Sqeeze Pages are the past

idea - test and discover firsthand whether they work

I'm still trying to get my head around the scam part.. fill this out, get X.. where's the scam?

I am always open to suggestions but I find that if you are honest with what your providing and it's got quality content, then squeeze pages are the way to go. If your giving away a low quality ebook and then bombarding the poor subscribers with rubbish, they will leave.

So I will carry on doing squeeze pages as long as the end user gets quality information and continue providing quality info to the list. Maybe pitching in an affiliate product now and then.

I think the video squeeze page is going to work much better in the future and I also Have got 10,000's of emails from 100's of opt-in pages over the last 12 years and fewer people enter their email, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, you only want serious people anyways that want to buy long-term. I see it as a way to weed people out, and my experience is it's more about the relationship prior to entering their email. What if you wrote 100 blog posts for 100 days in a row, do you think people would have to think twice about entering their email? Just get them as subscribers on facebook, or coming back to the blog. The email opt-in is just an fyi because facebook subscribers are easy and getting repeat visitors to a blog is easy.

Squeeze pages are anything but a scam. It's like calling an axe a murderer. In a fireman's hand's it can save lives, in someone else's it can wreak havoc.

The key question is... do they work for building your mailing lists?

The answer is a resounding "yes". Better than any other list building strategy or technique.

If you choose to scam your list after you've created it, you can't blame that on the squeeze page that built your list for you.

I have updated the OP

Totally agree. I had the same experience. Somebody said here what's the scam in getting something for free? - that's irrelevant, it's the perception that counts. Before getting into IM, whenever I came a across a full on squeeze page I would think, if it's so amazing why doesn't it look like other quality 'normal sites'?

A few years ago you could throw up a generic website and people would buy etc... but today there have been a lot of people burnt by those generic long copy sales squeeze pages.

If you've got a seriously good product, I recommend spending some money and building a high quality site and squeeze page. They can help build trust.

Maybe YOUR squeeze page did look like a scam. We haven't seen it. Display it for us.

Squeeze pages are tried and true. People use them because they work.

Well, when you need to collect leads squeeze pages are the way to go. For selling purposes you need other kinds of pages as well.

Too much stereotyping of the squeeze here.

Most of my squeeze pages are content rich, two and even three stage squeezes. I am interested in more than just squeezing email addresses.

Setting up a squeeze that squeezes out the ones I do not want to do business with is very important to me.

What most consider a squeeze is the pages we all see with a video or ebook on the left, an ar form on the right, and a few bullet points bragging on worn out PLR. Those do work for mass list building. In my case they do not squeeze much past the point of getting the email.

I have noticed they work better numbers wise in the MMO and especially M2M arena. Some of this comes from marketers being used to them and some of it comes from the marketer having to have what they think they need and wanting it now!

We need to continue squeezing with the follow up in that situation.

With a two or three stage squeeze we do not need to go overboard on continuing the squeeze in follow up. Sure we should always be segmenting and funneling but by the time of sign up we know the person is more than likely interested in one broad subject and at least one defined subject.

Squeeze pages still work for me.

When you don't show them that you are a real person, your conversions go down a whole lot.

Even after someone subscribes to my newsletter, I direct them to a thank you page where I show them a picture of myself and tell them who I am.

You need to build some rapport with them right away when they subscribe. If they don't buy anything or open the emails that I send them, that is another subject for another day.

Hi everyone,

I have a few squeeze pages but now
It is hard to convert!

But they are working!

All the best to you

Erwin

I know what you mean. I did a little survey too and a lot of people say that the traditional squeeze page is "scammy." Hell yea dude lets be the next generation and create a next level squeeze page!

Squeeze pages are the past and they still work.

It's only a scam if you enter in your name and email and not get your free report or your info being shared.

maybe you can sell it in flippa. Squeeze page that sell products from clickbank usually sold about $297 in flipa

Don't make the mistake of assuming that a "scammy" looking page doesn't convert. In fact, I worked with amazing looking several paged websites versus small squeeze pages and in most cases squeeze pages performed far better.

Your main focus should be getting their information and pages with just a little text are proven to trigger people to "just want to check", "probably bullshit but just uhmm yeah" and most people that think these pages look "scammy" will still hope for the best.

It is up to you to blow them away behind this page.

Squeeze pages come in many forms and shapes, you can make them look as trust worthy as any well known website out there.

Squeeze pages work best for some people, and sometimes leading people straight to your sales page is best. The thing about making your squeeze page "work" (in terms of sales) is how you write and craft your emails. Are they helpful? Do they lead your subscribers to click on your link? Alot of things goes into place when doing email marketing. But leading them straight to your sales page makes the action that you want visitors to do obvious.

My understanding is, squeeze pages are to set the mindset in the customer to buy. Once they put in their name and email it will be easier to convert them once they see your thank you page.

In my case my thank you page is a sales page to my membership. Actually it is 3 pages. It is a mini site to the public. First page is what the membership is about, 2nd is the benefits they will get, and the 3rd is a tour of the membership.

Once they sign up, they will get another offer to an advance section with in the membership.

Its all about setting the idea in someones head. It starts with the trust of a name and email. It is a system that people will react to.

Once someone buys something it will be easier to sell them another. The basics of psychology. How the human mind thinks and reacts to certain things. It starts with a squeeze page.

So if people are thinking your squeeze page looks like a scam, maybe because it does look like a scam.

There is a system in psychology to follow, A,I,C,D,A. Attention, Interest, Credibility, Desire, Action.

This is what my advance section in my membership is about.

Building relationships are for your list. Squeeze pages, sales pages, and up sales are all about how the human mind works and reacts to (Good Copywriting).

I have to agree with the OP. 90% of squeeze pages appear to be "scammy" or "spammy" when I see them too, unless they are on very reputable websites that I am already familiar with. (For example, Copyblogger and Hubspot have great squeeze pages just to name a couple).

But yeah, I have to agree with your survey respondents. I may pass up a good offer or two by having this attitude, but more often than not, I am just keeping my inbox cleaner and less full of crap to unsubscribe from. Rarely is it worth the opt-in.

The success of the page was completely dependent on the source of the traffic.

The down and dirty truth is that squeeze pages (all promise with delivery of the goodies after the opt-in) performed better when the traffic came from direct email marketing offers-ie. people who were already sold on the product or idea. Hybrid (or reverse squeeze) pages performed better when the traffic came from paid or organic search sources-ie. people who were shopping for an idea or product and who weren't quite ready to commit.

That's it. So the hard truth is that I'm going to be programming squeeze pages for my clients. I can salve my ego with the knowledge that they'll also need a well-formed web presence. Ah well. At least I can make them pretty.

Out of interest I'm doing a test at the moment where I'm comparing:

- Opt in on sidebar of a website, no popup
- Stand alone squeeze page
- Pop up opt in on website, no sidebar
- Pop up opt in on website and opt in on sidebar of the website (yup, they are exactly the same)

The popup on website which also has the sidebar opt in is killing it on this site so far. It's in the green energy niche, just to lend a little bit of context. Not what I expected (oh yeah, and I can track when they use the pop up or sidebar opt in when they both display, not just the overall number of opt ins, just in case that wasn't clear)!

I'm sorry, but DiZzYNaTiOn's premise (and subject line) is positively ridiculous.

I'm not saying his premise and results aren't valid. But making a blanket statement "the squeeze page is dead" is like saying direct mail is dead. (And I'm really beginning to hate the "XYZ is dead" threads!)

It's all in how you use it (and what market you're in). A fair number (if not most) Warriors are in some sub-niche of the IM niche, where everyone knows what a squeeze page is and often loathes it.

So if you're in the IM niche, you may well feel that the squeeze page is dead too. But several people here have made excellent points, including Paul Meyers and Alexa.

Discounting the squeeze page as "dead" ignores a fundamental IM principle:

99% of your first-time web visitors will click away, which is why you're trying to get them on your list in the first place: to build a relationship with them and gain their trust. So you need to have one primary goal with your website. And it's NOT to get them to buy something! It's to get them to opt-in to your list.

It's the same marketing principle of offering a free CD, report, DVD, etc. in newspapers, magazines and infomercials. Give away something of value to your target market, build a relationship with them and then sell them.

It's all the same!

So for that purpose, squeeze pages are great!

However, I DO think that the objections mentioned in this thread highlight some key problems with the way squeeze pages have been done in the past, especially in the IM niche. They really need to be done differently now:

1. Don't do a "hard" squeeze page. That is, don't keep them out of the rest of your site if they choose not to opt in. Let them in with an "Enter Site" button.

This is a happy medium between having NO squeeze page (which focuses on your biggest goal with your site: building your list) and keeping people out of your site altogether.

(For example, if your visitor is a journalist who can possibly give you positive, free publicity and NEEDS to be able to access your site, then they at least have that option.)

Few things irritated me more about visiting a site only to be faced with a hard squeeze page with no way to get to the rest of the site without opting in. I often had specific, legitimate reasons for not wanting to opt in right away, but still couldn't access the rest of the site! Grrrr!

2. Your offer needs to be strong and compelling:

Ashloren makes this point very well. Her opinion is that most offers aren't worth the opt-in. But Copyblogger's and Hubspot's are.

You're being measured (and found wanting) against the likes of Copyblogger and Hubspot!
Which means YOUR squeeze page and offer needs to be strong too.

And I mean SUPER strong. In the IM niche, there are few things that move me anymore. So your offer has to go above and beyond and be super enticing.

One way to do this is to offer something physical that you mail out to them. You can do it for free, or charge shipping and handling. Just play with it and see what works best for your audience.

Yes it's more costly, but still valuable. Competition is forcing you to up the ante.

I think it's easier in non-IM niches to be enticing because this method isn't as common. But online or off, giving something for free to a targeted prospect is ALWAYS a good way to get their information, start building a relationship with them and then sell them.

It's a tested model and it works, in ALL niches and markets.

3. Your web design needs to be GORGEOUS.

As Paul Meyers pointed out, don't confuse what they SAY with what they DO. You have to test it.

And yes, design matters, period. It needs to look professional and beautiful. And credible.

Unfortunately, a lot of IM websites have a certain "look". You know, the cheesy 3-D image of an e-book (don't forget the dropshadow!), a blaring red headline, and a ridiculous abstract image of a person (or people). (Not to mention ridiculous income claims.)

It's all the same. If I've seen one, I've seen a hundred.

I think that has a lot of to with what makes it seem scammy to people. The sheer design of it screams "Scam!" or "Too good to be true!"

Think of the difference between the look of Small Business Opportunities magazine and Entrepreneur magazine. Small Business Opportunities looks cheap and a little cheesy. Entrepreneur looks like a "real" (credible) magazine for real entrepreneurs.

It's a bit intangible, but very real.

Imagine you're looking for a CPA firm to do your taxes. If they offered a tipsheet on "157 Small Business Owners in [Your City] Overpaid Their Taxes Last Year. Don't Be One of Them! Learn 10 Ways to Avoid Overpaying On Your Taxes This Year," how do you think that squeeze page would look?

You can imagine it would look very authoritative and credible! No IM smarm or cheese allowed.

And because it's 1) a professional services firm ("An accounting firm, for Pete's sake!") and 2) it has a professional design (obviously done by a real design firm and not a highschooler working out of their mother's basement), you're VERY likely to submit your name and e-mail address, no questions asked.

I have a "soft" squeeze page on my site and will periodically swap out the exact offer. But I WON'T be doing away with the squeeze page entirely. The design is gorgeous. I went out of my way to avoid that cheesy, get-rich-quick look and set a standard of professionalism.

My own mentor is a multi-millionaire and she also uses a soft squeeze page for her site.

Online or off, making a free or low-cost offer to get someone onto your list to sell to them (later) is a tested and proven strategy.

Making a blanket statement that "squeeze pages are dead" is simply ridiculous!

Michelle

Good idea. I'll check out multipage sign up forms and see if this pans out.

I agree with what you are saying. I think when it's just a squeeze page, people do not have any option other than give you their email or close the page.

Giving people at least 3 different options puts them at ease as they know they can NOT give their emails and do something else.

As far as I have seen, making a squeeze page with high incentives for the user to submit their email, name etc., and having a link or two to some article, picture from my website has increased subscribers tremendously. If the incentives are good enough, most people will actually subscribe and not click on the other links. But, if I take those links out, my conversion rates drop as many people simply close the page.

Hope it helps... Was my first ever post on the Warrior Forum...

First off, if you are a traditional information marketer selling courses, coaching programs etc., then a squeeze page may work for you in many cases. If you are trying to get people to opt-in for a webinar or a live event, then a squeeze page may be the perfect strategy to drive sign-ups.

However, if you operate a traditional brick & mortar business, or if you sell a product or service outside of info marketing, I would suggest using squeeze pages sparingly if ever.

The thing about squeeze pages that most people don't understand initially, is that they aren't and shouldn't be just for unsolicited traffic. The people visiting the squeeze page should already know exactly why they are there, they should know (even before seeing the page) that they want what it is that the squeeze page is promising... "quid pr quo".

The difference between unsolicited, uninformed traffic and solicited informed traffic (those that know whats behind the page) represents the difference between 10% conversions and 50+% conversions... or 4-5X performance difference.

Comparing the two traffic types are like apples and oranges... You really can't even test conversion rates unless you know the traffic type.

I always test 5 levels of pages, very basic squeeze page to complex multi-page. Different page styles seem to work for different audiences. I never rely on just one option, always test and test again.

i think they still work good but sure they work the best with newbies and not with experienced marketers but you really have to test that for yourself and what works the most with your target audience

I've always found that long form sales letters work much better, and rank higher. But if you can create an actual website that serves a utility purpose for your target market - for example a keyword tool would work great in the IM niche, that is a great way to capture users details and upsell your main offer.

Squeeze pages work absolutely fine you just have to be a little different and be specific on what you are giving away

The squeeze pages which i think are a complete waste of time are the ones with just an opt in box saying "enter your email here to find out how to make $735.76 per day

Using pages like these yes your conversions from prospect to customer will be pretty dreadful because you have absolutely no idea what they are interested in apart from making money online which is far too broad

Instead if you used "learn how to create and set up your first wordpress blog in just 2hours"

This is a different story because they are way more targeted and you know exactly what they are interested in

I will continue to use squeeze pages until my sales start to really fall off which i honestly cannot see happening any time soon

The bottom line is be different, unique and honest and don't hide behind your pc

I use videos on my squeeze page and it works fine for me. I use a video because it conditions people to get used my voice and my videos because all of my products are video courses too

Also if someone doesn't like my voice or the way i speak then that is cool, i would rather them didn't opt in anyway because if they feel like this at this stage then they are more than likely not ever buy from me anyway because as they say "people only buy from people they like"

Paul

I dont understand why they consider it to be a scam.... at least you found out what your target customer wanted.

I never register at squeeze pages, they usually are junk! However they do work. I use squeeze pages but a little different than most others but same principle. Take everything off the page that is confusing or leading away from the opt in, so the only choice is opt in or exit. Theory is if an equal percentage are going to click on any outbound link, 50% subscribe (click submit), 50% click close, but if you introduce some links and a menu now you find 10% click submit on the form, 10% click close, 10% click a menu link to an article etc etc....

It's all about testing...

This comes down to so many more things than just thinking regular squeeze or multi-page minisite...

Just test and you will find the best option for your target market.

Why are you assuming it's the squeeze page in general and not the design of your specific page and your product?

A squeeze page can't look like anything until you fill it with content.

Stereotypical, bland squeeze pages with poor content / copy can look like scams perhaps....

"Squeeze pages" is too broad a term to make such a sweeping
statement as "they don't work anymore". There are long, short,
video- and a host of other style and types of squeeze pages.

There are whole studies on how to build and optimize a landing
page. so the bottom line would be testing various squeeze
pages against others along with against other types of pages.

-Ray Edwards

Yeah, I think people are more and more thinking everything is a scam because they have tried so many different things.

I have updated the OP with the new info.... More to come