Each time you have new visitors on your website, your first priority is to get them to sign up for your Ezine list. This gives you permission to contact them again and again, educating them about any new and helpful services and products that they came to learn about.

Can’t you just put up a link that says “free newsletter”? Unfortunately, no one cares! You’ll need to create an opt-in box that works like a big trap, catching the exact type of users you want as your ideal clients and customers.

Also, be sure not to hide your box at the bottom of your web pages. Testing has shown that the best place for your opt-in box is the upper right corner of the page.

Below are six things you should have in your opt-in box that will help you attract more signups than ever before.

A Flashy Headline. Remember that online readers skim copy – they seldom read anything word for word. So your headline in the opt-in box may be the only thing they read, and may determine whether they sign up or not. So don’t waste this valuable space with something like “Free Newsletter” or even worse “Sign up today for our mailing list.” Instead, tell them the most exciting thing your Ezine will give them! Example: “Insider Secrets to Writing Novels for Big Bucks”

A Detailed Description Of Your Ezine. Work diligently to put together a description of your ezine that gets prospects excited to sign up! Tell them what your valuable information is going to do for them as well as everything they get. Example: How-to articles, quick tips, free resources, insider secrets. Shoot for a description of between 15 and 30 words.

A Box To Fill In Their First Name. Getting subscribers’ names along with their e-mail addresses allows you to personalize your Ezine for them. Why do you want to do this? Studies have proven that having the recipient’s name in the subject line of your e-mails can increase your open rates by 60%! One problem is, many people highly value their privacy and are hesitant to give out their full name. For this reason, just ask for their first name. It’s been proven that you’ll get more names from people if you ask only for the first name.

A Box To Fill In Their Primary Email Address. Many people have a “junk e-mail” address that they use just for receiving newsletters and promotions. The problem with this is that they are often from free email services like Yahoo or Hotmail. These email services filter email like crazy, and their mailboxes fill up quickly, so there’s a good chance your emails won’t even reach these subscribers. The solution is, simply asking for their primary e-mail. It’s hard to believe, but simply asking them to enter their primary e-mail will get you more quality email addresses on your list!

A Button That Says “Subscribe” Or “Sign Me Up Now” Make it unquestionable what they should click to activate their subscription once they’ve typed in their name and email. Don’t use something confusing like a button that says “submit form”.

Your Privacy Policy, Right Then And There. No one wants to receive more spam in their email, so put your prospects at ease. Don’t make them ponder what you’ll do with their e-mail addresses. State right next to or below your opt-in form what your policy is. Many state: “We will never sell, rent, trade, or share your e-mail with any other organization.” Don’t make people jump through hoops to read your privacy policy – it’ll look like you’ve got something to hide. In some U.S. states, it’s required that you disclose your privacy policy right at the time of opt-in, so it’s a good idea no matter where you do business.

By convincing people to subscribe, and removing the barriers to them doing so, you can easily bridge the gap between a website visitor and another devoted reader of your Ezine.