I’ve mentioned the namesqueeze technique previously on this blog. It’s a very popular technique in Internet marketing circles and I’ve been itching to try it out myself. With the launch of Blog Traffic King I finally had a reason to test the namesqueeze and so far, I’m impressed, it works really well.
Squeezing The Email Address
The namesqueeze is most often used to collect email addresses from prospective customers. The idea is that visitors to your website, if they find your offer compelling enough, will opt in to your mailing list. Sometimes the offer may be an email newsletter with helpful information about a specific topic (in my case, a blog traffic newsletter), or a free report or 7 day e-course, mini e-book or downloadable audio. Sometimes the namesqueeze is used as a gateway to enter the main website so visitors have to give their name and email address first, before gaining access to the content.
From the marketers point of view you gain the all important contact point and can continue to soft sell your products or services. Namesqueeze pages generally bring in targeted visitors because for a person to give their email address they must be interested in what you offer.
It’s About Focus
If you have ever done any online marketing you will know that your conversion rate is probably the most important statistic (along with cost per conversion). The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your page that “convert” and do what your page is designed to make them do.
Traditionally conversion rates online tend to sit at about 1-2% as an average. Namesqueeze pages on the other hand generally enjoy double digit conversion rates and can approach 100% if the offer is compelling and the traffic targeted.
The explanation for such high conversion rates is focus. Namesqueeze pages focus on a single action – the email opt-in – and all the copy on the page is focused on convincing the visitor to sign up. There are no distractions, no outgoing links, no sub-pages – just a simple process that convinces the reader to join.
Compelling Copy
Namesqueeze pages rely extensively on the power of words to sell. Audio may be included to help the process but simply tells visitors to follow the written instructions and sign up. Images may also enhance the presentation but without powerful words with a compelling message and clear call to action a namesqueeze page doesn’t work.
Targeted Traffic
The other key ingredient for a successful namesqueeze campaign is the right type of visitor. The methods used to send traffic to a namesqueeze page must ensure that readers are interested in the topic. Pay per click advertising is the most common method used to send traffic to namesqueeze pages because you can tightly align the message with keywords.
How I Built My Namesqueeze Page
With Blog Traffic King I did the work myself. I visited some other namesqueeze pages and asked for feedback from some Internet marketing friends but that’s all the outside assistance I required. The good thing about namesqueeze pages is that they are small, focus on the text and don’t need to be pretty. It’s all about making the message as compelling as possible.
I coded the page myself mostly by grabbing the HTML from some of my other pages I’d built in the past. I used a text editor to work on the raw HTML code. I recorded the audio using Audacity, and converted it to streaming audio buttons using Wicked Streaming (a program no longer available – you can try BYO Audio or Instand Audio). I created the graphics using Paint Shop Pro and some photos I had taken with my digital camera. I host the page on my reseller account and registered the domain with Yahoo! Domains.
To bring in traffic I set up Google AdWords Pay Per Click campaigns which I continuously refine and test to maximize the conversion rate. I use the conversion tracking tools provided by Google to track the conversion rates on each keyword. I use AwStats server statistics to see what keywords are bringing in search traffic and source new keywords which I can plug into AdWords to test for more PPC traffic.
I also advertise the blog traffic newsletter on my blogs and link to the Blog Traffic King namesqueeze page in my signature profile in any forums I frequent.
My Conversion Rates
When I first started my AdWords campaign my conversion rate averaged 40% across the board. As I broke down my campaign into groups the conversion rates started to fluctuate but they are consistently in double figures. Some low traffic keyword phrases have a 100% conversion rate.
My best day had over 35 sign-ups (this came after posting about Blog Traffic King on this blog) and I consistently average 10 new sign-ups per day, which I consider fantastic given this is only the start of my promotional campaign. In total I have had three people unsubscribe with the justification usually being “not enough time to read emails anymore” (I can understand that!), which is a near-zero unsubscribe ratio.
I’ve received more than ten direct unsolicited positive feedback comments from readers who state they are receiving a lot of value from my newsletter, which is fantastic. Positive feedback tells me that I have the right type of people on my newsletter – those who stand to gain the most from what I offer now and in the future – the perfect win-win relationship, and of course that I am providing value, which is very important to me.
Try A Namesqueeze
If you plan to sell online and you want to build a contact list of somesort the namesqueeze technique is a must. It’s beautiful in it’s simplicity, has a clear focus and consequently enjoys high conversion rates. At the least you should consider testing this method for your niche.
Once you have a successful namesqueeze in operation it’s very easy to tweak it to improve your conversion rates. By isolating key variables such as headlines you can test changes and monitor your results. By optimizing elements you can slowly increase the conversion rate. Then all you need to do is send more targeted traffic sound in the knowledge that your namesqueeze page will work hard for you to sign-up new prospects.
Yaro
Online Marketer
Hey you’re doing a good job with it so far i just signed up !! Hahahaha, I’m sure i’ll enjoy it and get lots from it, best to learn from someone who has been there done that and has the t-shirt to prove it
I guess these pages really work, I am trying the same concept in my website, I do a full service DJ in Houston TX USA and that is one concept that I am trying to implement to collect names. However, I believe my copy is not effective enough. I will be revising it and doing over soon.
Great article. Have tried a few of these but struggle with getting enough benefits in. Do you think they have appeal in the UK as well as the USA?
This sounds very familiar to a technique described in the Day Job Killer book. I’m trying it out with a few products…hope it works as well as described!
Keep up the good posts Yaro!
-Ryan
I found it very effective to offer a PDF eBook to download. People need to give their email address, and the link to download the book (individually generated to track which users actually downloaded the book) will be sent to that email. Nice side effect is that the email addresses will be verified directly.
A few days after that they downloaded the book the system sends a follow up email (this can be automatted, too) asking if the user finds the information usefull, and offering some additional services.
I have more of a namesqueeze box rather than a whole page. I use it to get people to sign up for our news letter and get coupons/discounts. So far it has been working very nicely.
I found this post linked off one of Yaro’s more recent blog posts, and must say that I’m quite amazed at the fact that even the archives from over three years ago still offer some seriously good value on entrepreneurs-journey. Saying “keep up the good work” does sound rather cliche’d, but it is gratifying to see somebody actually living up to that mantra!
Geez, those statistics of yours are damned impressive.. Definitely considering trying this out
Great post! I have actually been really getting into all of this SEO stuff since I just started my blog. Thanks for the info…it has really helped!!
The namesqueeze page is also refer to as the landing page. This will be the first page visitor see when they come to your site. Like you mentioned, the purpose of this page is to collect visitors information such as name and email address. Many marketers are successfully using this technique to grow their online business because it works.
As an alternative viewpoint, the author of “Desperate Buyers” confesses to being lazy about collecting names, sending out newsletter updates, etc. Justifies it by saying the names she does collect — actual buyers — are highly targeted and willing to spend money. That they’re not just people signing up to get a free report..
statistics of yours are damned impressive
Thanks
Misbah Mumtaz