Do you really need an opt-in to sell your products and services online?

Well, what exactly is an opt-in? An opt-in is a free gift, free taste or free sample of your products and services. In the online world an opt-in usually comes in the form of a mini e-book, checklist, template, video series or even a 15 minute consultation. However, most opt-ins are something that are easily downloadable and your prospect can access right away.

The goal of the opt-in is to get your potential customer to know , like and trust you. This way your prospect can get a sample of your style, services, and personality. Once they have this information, they can decide if they want to invest with you further.

Also, a free-opt-in is also followed up with a series of emails. These can be 3 t0 7 emails that are reiterating what you said in your free gift, and offering more value. Towards the end of the email sequence, you will invite your prospect to buy your service, product or program.

So, it begs the question; Do you really need an opt-in to sell your products or services? Well, it really depends. I have an ebook that I sell online. I sell this ebook along with my co-author, Yuwanda Black of Inkwelleditorial.com and she sells through her website, and I sell through my website. However, 100% of my sales for this particular ebook has been through my YouTube Videos. I ask my customers, how did you find me? And they said, I saw a video on Youtube and I clicked on the link to buy your book.

As you see, I didn’t need an opt-in , all I did was offer 3-4 minutes of value through a video. The value in the video was enough to help my prospects make a decision to purchase the book. There was no email sequence, no email information given, just a straight sale. However, the only caveat was our book is priced at $29.97. That’s a great price point. However, if we were selling a $ 500, $ 1,000 product or more, we probably would need an opt-in. When you are selling a higher priced ticket, you may need to give your prospect a little more information than just a quick video. However, if you are selling products under $ 97, there should be no issue of making a sale without an opt-in. So, does this mean get rid of the opt-in all together? I say no.

Offering an opt-in is still important. You still have some people who may watch your video, and still be on the fence of buying for you. So, when you offer a free opt-in, you are collecting their information. This way you can market to them over time. They may not be interested in your current product, program or service, but if they know, like and trust you, they may be interested in other products and services that you offer.

So, I say , you don’t always need an opt-in as long as you are offering value. Also, you may get higher sales without an opt-in for lower priced products. However, I suggest you have have an opt-in to collect emails and get to build connection, relationship and rapport with your potential customers. So, what do you think? Have you ever sold any of your products, programs and services without offering an opt-in? I am curios to know. Tell me in the comments below , and please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel too!