Today I want to talk to you about building your list with your website.  If there’s one question I get asked all the time by our clients and members of the Client Attraction community it’s this:  “Derek, what is the best way to build my list?”  Often, people expect some form of a magic bullet answer or a simple shortcut that will help them attract tons of ideal clients and prospects to their list overnight.

Well, as you can imagine, it doesn’t always work like that.  In fact, it doesn’t work like that at all. If it did, everyone out there would have thousands and thousands of subscribers on their list, which we all know is not the reality.  So, what does it take to build your list with ideal prospects, loyal fans and tons of subscribers that love your high value free content and your paid offerings? (Click here to tweet this.)

First, it’s important to understand a fundamental principle when it comes to building a list of email subscribers.  This principle is lead generation versus lead capture.  Lead generation is all about where you find ideal clients, either online or offline and how you attract them to you in ways that will want them saying, “This I exactly what I’m looking for.” They happily opt in to your list. There are probably hundreds of ways to do this and we’ll dive into many of those lead generation strategies in future videos.

Let’s look now at lead capture, which is the process by which someone actually joins your email list once they land on your website. In the online world, this is where practically all of your prospects will land when they find you—your website.

Chances are you’ve been focused exclusively on lead generation or what’s known as driving traffic to your site, but not necessarily focused on the critical elements and strategies of your website that will actually capture those leads onto your list once they land there.  So here is the formula that contains the three most important elements of a client attractive website that will effectively and easily build your list of email subscribers.

The formula is the following: video, opt-in, offer.  That’s it.  Those are the three most important website elements to have in place to build your list and I’m going to explain how each one of them works for you right now.

1.  Video –  Unless you’ve been living under a rock, considering everything we have at our fingertips with technology and online video, there’s really no reason to not be using video on your website.  Video is essential for developing a connection with your visitors.  Being able to have someone watch you and look into your eyes allows them to get a real sense of who you are. It builds likability and a trust factor that is very compelling when you’re asking them to enter something personal like their email address.

Look, for example, at ClientAttraction.com.  You’ll see just this in the video from Fabienne. She introduces the free CD and what it’s all about and how to get it.  It’s very compelling and it leads them to joining our list.

2. Opt-in –  The opt-in is a must have on you website.  Again, at ClientAttraction.com you’ll see how we’re asking our visitors to enter their first name and their email address. It’s very visible.  It’s very clear to them how to do it and it’s not being lost elsewhere on the site.  It’s right there in the upper right for them to see and we spell out exactly how to do it with very simple-to-follow instructions.  Keep it simple for your visitors and your list will grow.

3. Your offer – This is what is often overlooked the most. Many websites I see don’t have a compelling offer but instead offer to “join my newsletter.”  Listen, I’m here to tell it to you straight, people don’t want to just join another newsletter.  It’s just more email in an already crowded inbox.  What do you they want?  They want something that is irresistible, something that’s compelling and something that’s free with great content that’ll have them jump at the chance of getting it and happily provide their contact information to receive it.

Just look at ClientAttraction.com and see our free CD.  It’s high value.  It’s high content. And for someone who’s looking to attract clients, it’s in perfect alignment with what they need so they opt in happily to get it.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Now, here is your assignment.  I’m going to ask you to do an assessment of your current website.  Do you have all three of these elements in place?  If so, fantastic, you’re probably getting some great results and you’re building your list with highly qualified leads.

But, if you’re missing one or two or even all three of these elements you want to go ahead and change that.  You’re missing a huge opportunity.  Add that video to your homepage.  Create and irresistible and compelling offer and make sure your opt-in boxes are easily displayed with simple and easy to follow instructions.

Here’s the thing.  Building your list is critical if you want a steady flow of clients and customers, but we need to make sure your website is designed in a way to support that.

Now, imagine this scenario. If I were to send you 1,000 highly targeted and ideal clients to your website today, how many will actually join your list?  If you’re being honest with yourself, the number will probably surprise you.  Your success in business and attracting clients is dependent on a website that builds your list and these three strategies I just shared will help you do that.