Imagine you went for a date with a person you hadn't met before. And your date wore a paper bag on his/her head. He/She refused to show you his/her face.
That date refused to tell you anything about his/her past.
Or let you into any information at all. And yet you had to give them information. Like your first name, last name, blah, blah, blah.
How do you feel?
Well that's exactly how the customers feel. They feel irritated, frustrated and to choose a mild word: trapped. They know they want the information, but they can't seem to get the any information from you without filling in that stupid form.
Squeeze pages are stupid
They are contrary to human nature. They force you into a corner. They force you to part with information based on some random headline and bullet points.
So why do we have so many squeeze pages on the Internet?
Why do people catch colds and coughs? Yes, one person has it, and then it spreads. One person put in a squeeze page, then everyone else decided to follow suit. And don't get me wrong.
Squeeze pages work. They work wonderfully.
Well, so does Bruno, who's six foot nine inches and weighs 400 pounds.Just because it works doesn't mean you have to follow suit.
Because there are other things that work.
Like non-threatening, non-Bruno, no-squeeze pages.
Pages that get you to sign up not through intimidation and fear. But pages that get you to sign up because you want to do so.
Because persuasion is stupid. Persuasion implies that you acted against your nature. And why get customers to act against their nature when they will gladly give you information?
A good opt-in page should entice.
It should give you lots of details.
It should answer your every question or objection.
It should not make you feel icky, like being on a blind date.
At Psychotactics, we've collected names, addresses, home numbers, postal addresses, mobile numbers, city, country on our opt-in pages.
All without twisting anyone's arms. We've done it to entice customers to subscribe to the newsletter. Or to opt-in to a workshop. Or to buy a product or service.
Our customers give us bucket loads of information, because they trust us. They believe in us.
They know they're not on a yucky blind date.
I'd rather have that kind of customer, wouldn't you? Sure beats being squeezed!
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And for everyone who is squeezed into making squeeze pages, being armed with this kind of knowledge is helpful. Because there is a lot you can reveal in a squeeze page if you’re so inclined. You could essentially put an entire website into a squeeze page, right? Then tweak along the way until you have something more robust.
I love this iconoclastic thinking!
I could never understand why squeeze pages were used in the first place – and really don’t understand why they work. It’s not something that I’d buy from. I refuse to be squeezed!
I agree.
But let’s dig deeper.
Some people think that you need to get TONS of information right from the get go if you have something people want.
So they do a landing page for a free report or free webinar – and they want to know everything about you. Yes, they’ve provided all the details about the event and addressed all your questions or objections… but now they want to know your name, phone number, email address, organization, issues with marketing, years in the business, etc…
While this works… would it be better to simply ask for the name/email address? Or do you need to get all this information right away?
I’ve always leaned towards the “provide huge value, ask for as little as possible in return” approach – because I feel there will be other opportunities to ask for this information down the road, when you need it. But is this too low-tension? Should you be asking for more right away if you answer their objections and so forth?
The details matter. Just asking for the email address is easy, but there are reasons why you’re asking for the other information. It helps you understand other aspects, e.g. where they’re coming from. This helps you understand things you may not understand via say, analytics programs
Your message needs to invite not extract based on limited curiosity. If your message resonates with the prospective customer they will usually give you all of the requested information. When they do, you now have a greater chance of winning a new customer. Better to focus on a few than a lot.
Good point Sean – thanks. I suppose with the details, you’ll be able to provide BETTER value. Sure you’re asking a bit more – but it’s so you can provide more, eh?
Dear Sean,
I read lots of your free articles BEFORE opting in to your list. And it was the articles you wrote that gave me the confidence to purchase the ‘Brain Audit’ and ‘The Article Writing Course’. Now that you mention it, I felt respected that you let me “get to know you” instead of forcing me to opt-in. I would liken it to being picked up by a guy, observing him, before discerning whether to give my phone number away. You are doing the right thing. Many thanks.
Thanks, Rachel.