No matter how many people you attract to your email signup page, you’ll have to work hard to get them to sign up. Don’t be surprised how difficult it can be to get people to sign up for your email list. People don’t give out their email address unless they’re sure they’ll get something of value in return.

Right, what do we have to do to get visitors to take the plunge and sign up for your newsletter?

You need to get people to sign up twice so you have proof of their request to join your list. There’s no point in getting people to sign up to your list with a fake email address just to get your freebie. With double opt-in, the potential subscriber won’t even make it to your list until they confirm their subscription.

Double opt-in is one of the benefits of using a third-party autoresponder service. Your web hosting company is much less likely to shut you down if you can prove that the subscriber opted in.

Since we need the subscriber to subscribe twice, how are we going to get them to sign up?

Here are some of the ways:

• Testimonials: You probably can’t do this early in your marketing career (don’t be tempted to make up testimonials), but if you offer value for money, you can ask your buyers to say a few words about their purchase. use as testimony. (Ask the buyer for a testimonial, many will be happy to write one for you.) You can then add the testimonial to your signup page to encourage visitors to sign up for your list.
• A privacy policy: Tell the visitor that their privacy will be protected and that you will not sell or pass on their email address to anyone and that they can unsubscribe at any time. You must add a clear and concise privacy statement on your subscription page.
• Offer the visitor a free newsletter: On your website’s subscription page, add a couple of free newsletters for the reader to review so they can see the quality of content they’ll receive. Instead of offering the reader your latest newsletters, offer them some of your best ones, possibly with a free offer or two.
• Walk the talk! Use as much effort to create your subscription page as you would for any of your products. Your newsletter will become a source of income for the rest of your life if it is written and delivered correctly. Treat your newsletter like your life depends on it, your livelihood certainly depends on it.
• Use an incentive – your visitors will look for something of value in exchange for giving you their email address. You could use an Ebook or a special report. Many Internet marketers offer a free MP3, a recording of a webinar they’ve done, or even a video recording. Offer the visitor as much value as possible and make the incentive unique to you so they can’t get it anywhere else.

Give some thought to how you’re going to get visitors to sign up; you need to make them an irresistible offer they can’t refuse. The better the offer, the more people will accept it and the faster your list will build.

Building your list really pays off and the more people you can get to join your list, the more money you make.