A very wise person said to never build your home on a rented property, but if you rely only on social media to contact your clients, you are risking your business on the whims of other people. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram— all of these platforms are known for deactivating and deleting accounts that they feel violate their terms of services. Some affected have been able to get their profiles back, but most don’t.

We aren’t saying to ditch social. What we are saying is that it’s time to build an email list that you own and no one can take away from you. How do you do that? Everybody loves to get a little something for their time. You can get people to join your email list by offering an opt-in gift on your website. 

What’s an opt-in gift? Its something you offer visitors in exchange for permission to email them in the future. Infographics, eBooks, coupons, videos, webinars… these are all things that can be of enough value for someone to take the time to fill out your form. 

Not only are you capturing their information, but you are also capturing their attention. People make purchases based on a lot of different factors, including the likeability of the company. If you’re in a crowded market, that just might make the difference in you getting the sale. 

So, how do you make an opt-in gift that provides value to your audience? Take a look at your last 10 customer interactions. What did they ask you about? What was the problem that lead them to you? Use that information to create something that delivers actionable value to them. If you are a tax consultant, maybe a video explaining how to get your records ready for tax season would be useful. A car dealership might offer a coupon for a free brake inspection with an oil change. You get the idea. 

Once you have an opt-in gift and the form ready on your website, how do you let people know about it? You guessed it! Social media. Many services will allow you to add a signup button to your profile and you can use ads to capture more people. 

Do you need help creating an opt-in gift or setting up your systems to deliver it? Give us a call and claim your free consultation.