Just Upload It: The Real Secret to Jumping Through Hoops & Getting All Your Micro-Tasks Done
I can't begin to calculate how much money I lost for years just because I didn't put a single optin page online.
Email Optin Page
Simple "piece of paper" web page, headline describing what my free gift was, three bullet points going into very QUICK detail of each one, call to action telling people to fill in the form below, and an email optin web form.
Set it to redirect to a page offering a free gift. Easy way to offer a free gift? Go to EzineArticles, search your niche, grab 3 articles that look good, copy them out leaving names and resource boxes intact, add the link to your website. Paste into Microsoft Word and save as a PDF file.
- Do you have articles or blog posts of your own? Even better. Put 3 of your own articles into that PDF.
- Do you already have an information product? Pull out one of the bonuses or one chapter and that's your free gift.
- Do you run free 1-hour pitch webinars? Take your most recent one and put the video behind that optin page.
I don't know why, but I used to think it was "a lot of work" setting up a simple optin page using this exact process. It's not work! You're sitting in a chair, not even really thinking too much, taking 5 minutes on this total.
Webinar Optin Page
For some reason I fell into the same pattern when it came to running webinars. You might have noticed that early on, many of our webinars had a "fancy" optin page. Meaning, when you signed up for one of our webinars, it wasn't the usual ugly GoToWebinar screen.
It used our template. We could embed an autoplay audio or video on the signup form. Even auto-signup any of our subscribers with one click. (This is all possible using our "Webinar Optin" plugin.)
But you know what happened for years? I was lazy. I right click and copied the webinar link and sent it to my list that way. I still do many times.
Login to GoToWebinar, find upcoming webinar, right click webinar link and "Copy Link Location" ... go to template, paste in webinar link, change headline and bullet points... save and email. Once again, 5 minutes tops.
Affiliate Optin Page
Here's a technique Lance and I have been using for years. An affiliate wants to promote us, we setup an optin page just for them, once again using Webinar Optin. We setup an optin page just for the affiliate, which tags any subscribers they send into our affiliate program.We setup a page for them such as www.example.com/lance. The page registers that subscriber to our pre-sell list for that product, and registers them for the webinar.
I record the webinar as we run it, where we have some teaching and pitch the offer at the end. I save and produce the recording in Camtasia, and throw it online behind the optin page. That affiliate can still send traffic, get tagged, show people the replay, and there's now a button under the replay for people to buy.
Why did I used to think this was "a lot of work?" And it's all possible using ONE simple piece of free software...
The Secret: EditPlus
I've used the same text editor for over 12 years now and it's called EditPlus. I started using it back in high school when I became tired of... downloading a file from my web server, editing that file, then uploading it back up and checking to see what changes had occured on the website.
EditPlus has a built-in FTP client. Which means you can login to FTP and access your files right within the program, open a file, edit it, hit the save button... and it "magically" saves it without you having to do any extra uploading and downloading.
Here's where it saves me tons of time setting up optin pages, webinar pages, and affiliate pages. I just find one of my optin pages laying around, open it in EditPlus... and just re-save the template with the new changes in the new location.
What It All Means
The next time you're putting off setting up an optin page, signing up to an affiliate system like Clickbank, throwing some solo ads onto an "affiliate toolbox" page for your affiliates, heck, even sending out a quick email to your list... just ask yourself, why? It's won't even take 5 minutes.
And if you just re-use the last template you used, and use EditPlus to quickly open and re-save... you can do it even faster.
Here's something else to think about: If you really can't bring yourself to do it, could you record your screen using Camtasia Recorder and record yourself doing it, so that you HAVE to do it?
And what about this: Could you find a way to provide this as a service, and get paid to setup an optin page? Get paid to setup an affiliate program? Get paid to setup a 1-click webinar optin page... for people who don't want to do it?
Filed in: Mindset
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These are really good points and are a must-read. Not only are they a must-read – they are a must have for your online marketing efforts. It would truly be a surpirse if you made any money at all without using them.
Really the main principle of “making money online” – put your Optin forms EVERYWHERE wherever you can…Thanks for the post, I will think it over.
This is so clever Robert! Thanks so much for sharing this. I love the way you are always helping marketers to get more done in less time, so we can be EFFECTIVE, with your clever solutions.
And thank you so much for buying everyone’s lunch at the Armand Morin Live in San Francisco – that was so lovely!
You rock buddy!
Cydney
Robert, thanks for the reminder, I actually put my optin form today, I ned work on that optin page and do some split testing to see what works
thanks
chechi
I have optin box everywhere 🙂 I know there’s always – each day – someone who subscribes! I’d lost hundreds of subscribers if I don’t have it on my pages or posts…
I have found that the best thing when trying something new is to watch a video and then do it. I used to follow the DIY method but it takes up a lot of time.
Happy new year 2012..
Start that thing now, optimize it later… eye opening post Robert, as always 🙂
Wow, why am I making things so complicated. Thanks your posts help invigorate me, the project I have been working on for too long will be done today.
Thanks once again
Hey Robert,
These are some great ideas that you shared. It is really just a matter of actually doing the work and people will find out it takes a lot less time that they believe it will. It’s important to not overthink the process and get something created, whether it be an opt-in page or a webinar or whatever.
Thanks for the advice.
Jim
Thanks for the post Robert. I confess to needing and avoiding the opt-in page for longer than I care to say. I’m committing to getting it done this week.
You guys have really broaden my opportunities. I really hadn’t thought to offer what I am learning as an actual service.
Thanks so much!
Hi Robert,
A very informative post, good ideas on getting thing done and how over complicating things can go against you.
I’ll have to take another look at my opt-in page now as I think it might be way too much.
Cheers
David.
” And it’s all possible using ONE simple piece of free software…”
That costs $35…
Donal,
There’s a free trial. I’m not sure if the trial even expires. I paid the 35 bucks long ago because I grew tired of seeing the welcome screen every time I opened it up. Well, well, worth it. Kind of like how Camtasia costs 300 bucks but it’s worth hundreds of times that price.
Robert,
This is good stuff. I, too, have wasted tons of opportunity putting off building my email lists, doing live webinars and webinar replays.
Your suggestions make the tasks very simple. More importantly, you make the pain of not doing these things unbearable when I see how much I am losing.
Thanks for the reminder.
Hi there!
Does anyone has an idea if a similar program like EditPlus is available for Mac?
Great blog entry!!
Thanks!
Julia
Hi Julia,
TextWrangler is the Mac equivalent of EditPlus.
Great nudge to get the “little stuff” done that makes a big difference. And if doing this kind of thing is something that usually gets put on the back burner, great idea to just record yourself doing it – and I was thinking then you can use that recording to train an assistant to do it for you! (Yeah, I need to learn to outsource more!) Thanks! 🙂
As usual, this info is superb and deserves to be read, and reread, done and committed to daily use. Making a list should be easy and so few do it consistently.
best wishes,
bill williams, dmd
America’s Favorite Dentist
Solstice Dental Advisors
SolsticeDentalAdvisors.com
Hi Robert!
Thank you for the link – I think I might actually buy the full version, this might solve an awful lot of my coding problems! 🙂
Hey Robert,
After reading this page I finally decided to throw aweber form on one of my domains that been collecting dust for the past 2 years. Thanks for kicking my butt and pushing to finally get it done.
You are the man.
Alex.
Robert, thanks for the great tips.
I have identified a number of areas where I need to implement your techniques.
Will be printing this out and using it as a guide on all my sites
I have quite a few optin pages online one for each niche and saveral for my main business. I like your idea about redirecting to a free asset I need to set these up especialy my niche blogs.
Robert,
Always love how you take what can appear to be a long, time consuming task, and break it down into something that is really easy, and fast to do.
Brian
Great stuff as usual. Started diving into Membership Cube this weekend, awesome!
You are absolutely right.
I think that we all know that an opting form is super important to build our list and grow our online business but..
I don´t know why we do not do it right away!
Thank you for, remembering us to really take action.
Fernanda
Robert,
Thank you so much for the great tips, advice and actionable content you and Lance so freely share!
Even though some would have everyone believe running a
website as a profitable venture is an extremely complicated and highly technical venture, You guys break it down into simple and easy to do (and replicate) steps that work!
Thank you again,
Rog
Good point with the recording of the thing you need to do or doing a mini webinar on it. Just like personal training, accountability is the key to results.
I definitely have to build up my mailing lists. It’s the one thing I’ve never done enough of.
Hi Robert,
Thanks for this and all the other marketing tips!
I just noticed that my action popup is being blocked by the images on my site. Is there a way to bring the popup forward so as not to slide behind the images?
Thanks for your time.
Dan
DAMN!! this was an awesome post Robert,
you digitally kicked my ass!!!
lots’a new tools i’ve never heard of
before, now i’m going to spend the next hour devouring this
blog searching for productivity tools and
other awesome hacks you have.
Thanks Man!
Shaqir 🙂
Does seem so easy. I’m one of those who gets overwhelmed quickly when anything even smells of technology. 🙂