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3 Reasons Why Offering Incentives Is A Smart Way To Build Your Opt In Email List

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Converting Website Traffic

Converting website traffic should be one of the top priorities for a blogger. Not only does it increase the number of returning traffic to your blog, but it also helps you promote and sell your product or service.

While many bloggers know that they need to be converting incoming traffic to subscribers on their email list, many struggle with figuring out where to get started.

I can tell you from first hand experience that one of the best ways to build your list and convert traffic is by offering an incentive to your potential subscribers. Incentives can including a free ebook or detailed report, a video tutorial, or some other form of exclusive content.

There are three main reasons why offering incentives is such a great way to turn random visitors into subscribers on your email list.

Trains Subscribers To Receive

It’s a known fact that humans are creatures of habit. Do the same thing enough and it becomes routine and second nature. So wouldn’t it be in your best interest to train your new subscribers to open your emails? I think so.

Consistently offering your subscribers things of value, like a video course on building better email campaigns, will get them accustomed to receiving such value from you.

This conditioning will help you appear more favorable to your subscribers, establish/position yourself as an authority, and will help them understand exactly what they can expect from you. When your readers come to expect high-quality content from you, then you would’ve developed an impeccable reputation and a massive following to go with it.

Just make sure you remain consistent and continue to deliver to your audience.

Easy Way To Provide Value

The very first rule of thumb when dealing with customers is to give value first. Give them value, then give them so more, and then surprise them and give them even more. Make sure you do this before asking them to buy anything and they’ll love and appreciate you.

Your readers may be from different cultures and backgrounds, and even speak many different languages but everyone understands real value. Value is universal and automatically makes you stand out from the competition.

Law of Reciprocity

Reciprocity is a beautiful thing; definitely something that more people should leverage in a non-manipulative way.  The law of reciprocity simply states that every gesture or action will generate a similar gesture or action in the future for the initiator.

Basically, you do good by your readers and they’ll do good by you.

The law of reciprocity is so powerful because people tend to have a natural feeling of indebtedness when people do favors or nice things for them. So if you were to give away a pair of tickets to a major conference or detailed eBook packed with cornerstone content, they’ll appreciate what you’ve done for them and will look for a way to return the favor somewhere down the line.

This return favor might come in the form of a purchase, like, share, free promo, or referral. All things that any blogger would love to have. It’s a very simple concept that’s often overlooked but extremely powerful for the user. The best part of the law of reciprocity? Both parties benefit! A win-win!

What About You?

Are you using incentives to build your email list? What are you offering? How has your experiences with using incentives been?

About

Dewane Mutunga is NYC-based marketing consultant with over 5 years experience. He created the Email Marketing Insider, where he teaches entrepreneurs and marketers how to build unique relationships that lead to increased customer retention and lifetime value. Grab his eBook on building a responsive email list here.

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{ 22 Responses }

  1. Jon says:
    Those tried and true reasons are still applicable and no doubt will remain so, however, website visitors are so accustomed to seeing "free this and free that" offerings in return for giving away their email address that these days the percentage of visitors opting in is reducing, especially in the highly saturated evergreen niches, so bloggers and niche site owners need to be finding spectacular gifts to make them stand out from the crowd.
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      I totally agree Jon. That's why it's important to really know your audience; as well as their wants, needs, and most emotional problems. Ask them what they are struggling with most and deliver it to them. Guaranteed boost in opt ins.
  2. Azhar says:
    For online marketing incentive is the first step for promotion. Real list can pay you a lot. With good communication skills we can increase our list.
  3. Justice Wordlaw IV says:
    Offering an incentive is a MUST when trying to grow your email list. To be honest I won't opt into an email list just because of the good content I want something a bit more to reach my inbox and honestly the product will have to be something of true value or I'm personally going to unsubscribe from that email list once I finish reading that product. I have offered ebooks, audio courses, and video courses and have found that ebooks are the normal and people are used to those but if you can now offer video,written, with audio people are going to stick around a lot more because now your opening the door ways to different peoples learning methods and not just one which is the most common written way.
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      Video is most "sticky" because it offers the highest level of engagement. Audio and Visual; plus you get provide more content in less time using video.
  4. Jane says:
    You have raised valid points. giving others something valuable will not only make them receive, but also will make them return back sometime later. So, you should be patient engough in this process.
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      Exactly! It's all about giving value first and letting the law of reciprocity take over! :-D
  5. Charlie says:
    Have seen this work well, although it also trains subscribers to deals - which can be good and can slow down repeat business if you aren't careful with the incentives you offer. :)
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      Charlie, I'm not sure giving valuable content can ever be counterproductive. You can always attract more bees with honey than nothing at all... :-) Thanks for sharing your opinion!
      • Charlie says:
        Hi Dewane, I know what you are getting at. Just at a deeper level, if you train your customers to expect freebies, repeat business becomes harder to generate higher % profit. That said... for attracting new business, this is spot on. :)
        • Dewane Mutunga says:
          Charlie, A good way to think of it is like Freemium services like SurveyMonkey or Hootsuite, where they give and provide value to attract customers by letting them try their service for free. Then if they want additional features they can purchase a premium service plan. It's similar to offering incentives. You give your incentive away, providing value. The goal is to show the quality of your work. if you give away killer content for free then people with almost certainly go for the paid stuff next. Once you get someone to say yes once, or in this case purchase your product/service, it's much easier to get them to say yes again. So customer retention shouldn't really take a hit... :-)
  6. Wasim Ismail says:
    Offering anything works well in building a strong email list. The key here is it needs to be of value to the person subscribing. As if they can see them self benefiting form this free incentive whether it’s a product or a service, they will be more than willing to hand you over their email address.
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      Wasim, It's about dealing in the universal currency, value. We should be providing value early, often, and continuosly! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
  7. Aadith sasi says:
    Incentives really mater!!If we offer freebies the traffic effects obviously.
  8. Mika Castro says:
    I can't agree more on this article about website traffic. It is true that we must convert our website for us to see what possibilities that we really need to improve for it to add traffics. We must make sure that this option will be on the top to reach the benefits that we like.
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      Mika, Conversions really do matter. Your email list is your greatest source of loyal traffic. It's a smart investment...
  9. Jon Anscher says:
    They say the best way to receive is to give. And if you are offering valuable and relevant content as the gift, it's a great way to boost your own SEO Strategy.
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      Jon, You touched on something very important, relevant content. I'm a firm believer in the notion that relevance leads to response. Thanks for pointing that out!
  10. Ryan Biddulph says:
    Hi Dewane, Give freely, receive generously. Offer your knowledge freely through an opt-in form - or the knowledge of someone else - and you will receive subscribers, build your list and prosper. Simple formula which is timeless too. Think of sowing and reaping. If you struggle to build a list you simply either aren't offering something of value to your target audience or you need to connect with more people in your niche. Keep giving. Leaving value-packed comments. Connecting with folks. In time your list grows and you prosper. My cash gifting team only began to really grow when I developed a laser targeted marketing campaign and I began list-building seriously. Then things came together with greater ease. Thanks for sharing your insight Dewane. RB
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      Ryan, To piggy back off your comment; maybe you aren't giving enough or maybe you aren't giving the right type of incentive away. People are motived by different things, it's always good to know what your audience likes in advance! P.S. - Giving first is always the best policy :-)
  11. David Britt says:
    Offering incentives can easily attract readers.. anyone always looking for a free stuff especially in this online business.
    • Dewane Mutunga says:
      David, The whole idea with offering an incentive is to give value first. It's the most ideal way to start a relationship. I would also make a point to not that your free incentive should be of the same quality of a product you would charge for. You don't want to just put anything out because it becomes counterproductive. The idea is to go above and beyond so that you stand out from the competition. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!