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What is Exit Intent? And 3 Benefits of Exit Intent Opt-In Pop-Ups

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Exit Intent is one of those new online marketing terms like Autoresponders (which was defined in this earlier post). It refers to a popular online lead generation strategy that you would recognize in use (but perhaps not by name) as you surf the web.

As a professional project manager specializing in web design and online lead generation strategies for clients, I try to stay up to date on all the latest marketing lingo so that I can explain concepts in easy to understand terms.

Admittedly, I test out my understanding and explanation on my family first. If the eyes roll, I keep working on it!

Once the concept is ready for introduction to a client, we determine if it makes sense strategically to implement it as part of the project schedule.

WhatisExitIntent

What is Exit Intent?

Technically speaking, Exit Intent is the name for the “exiting” mouse movement of a website visitor that triggers a pop-up message on the screen.

Stated another way, as your cursor moves to leave the active browser tab, a message pops ups to grab your attention before you leave.

You can manually trigger an exit intent pop up on this site via this link and you should see the following message:

ExitIntentExample2017

Is Exit Intent kind of annoying for site visitors? Well, yes.

Is Exit Intent kind of effective? Well, yes.

3 Benefits of Exit Intent Opt-In Pop-Ups

1. Exit Intent Pop-Ups are Less Intrusive than Time-Based Pop-Ups

You are probably very familiar with time-based pop-ups on the center of website screens.

Some appear the moment you arrive on a website before you have a chance to read anything. Others appear after a set number of seconds or as you scroll down the page a set percentage.

I don’t know about you, but I find time-based pop-ups very disruptive and I am quick to exit them out (and not opt-in to the form).

2. Exit Intent Pop-Ups are an Online Elevator Pitch

When you use an exit-intent pop-up, you are automating your elevator pitch so that site visitors know what you are about before they leave.

Is there a chance someone is not interested in your content or business? Absolutely.

But if you are able to solve a problem someone is experiencing, you’ll want to catch the site visitor before they leave. Often, your value proposition is a lot clearer in an exit intent message than on a random web page.

3. Exit Intent Pop-Ups are Somewhat Effective

You won’t realize great opt-in rates on an exit intent pop-up because well… people are trying to leave.

Will get some leads on your email list that you would have otherwise missed? Absolutely.

And that lead could become a customer for years to come.

Exit Intent pop-ups are often worth the brief interruption.

My Software Tool for Exit Intent

I use OptinMonster for exit intent (and all my pop-up variations – including the footer bar) on this website. I highly recommend this cloud-based software and you can discover my lessons learned with OptinMonster in this online review.

Once someone opts-in to your campaign via OptinMonster, the software is smart enough to not generate a pop-up again for that user!

I plan to incorporate OptinMonster setup, design, and integration in at least one of my upcoming guided do-it-yourself projects using Teamwork software from Ireland.

You can catch announcements about these interactive project offerings via my email mailing list (click here to not miss out).

Exit Intent is worth adding to your toolkit and testing as a lead generation tool.

Hope this blog post helps.

I’m here to help you succeed, one project step at a time.

Brent

Special Bonus: All subscribers to my mailing list can add their own lead magnet web addresses at any time to my upcoming lead magnet examples listing here on the Graceful Resources website. So free publicity for their respective websites!

Single Opt-In vs Double Opt-In (Why Double Opt-In Wins)

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Before I hopefully settle the debate between single opt-in vs double opt-in for your website (I’ll give you three reasons why double opt-in wins), let me first define what these marketing technology terms actually mean. There is a direct connection to my earlier post defining the term “autoresponders”.

While autoresponders are automated email responses that are triggered by an action someone takes (such as opting in to your mailing list or expressing interest in your new online course offering), single opt-in or double opt-in represents the confirmation process to first get someone on your mailing list.

Single Opt-In Confirmation

Single opt-in means there is a single action someone takes to join your email mailing list.

This action is most commonly in the form of an entry into an opt-in form such as the example below (click here for the actual opt-in form).  The person enters at a minimum her email address into the opt-in form and then hits the Sign Up button.

OptInForm_Example_2017

If it is single opt-in, there is no other action required for the subscriber once she enters her name (optional) and email address (not optional), and then clicks the Sign Up button. She’s on your mailing list as an official subscriber at that moment because she confirmed her interest one time by entering her information.

Double Opt-In Confirmation

In contract, double opt-in confirmation means there are two steps to confirm someone’s desire to join your mailing list. Step one is the same as in single opt-in. A lead enters her email address into an opt-in form.

The difference is that once she enters her email address, she’s not yet officially on your list. She has to re-confirm her interest in your list by responding to a message sent to the email address entered into the form.

To guide the person to check her inbox, you can display a message immediately upon entry into the opt-in form.

Here’s my pop-up example using OptinMonster software:

Double_OptIn_Request_2017

You can also create an entire landing page for the same purpose.  Here’s a different confirmation request example from my client, best-selling author Evan Michael Zislis.

(If you’d like to actually join Evan’s mailing list and receive his free Quick Start Guide on De-Cluttering Your Life (highly recommended), here’s his opening landing page.  You’ll also benefit from his double opt-in workflow example. Like my mailing list, you can unsubscribe at any time.)

In my case, here’s a screenshot of the double opt-in message I send out immediately to someone who re-confirms interest in my list by completing the initial opt-in form:

Double_OptIn_Email_2017

 

Once the person clicks on the “Confirm your email address” button in the email, she is then officially on the mailing list via double opt-in confirmation.

As you can see in this text in this screenshot, the button can also serve as a re-direct to another landing page.

Note: I use ConvertKit (here’s a summary of my reasons why) for the entire email workflow.  There’s some special technology handling to make the entire opt-in process flow smoothly and I’m planning to launch a project that guides you step-by-step through everything.  If interested, I will announce the project availability to my mailing list (click here to subscribe).

Single Opt-In vs Double Opt-In (Why Double Opt-In Wins)

Now that we’ve covered the definitions for single opt-in and double opt-in, here are 3 reasons I recommend using double opt-in over single opt-in:

1. Double Opt-In Minimizes Spam and Invalid Addresses

When you ask people to confirm their email addresses (via a message sent to their inbox), you are preventing someone from entering someone else’s email address into a form without authorization.  Only the person that has access to the inbox can confirm they want to be on a mailing list.

Double opt-in also serves to catch invalid addresses. If the email address has a type-o, it won’t generate a message for confirmation. Single opt-in, on the hand, would add invalid addresses to your list and your email marketing service may likely count it as part of your subscriber base even though the addresses don’t work.

2. Double Opt-In Gets Your Subscriber to White List Your Email Address

When you ask people to check for a confirmation email, you are indirectly asking them to ensure the confirmation message is not black listed (or marked spam) by their email service or client (like gmail or outlook).

This benefit occurs when you use the same email address for your confirmation message as you would for future messages.

3. Double Opt-In Creates a Great Promotional Opportunity

Lastly, when you use double opt-in, you have an exceptional opportunity to re-direct someone to a landing page after they click the Confirmation button or link in the email. The same landing page that is used to deliver a free lead magnet (a term for a resource or discount given as an incentive to join a list) can be used to cross promote your products or services.

Note: If there is something else specific you’d like for me to cover in the project on setting up an autoresponder welcome sequence, please drop me a note via my contact form or in email response to my mailing list (click here to sign up).

Single Opt-In vs Double Opt-In

Single opt-in vs double opt-in is a common debate in the email marketing world, but I think the choice is obvious for at least the three reasons outlined. Go with double opt-in.  Your email list will be stronger.

Hope this helps,
Brent

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback via my contact form or in direct response to my free Graceful Journal email mailing list.

As a certified project management professional (PMP) specializing in web design and lead generation strategies, I’m here to take away the pain of figuring out how to seamlessly integrate web and email software resources to grow businesses online.

One project step at at time.

How to Correct Your Website Facebook Share Image

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When you or someone else shares a link to your website on the largest social media platform on the planet, Facebook will automatically attempt to associate an image with the page address.

If it’s a blog post (e.g. https://gracefulresources.com/errors-in-email-sign-up-incentives/) or specific page (e.g. https://gracefulresources.com/about) , Facebook will typically recognize the featured image associated with the content. It will also display the Meta Description – a fancy tech term for the text (up to 156 characters) that display under the link title in search engine results and on social media platforms like Facebook.

But when it’s your overall website address (e.g. https://GracefulResources.com) that is being shared, Facebook can get confused on what image and text to display and if it can’t find an image, it will display a big empty box (which doesn’t exactly inspire people to click on the link).

This happened to a client site I just launched and it was my error.

Here is how it looked on Facebook:

NoFacebookShareImage

The good news is that I humbly share my missteps here so you can put to practice the corrections I learn.

How to Correct Your Website Facebook Share Image

There are three steps to test and (if necessary) fix your own website Facebook share image when your URL is shared.

STEP ONE:  Preview Your Website Content with the Facebook Debugger

Facebook has a free publicly-available page that lets you preview what your website content looks like when it is shared and it lets you reset (or scrape) what Facebook is seeing.

Here is the web address:  https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/.

Simply enter your website address and then click “Debug” to preview your site:

FacebookShareImageDebugger

Technically speaking, Facebook looks for Open Graph (og) tags on your website to know what title, description, and image to display. If they are not explicitly set on your website, Facebook will guess at this information.

STEP TWO:  Correct Your Website Image, Title, and/or Description (If Required)

If you discover your intended image, title, or description is incorrect or missing, you’ll need to fix it within your website dashboard. If you are using WordPress, I use and recommend the free Yoast SEO plugin to fix this problem.

Once the plugin is installed and activated,  click on Social in the new SEO menu and then the Facebook tab to specify the Frontpage Settings:
FacebookShareImageYoastSEO

At the end of the same Yoast settings page, you may also need to enter a Facebook app ID. For more information and instruction for the app ID, please reference this article.

If you are running your WordPress website on the Rainmaker Platform, you can simply email their helpful customer support team with your front page image and description, and they will set it up for you free of charge. That’s what I did for this website and here is how it looks on Facebook:

Facebook-Error-Corrected

If you using another platform service, I recommend reviewing your social media metadata settings within your account or contacting the corresponding customer service for assistance.

STEP THREE:  Reset (or Scrape) What Facebook is Seeing

Once you make an adjustment on your website back-end, you can accelerate the time it takes Facebook to take another look at your website content by asking Facebook to scrape your address again.

If everything looks good, your website is now ready to be shared on Facebook!

In the case of my client’s new website SoftballPitchingTools.com, the correct results are now confirmed:

NoFacebookShareImageFixedHope this helps,
Brent

Other Resources for Your Online Success

  1. Lead Magnet Project (an interactive online project for professionals building relevant email lists)
  2. Lead Magnet Survey (share your own opinion about email sign up incentives and discover what other entrepreneurs recommend)
  3. Lead Magnet Guide (5 essential characteristics for email sign up incentives)
  4. Lead Magnet Examples (Graceful Resources email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  5. Recommended Website and Email Software Resources (you’ll also discover why these resources are recommended)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent

What is an Autoresponder and an Email Example

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It seems one of the most common characteristics (and challenges) of any new industry is the jargon. The fast-growing world of digital commerce is no exception with it comes to its own terminology.

It really hit home for me at a dinner conversation at a Phoenix restaurant following Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula (PLF) event a few months back.

PLF_Live

An experienced online entrepreneur across the table asked a relatively new entrepreneur sitting next to me about her autoresponder.

She gave her a blank stare in return.

The digital commerce veteran fired back at her, “You DO have an autoresponder?!”

The tone of the follow-up question was unprofessional so I quickly translated the question for my colleague and changed the subject.

Let me now do my best to translate for you as well because if you think you’re the only one who is confused with all this “tech speak”, you’re not alone.

What is an Autoresponder?

In the online commerce space, an autoresponder is short for an “automated response email”. In other words, it is an email that is triggered automatically by someone else’s action online.

A common action is an entry into an opt-in form like this one to join a mailing list.

Autoresponders have actually been around since the dawn of email (and for that matter, since the dawn of direct mail when you filled out a card for the receipt of more information in your mailbox).

What_is_an_autoresponder

In the email space, you probably know autoresponders most commonly as an Out of Office message.  They go out automatically by your email client (like Outlook) in reply to a co-worker when you are on vacation.

Today, marketing email services like ConvertKit (here’s a summary of why I switched from AWeber and MailChimp) send out autoresponders around the clock in response to opt in form entries and specific actions that subscribers take from within their email messages.

For example, as an entrepreneur, you can set up an autoresponder message trigger if someone simply clicks on a link in an email message you send out.

Autoresponder messages are also commonly used in e-commerce transactions. If someone makes a purchase on your website, an automated message should go to the customer via email with a purchase receipt moments after the transaction.

An Autoresponder Email Example

Autoresponders are also often in the form of a sequence of messages, and the setup procedure varies by email marketing service.

It can be a little tricky to set up and test technologically (if you are seeking additional guidance, you may be interested in the Lead Magnet Project).

Here’s an example from the website SoftballPitchingTools.com:

  1. A site visitor enters her first name and email address in the pop-up form at the top of the screen or via a pop-up form that is triggered when she clicks on a specific link on the website.
  2. A brief thank you message then displays in the same pop-up form and asks the person to confirm her address (this step is called a Double Opt In Confirmation and it helps reduce spam and invalid email addresses on your mailing list).
  3. An autoresponder message automatically goes out to the person to confirm her email address. ConfirmEmailExample
  4. Upon clicking on the confirm your email address button, the autoresponder then automatically redirects the person to a thank you landing page (a great cross-selling opportunity, by the way).
  5. On the thank you page, the person is advised to check her inbox for a welcome message (a second autoresponder) that includes a coupon.

The relationship with the website visitor starts and it is all powered by email autoresponders!

You DO have an autoresponder?

Next time, you too will be prepared to say “Yes. Yes, I do.”

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!
Brent

 

How to Find a Good Web Designer

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My website journey over the past eight years has admittedly been an adventure with the web designers I’ve hired, but I wouldn’t be where I am today with Graceful Resources without some… let’s say “less than trustworthy” people along the way.

I’m sure you can relate as well in any career field (not just web design). It’s what we do we with the experience that defines our long-term success in service to others.

When we run into obstacles (and we all do) we essentially have one of two choices:

  1. We become more bitter and give up, or
  2. We become a guide for others.

I have chosen the latter through Graceful Resources and I hope you do as well in your line of work (and you become comfortable with the criteria that follows for trustworthy professionals).

How_to_Find_Good_Web_Designer

My Web Designer History

This site I am sharing with you today is actually the fifth WordPress site for my business that I’ve designed.  The other four have now been retired.  Over the years, here are some of my experiences:

  1. A web designer/developer charged me $750 initially and then went AWOL when I realized he didn’t know what he was doing.
  2. An SEO firm (recommended by a friend and local CEO) charged me $1000/month for four months to “optimize my site for search engines”. In the end, they got my first site blacklisted by Google because they tried to game Google’s algorithm by stuffing my site metadata with keywords.  They then charged me $2000 to fix the website. In short, they were web con artists.
  3. A project manager in California charged me $3000 and then outsourced my web project to someone else in Brazil. The problem wasn’t that he partnered with someone else to help with the technical side of things. The problem was that he failed to keep me updated on the project.

I also hear “my IT guy disappeared” stories all the time from hard working, honorable people just like you.

How to Find a Good Web Designer

There isn’t some high tech answer to finding a good web designer.

In the end, we are talking about finding good trustworthy professionals, and I will defer to NY Times best-selling author Dr. Henry Cloud for his guidance on this one.

In his new book The Power of the Other: The Startling Effects Other People Have on You, from the Boardroom to the Bedroom and Beyond – and What do Do About It, the author outlines the following five criteria to assess if you can trust a person in your life.

When applied to web designers, I wish I had these five criteria in my back pocket years ago. But today, I hope my future clients (whether for direct web projects or my upcoming online courses) would judge me by this same list.

  1. Trust Someone Only if You’re Sure That Person Understands What’s Important to You
  2. Make Sure the Person Has Your Best Interests at Heart
  3. Ask Yourself if the Person is Reliable Before You Turn to Him or Her for Help
  4. Assess the Person’s Character
  5. Consider the Past Experiences You’ve Shared with the Person

I recognize the fifth criteria from Dr. Cloud may be the most difficult to assess with someone you haven’t worked with yet, but I encourage you to consider all initial interactions over email, phone, blog, social media, etc.

In the end, business relationships are about trust.

For your own business, I encourage you to publish on your website the following three critical pages to build trust with your site visitors (you can click on each for my example):

  1. About Page
  2. Testimonials Page 
  3. Contact Page

And to review the same content on the website of your future web designer or another business partner critical to your success in today’s economy.

Hope this helps,
Brent

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback via my contact form or in direct response to my free Graceful Journal email mailing list.

As a certified project management professional (PMP) specializing in web design and lead generation strategies, I’m here to take away the pain of figuring out how to seamlessly integrate web and email software resources to grow businesses online.

One project step at at time.

How to Install an SSL Certificate (and 3 Reasons You Need One)

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Last week I did something I should have done for my daughter’s photography website when I first launched it back in the spring.

It’s a mistake I don’t want you to make as well.

The error is to forget to install an SSL Certificate on all website pages.

In her case, the only truly secure web page was the one that opened separately to process a photograph purchase through PayPal.  All other pages including “pre-cart” pages were not encrypted and while it was not required for those pages, the error may have sent the wrong message to site visitors, leading to abandoned online carts (more on the reason why in a moment).

What is an SSL Certificate

SSL is kind of a geeky term. It stands for Secure Sockets Layer, an encryption technology patented by Netscape back in 1995 for its popular web browser.

If you are a Gen X’er (like me) or a Baby Boomer, you may remember Netscape!

Netscape eventually sold out to AOL and transformed into the Mozilla Organization (think Firefox browser), but once upon a time, Netscape controlled 90% of the internet browser market.

Eventually, some software company run by Bill Gates took over the famous Netscape Navigator browser with a product of its own called Internet Explorer.

SSL secures the connection between your web page and your visitor’s web browser so information is not compromised.

In other words, it helps protect your visitors’ information such as name, email, personal address, and form of payment.

How_to_Install_SSL_Certificate

Like me, you will recognize a web page with an SSL certificate by the “https:” prefix in your browser address bar.  The extra “s” after the standard “http:” (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) stands for Secure.  This website is one example.

While an SSL is required by financial institutions for web pages that handle online commerce (such as processing customer credit card transactions on your website), it is now a best practice to install an SSL Certificate across your entire website, even if you have nothing for sale yet.

3 Reasons to Install an SSL Certificate

Here are at least three reasons to install an SSL Certificate on your current or future website:

  1. It helps protect your site visitors

    The protection of personal information of others is one of your top priorities even if you are just getting starting and building a mailing list.  A secured web page even for an opt in form for email subscribers speaks volumes about your priorities.

    I no longer opt in to someone’s mailing list with my first name and email address unless the page is secured. I encourage you to follow the same rule to protect yourself from spam.

  2. Google will reward you

    While an SSL Certificate won’t boost your website to the top of Google search results (high-quality content coupled with good SEO metadata settings over the long term is still the rewarded path), Google announced in 2014 that HTTPS was a ranking signal for websites.

    In other words, Google factors security into its search algorithm.

  3. SSL certificates are inexpensive (if not free)

    When I launched my first website in 2008, I did so to sell a product to help job interviewers ace their upcoming job interviews.  I had no choice but to purchase an SSL Certificate. I did so through GoDaddy and it was pricey.  Now an SSL Certificate through GoDaddy (they are one of the largest SSL Certificate Authorities in the world) is about $60 per year.

    It’s worth every penny for just the first reason listed, but you can also get an SSL Certificate for free. For example, Certificate Authority Let’s Encrypt is, in fact, a free SSL Certificate, and the one I used for my daughter’s website through WordPress host WP Engine (who I use and recommend – here’s why).

How to Install an SSL Certificate

To install an SSL Certificate on your website, my best advice is to contact your host company directly or, if applicable, your designated web designer. The steps to set up an SSL Certificate vary by host company, but it’s likely easy than you think if you are working with a company with good customer service.

Often, it is just a matter of ordering the SSL to set things in motion and then handing off the technical installation side of things to someone else.

If you host a site through the Rainmaker Platform which is what I use for Graceful Resources – here’s why, the Rainmaker support team will install an SSL certificate for you at no cost. Just ask!

One final tip when requesting an SSL Certificate:

Ask your website host or designer to also load all images on your website over HTTPS. There are some extra steps involved for your tech support contact, but if images (such as your featured blog post image) are not secured, your site visitors will see a “mixed content” error in their browser address bar.

A “mixed content” error may be nothing more than an unsecured logo on your website, but to your site visitor, it could easily lead to confusion and uncertainty over site security for them.  If that happens, they will likely not opt in to your mailing list or purchase one of your products.  They will also likely never return to your website.

As always with any changes to your website, test it out yourself in your browser to make sure everything looks right!

Hope this helps,
Brent

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback via my contact form or in direct response to my free Graceful Journal email mailing list.

As a certified project management professional (PMP) specializing in web design and lead generation strategies, I’m here to take away the pain of figuring out how to seamlessly integrate web and email software resources to grow businesses online.

One project step at at time.