His interest in the Internet and websites generally began in the late 1990's and this now forms the majority of his business.

He has managed the development of dozens of websites, and has assisted many clients with building quality websites which generate income and build business.

As well as having some prestige clients, he builds his own websites and spends a lot of time studying and testing new and changing techniques.

Contents

PLEASE NOTE

Author Bio

Introduction to Squeeze Pages

The Squeeze Page System

What You Need Before Getting Started

Planning Your Squeeze Page Content

How to Write a Squeeze Page that Converts

Driving Traffic into Your Squeeze Page

Examples of Successful Squeeze Pages

And Finally

Introduction to Squeeze Pages

This guide is all about how to make the most of the visitors to your website.

For most site owners getting steady and reliable traffic is a constant challenge, you really have to capitalize on what you do get.

There was a time not that many years ago when it was relatively easy to drive traffic to the sales page for a product or service and sell straight off the page.

Now that we are all deluged with offers and get sold to continuously, it has become progressively harder to convince a visitor who does not know you to put their hand in their pocket and pass over their hard earned cash.

What you have to do now is build a relationship with your prospects, give them a little insight in to you and your business and break down the barriers to them becoming a paying customer.

Most successful online marketers will tell you that their mailing list is their prime source for making sales. This is because they have created fans who are happy to receive their emails, people who trust them and will be far more open to buying from them than from another marketer or site they do not know.

It makes sense doesn't it? I am sure you can think of parallels in your own life when you have been intending to make a purchase. You go to sites and businesses you trust, you buy from marketers you know who have already proven their quality and reliability.

Before you begin the attempt to build a successful email list, which could pay the bills for years to come, you really need to start with a good understanding of how to create pages and offers that visitors will want to opt-in to.

Also known as Lead Capture pages these pages will make all the difference to the success of your website.

Before we go any further let's just deal with the jargon.

We are focused here on a particular kind of page commonly referred to as a 'Squeeze Page', as this has been proven to be the most effective way of capturing visitor details.

If you use Google Analytics they refer to whichever page a visitor arrives on your site as the 'landing page'. People often refer to squeeze pages as landing pages, which is understandable as you really do want people to land on them.

However, when discussing squeeze pages within the realm of marketing and advertising, it’s more common to refer to a squeeze page as being a standalone web page which has the single purpose of getting the email address of the visitor.

When I refer to a squeeze page I am talking about a short page which has the sole aim of getting an opt-in, in other words a visitor giving you their email address (and maybe other contact details) in exchange for something (more on that later).

As I will come on to explain, you can still sell from a squeeze page and also make sales by following up with the subscriber on a regular basis.

Examples of uses for squeeze pages would be -

eBook or whitepaper

Newsletter subscription

Webinar registration

Some kind of course

Consultation for professional services

Free trial

Notification of a future product launch

I would like to make distinction here between a squeeze page and the generally much longer sales page which gradually builds up a compelling case to make a purchase now.

This guide is not intended to cover the ins and outs of long form sales pages.

In stark contrast to undifferentiated, unfocused home pages, squeeze pages focus specifically on offering something of value for free in exchange for an email address.  A follow up series of emails is then used to market specific products and services.

Usually all other site navigation is removed so either the visitor opts in or leaves. Although if you are using some traffic generation techniques such as Facebook Ads they may insist that you have an obvious  link to certain information such Terms & Conditions.

So what is important to learn in an introduction to squeeze pages?

First, it is important to recognize that all successful marketers use these. If you plan to sell a product over the Internet, you will want to use one, too, rather than relying on sidebar opt-in forms and unfocused pages that do not convey a single point and a single call to action (these are becoming increasingly ineffective).

The important thing to take away from this introduction to squeeze pages is that every squeeze page contains the same component parts and is focused on a SINGLE goal – getting the visitor to become a subscriber and then to convert them in to a buyer.

These components are as follows:

an opt-in form

an introduction and list of features/benefits

and a call to action

Determining the structure and layout which will work best for you can only be done through testing. While some will work well with just text, others work better with a picture (such as a book cover) or even maybe a short video.

I would recommend that you start off with something simple and then think about getting more sophisticated with additional media such as video.

Your particular niche will have a bearing on this (e.g., maybe something visual for gardeners) and whether visitors are generally exposed frequently to squeeze pages (as in the Internet Marketing world).

The Squeeze Page System

No matter what you are trying to sell, the squeeze page system you create should be a compelling reason to take action, get on to your list, and then to want to become a paying customer at a later date.

Before we go further let me make an important point about the quality of your offer. You will almost certainly have competition in your niche, your audience has choice.

Everything your subscribers get from you after they opt-in, whether it is your initial offer or follow up activity needs to be high quality.

If your subscriber is disappointed they will quickly unsubscribe and will likely request a refund if they have bought.

Do not put hype on your squeeze page that your product does not live up to! It will come back to bite you.

Once your visitors subscribe, the squeeze page system you create should then re-route them to a thank you page or a sales page, which opens up more means through which you can up-sell to bigger and better offers.

On the follow up page you can endorse a product as an affiliate if you don't have one of your own, or you can make offers to subscribers who have signed up to your list through an automated email sequence.

You may even want to use other products you have as bonuses to incentivise them.

The most profitable way in which you can generate revenue through your list is of course by creating and selling your own products to them.

If you want to send your visitor on to a Sales Page after they opt in, you can deliver the free offer via an attachment or as a link in your Thank you email following their subscription.

What You Need Before Getting Started

Before you get started building your squeeze page, you will need a number of things to make your offer work and facilitate the creation of your squeeze page.

One thing you absolutely must have before you get started is an auto-responder.

Without an auto-responder, you literally throwing money away. Rather than creating a relationship with customers and giving yourself the opportunity to create future sales (and fans!),  you're allowing them to leave and never return.

An auto-responder allows you to manage your list as well as sending out automated sequences of emails.

I use Aweber, which is a very popular one, but there are other good ones such as Get Response and Mailchimp. Check them out if you have yet to get an auto-responder service. There are many reviews online as well as numerous places you can get free training on setting them up and using them.

If you are on a tight budget I recommend you take a look at Mailchimp, this is free up to 2000 subscribers.

In addition to an auto-responder, you need to have something you can offer as a give away to tempt people on to your list. This should be good quality but can be very simple.

You could offer a Checklist, or a 'How To' video, or a short eBook that solves a particular problem. I am sure you are quite protective of your own email address, most of your visitors will feel the same way. They need to see immediate value in your offer or they will leave, probably never to return.

You need to research your market and know that you are offering something that people are already looking for.

If you don't have the skills, the time, or the inclination to create something to offer you can always hire a professional to do it for you through sites such as Elance.com or Guru.com.

Another thing you absolutely must have before you get started, if you will be selling your own products, is a payment service. You may want to consider Paypal or Clickbank, or JVZoo. These services will take payments and make sure you get the money, without you having to worry about processing credit cards or taking orders directly.

Also Clickbank and JVZoo will allow you to get affiliates to promote your products for you.

You also need a set of graphics for whatever you are intending to sell, which usually includes graphics, and maybe a decent picture of yourself.

You can probably provide the picture of yourself, but you might want to hire a professional to do the rest. This can be outsourced very cheaply on sites such as Fiverr.com.

Planning Your Squeeze Page Content

Perhaps the most important part of creating a squeeze page is planning your content and the theme. How you select your theme will depend on how you plan to generate traffic.

If you decide to generate traffic through search engine optimization, planning your squeeze page theme will entail finding phrases within your niche which have a high demand and a low supply (i.e. a small number of competing sites) and then creating multiple squeeze pages, each of which is optimized around a different phrase.

If, on the other hand, you decide to generate traffic through paid advertising methods such as Solo Ads or Pay Per Click (PPC) programs, you your can focus your squeeze page theme according to the traffic you are buying.

I come on to look at how to drive traffic to your squeeze page in a later section.

Your flow needs to ensure when people arrive at your squeeze page it offers what they were looking for. If you are in the dog training business and people arrive looking for general dog products you are going to have very minimal success.

This is actually where most people fail when they create a squeeze page: they don't tune it to fit a specific audience. This is a big mistake.

Chances are if you create a quality product or newsletter it can benefit a great many people. So communicate the exact benefits they will derive from subscribing or buying. Be very specific about who your products is for.

If you have done your research this is where you match what you know the top searches are looking for.

How to Write a Squeeze Page that Converts

Most people have not really considered or learned how to write a squeeze page that converts. Instead they bundle together elements that they have seen used in other squeeze pages, but often do not put them together in the same way the owner of the successful squeeze page did.

The most difficult part of assembling the squeeze page is of course the presentation of your offer. Not everyone is going to be an excellent writer, never mind a copywriter.

But as someone selling a product or trying to build a list, it is important that you know your strengths and weaknesses and that you either spend the time to overcome them or hire someone else to do it for you.

You can get a squeeze page designed quickly and very cheaply on Fiverr.com if you lack the confidence initially.

With copywriting it is important to use a mix of compelling sales points with powerful psychological triggers. Many people who create a squeeze page miss either one or both of those elements.

These psychological triggers include the following, try to get one or more in to your copy -

Reciprocity. This is particularly powerful and often undervalued, a favour given demands a favour in return. Just think about it and how it applies in the rest of your life.

Fear of loss. For some reason some people are more motivated to prevent loss than to make a gain.

Scarcity. The fear of missing out. You will have seen this many times in the form of 'Only 10 remaining', 'One time not to be repeated offer', etc.

Social proof. People follow the crowd and also like evidence. Testimonials, or '10,000 copies already sold', 'Our most popular program, etc

Similarity. People do business with people they like or who are like them. 'Dear fellow gardener', 'Like you I had trouble for years with acne', etc

Contrast. Show what good value you offer by comparing your product to others. 'Proven to work twice as quickly as', etc

Don't concentrate so much on building benefits that you don't actually explain what solution you are providing – and for whom you are providing it. If I don't have a specific problem that your product solves, why would I want it? I wouldn't.

This is all about creating emotion, no one will feel compelled to continue reading if the benefits have a low or average perceived value.

You must have a good headline and then have benefits that give a compelling reason for a visitor to provide their email address.

Additionally, if there is not a strong call to action (another form of psychological trigger) then a potential visitor might never feel compelled enough to opt in.

In addition to careful copywriting, there are other important things you must take into consideration when writing a squeeze page that converts.

For instance, you might build a compelling case for a time-bound offer. Now, this doesn't mean you have to invent fake deadlines and constantly revise them each week. (this is a good way to guarantee your complete loss of credibility in the shortest amount of time possible).

However, when planning your copy, you will want to urge the reader to act immediately as the chances are that they won't do so later.

Perhaps you can use a countdown to build urgency (i.e., when someone arrives at your squeeze page, they have five minutes to purchase the product at the lowest price).

You will need to decide what information you are going to ask your visitors for. Bear in mind that the more you ask, for the greater attrition you are likely to get.

A number of marketers I know now just ask for email address (I having been doing the same). The downside of not getting the visitor name is that you will not to be able to address them personally in your follow up emails (eg, 'Hi Fred, ...), but testing has shown that more people will sign up if you only ask for email.

Another interesting tactic that I have been testing is to ask for just 'Email' rather than 'Email Address'. Testing variations such as this can make a difference. It is all about psychology, you want to get your visitor excited and then be very careful not to frighten them off.

I have also been testing a Squeeze Page layout that does not actually contain an opt-in for to capture an email address. Instead it has a button with a label such as 'Download Now' or 'Access Now'. When somebody clicks on this it opens up another box that says something along the lines of "Great, where shall I send it to?" and then gives a field in to which they can put their email address.

This method works really well as by the time the visitor is asked to provide their details they have already made the emotional commitment, do they are far more inclined to take action.

In your headline, simply state the exact benefits they will receive for opting in, as always, mixing in psychological triggers.

Always try to include a compelling reason to join now (i.e., the price might go up, the list might become private, you'll get this amazing report).

Focus the main body of your page in to a few key benefits, what are the absolutely top reasons that a visitor might want or need your product? How does it solve a problem or otherwise improve their life? Is there anything unique about it? A bulleted list generally works very well here.

As a slight aside, always include a short line under your opt-in form that explains that you will not, under any circumstances, spam them or sell or give away their email address and name.

The best way in which you can gain trust is by offering something for free. Everybody likes something free which solves a problem. You can position this in such a way that you need their email address in order to provide access to this.

You can offer a free report or maybe a five-day course, and then use that to generate leads, which you will later up-sell or generate revenue from via affiliate sales.

Why is this technique so effective? Quite simply because it allows your customer to judge your work and ideas before they actually have to pay for them. Additionally, it builds trust.

We are all sold to continuously so you have to overcome inbuilt resistance to sales.

That is not to say you can't use your squeeze page to also make sales, you can. There are a couple of ways you can do this, in both you still make the free offer to get the opt-in first.

You take your new subscriber directly to a longer and much more detailed sales page after they have opted in, here you have the space to make a much more compelling case to purchase. At the same time you send them an email with an attachment or a link to your free offer.

You take your new subscriber directly to a Thank You page which explains how to get the free offer and also offers an ' Up-sell' to your priced product.

Either way you want to follow up with a series of auto responder messages to build your relationship and also offer other products (the money is in your list!).

Driving Traffic into Your Squeeze Page

Driving traffic into your squeeze page – it sounds easy, doesn't it? unfortunately it's not. And no matter how great your squeeze page is, it won't matter if no one ever reads it.

Furthermore, if everyone in the world other than your target audience reads it, it also won't matter. This is why you need to find media through which you can drive targeted visitors to your squeeze page.

Trying to drive traffic to your squeeze page through natural search engine optimization is going to be very difficult as Google will not regard a squeeze page as a quality visitor experience - it has no content other than sales copy.

You can of course try to use social media such as Facebook or Twitter to drive free traffic, or you could put links from Youtube videos.

Paid advertising is the easiest method of driving traffic to your squeeze page. There are a number of ways of doing this, I have written a separate guide about how to do this using Solo Ads which you can find here -

How To Run Solo Ads

Paying for traffic is by far the quickest and most reliable way of getting visitors to your squeeze page.

Luckily if you are on a tight budget you do have other options.

Chief among them is working with other people. This is what a lot of marketers forget, they don't realize the power of human connections because they are so caught up in the idea of selling directly.

One quick way to get traffic through other people is a joint venture. You can enter into a joint venture by compiling a list of possible “partners”, or people who might be able to assist you in some mutually-beneficial way. This list might include other list owners in your niche, site owners in your niche, and experts.

There's one important thing you should keep in mind when contacting joint venture partners, and that is to make it as quick, easy, and beneficial for them as possible. If they have no incentive for doing it, they probably won't even reply to you. And if it isn't easy, they'll accept other joint venture offers over yours.

Another way in which you can drive traffic to your squeeze page is through blog and forum posting; however, it is important that you do not spam as many people do. Instead, actually participate on the forum, provide people with something of value; and, after a while, post your product in your signature – and try to network with people on the forum who work in similar fields.

Your approach to blog posting should be similar. Include a signature file that links back to your squeeze page, but don't spam. Instead, post useful comments. This is not only more ethical, but it is plainly more effective. Spam gets deleted. Good comments get praised, inducing people to follow your link and check out your products.

Examples of Successful Squeeze Pages

Here are some examples of some differing styles of page. There is no 'one size fits all' solution, the key is to make it compelling and to remove any perceived risk.

As discussed earlier it is hard to sell things to people who don't yet know you, giving something free at this point will make a huge difference to your opt-in rates.

If there are good benefits and no apparent downside you should be able to attain high opt-in percentages.

Notice the importance of a good headline, and sometime sub headings, in all of them. Also labelling the action button to offer a reward, usually immediate, is an important psychological incentive.

I have also been experimenting with some very simple pages, the following example has traffic sent it from a small advert which promotes a small report that can be obtained from this page.

And Finally

One of the golden rules of marketing is 'Test, test, test'. This is no different, sometimes a small tweak can make a big difference.

I have had changes of only one or two words make big improvements to opt-in rates, you just don't know until you try.

If you get something working well try another small variation to it. If you keep on testing you might be surprised how much you can gradually improve.

Also different traffic sources can generate very different results. I have had the same page generate anywhere between 15% and 50% opt-in rates using different traffic campaigns.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Easy steps to improve the rankings of your website in the search engines.

A guide to getting more free traffic for website owners who want more visitors but don't want to have to deal with technical solutions.

If you have enjoyed and benefited from these tips any kind of Testimonial or Endorsement would be very welcome! You can do this or give comments on my site here -

http://youralternativefuture.com/contact/

I can also be contacted via email – support at youralternativefuture.com, and will be happy to answer any questions or assist you.

END