It's being seen more often these days: you go to a website,
but before you can do anything an opt-in form page pops
up. All they want is your name and your email address, but
it slows you down and annoys you. Why do these people
persist in serving up these pages?
In the case of these – Squeeze pages – it's because,
according to those who use them, you can get as much as a
40% increase on the number of signups in comparison to
the number you get without a squeeze page. This is a
significant change to your newsletter circulation, and can
make a huge difference in customer retention and in your
newsletter circulation.
It works because it gives customers something they perceive
to be of value.
The Trick to Using Squeeze Pages
There are two basic types of squeeze pages, and if you want
to use them on your website, you should experiment with
both to see which gets a better rate of signup. The first is a
small, undersized interstitial. It's often used by newspapers
and magazines to get people to subscribe; but you can turn
it to your own purposes. It can pop up every time, and say
something like: "To get our free monthly newsletter, enter
your name and email address here." This kind of squeeze
page is by its nature optional; it's open in a second window
with your regular website beneath, and it can be easily
bypassed.
The second type of squeeze page is more intrusive, but
according to many it works very well. This is a regular page
that comes up and won't let you bypass it – much like a
required registration page for a newspaper. With this sort of
page, you can put in a short note about what the customer
can expect to get from his or her experience on your
website, and ask them to please register – for free – in order
to use your site.
The second sort is much more intrusive and demands much
more trust from the customer than they may be willing to
give. Though sites promoting squeeze pages claim that they
dramatically increase the number of people registering on
your page, it's probably a good idea to experiment with it,
perhaps on a secondary site, before dropping it on your
page. It's possible that it works for some communities and
not others; it's also possible that sites promoting squeeze
pages are exaggerating the potential for their own purposes.
What you can do with a squeeze page is "personalize" the
visit of your visitor – refer to him by name at the tops of
pages, pre-enter name and email on any forms you'd like
them to fill out past the squeeze page, etc. This, too, is of
dubious universal value. It's possible that certain
communities would eye personalization like this with distrust
and loathing, sort of like the salesman who's too friendly,
pats you on the back too many times, and makes a point of
using your name too much.
Squeeze Pages Versus Building Trust
Squeeze pages are probably an adequate solution if you're
building websites that probably serve one-time customers;
for instance, if you're selling a single piece of software, or if
you're running a quick one-time promotion. However, if
you're planning to have a long-term relationship with your
customers, it's probably better to captivate them with
excellent content and an opt-in signup for your emailed
newsletter.
Great content builds trust, over time. A squeeze page may
force limited trust, but it's so annoying that it may damage
your ability to initiate trust with your customer.
Alternatives
Nevertheless, the concept of a pop-up window trumpeting,
"Sign up here!" is a seductive one. It's easy for your
customers to miss the link to their newsletter page. It's also
easy for them to procrastinate signing up until later – and
then forget, clicking off your page to go elsewhere and never
returning. A happy medium might be a small interstitial or
pop-under that requests your customers to sign up for a free
newsletter.
Or you can have the sign-up form prominently displayed on
your home page. If your customer signs up from there, a
cookie is deposited to tell your site not to generate a pop-up
page. But if they leave your site without signing up, a small
interstitial pops up, asking, "Thank you for visiting Buck's
Popsicles. Did you forget to sign up for our newsletter?"
By popping up at the end, you don't alienate a customer
who just got to your site. And when the pop-up does appear,
your customer has probably done one of two things – not
signed up for your newsletter because he or she is not
interested, or not signed up because they didn't see the
registration form or they simply forgot to. A polite reminder
at the end of your customer's visit is a good way to catch
the absent-minded customers while not irritating anyone at
the beginning of the visit.