Image by: Marcie Casas
By Gordon J. Pruitt

Let’s talk about your squeeze page for a moment. For the uninitiated, a squeeze page is that magical portal on your site that viewers end up on that asks them to sign up for your free e-Book or email newsletter. The goal of a squeeze page is to build a database of email addresses so that you can continue to market your content, products and services to those who have opted-in to your messages for years to come.

It is one of the main components of a successful internet marketing campaign and the results have been proven time and time again.

Sure, when it comes to Internet marketing, that e-Book has been around the block a few times. If you are an aggressive marketer, you have probably already employed e-Books as part of your arsenal as they are a great way to expand email subscriber bases, generate traffic to your site and promote you or your brand.

And they are still quite effective.

But you must go beyond merely creating and offering an e-Book on a squeeze page. You must maximize your squeeze page giveaway by creating the optimal visual and intellectual impact, one that exudes confidence in the visitor to leave their valuable email address in your (hopefully) capable hands.

K.I.S.S.

But keep it simple – there should be no hyperlinks on your squeeze page that might take them elsewhere, just good clean information capturing. However, search engine algorithms have been adjusted to consider squeeze pages without any content as, for lack of a better word, garbage.

So to be safe, your squeeze page needs to be spiked with information – but not too much that the page loses its effect. Simple is better here by all means. Also, putting video on your squeeze page can be quite effective. But it has to be done right. Make sure that the displayed video frame – essentially now a still graphic or photo –  has a strong title or headline instead of some random preview from the video.

Attention to detail is where the money is, gentlemen.

No, Not Like Freddy Krueger

Also, take a cue from politics – use the verbiage on you squeeze page and in your splash page video to evoke some kind of fear in the person reading it. When it comes to business and money, fear is a primary driver.

Relax. We’re not talking about the “boo!” kind of fear, I am talking about using fear as a tactic to grow your online business. Case in point: Fear is used all the time to great effect by political campaigns (as evidenced by the recent 2012 season. Your messages should let the reader know that if they miss out on this opportunity, bad things can happen, such as lost revenue, missed sales opportunities and less traffic to their site.

Make them feel like they have to download that e-Book or their Internet world will come crumbling down around them. But where do you start if you you don’t know how to create a squeeze page? There are a myriad of templates available online, including kits for WordPress users. I don’t have a personal favorite, so you will have to find one that best suits your needs.