Important note: This is a critical review and not a sales letter or an ad!
 

Format

Cgi Perl- script/PHP- script (delivered as an ASCII-file) plus instruction files (delivered as html-files)

Review

What this script does

To make a long story short, OptIn Lightning is a mailing list program. This means that OptIn will make it possible for you to let your visitors subscribe to your electronic newsletter (also called an "ezine") directly through own web site. And you don't need any third party in order to do this. Everything is kept on your web host's server(s) where your web site is placed.

When someone visits your web site, OptIn Lightning causes a little pop-up box (that looks like the small pop-up and dialogue boxes that your own computer sometimes shows you) to pop-up on your visitor's computer screen. You decide what you want to write in that box, but typically you ask your visitors to subscribe to your electronic newsletter. And your visitor just have to click in the "Yes" or "No" box. If your visitor decides to click the "Yes" button, an email is sent from the subscribers own mail server - not through your mail server. This feature is very important, as it makes it much more difficult for people to falsely accuse you of spamming them. Besides, it makes it easier and faster for your visitors to sign up for your list. No need for writing anything or sending confirmation emails. If your visitors chooses to click on the "No" button, nothing further happens. And your visitor probably won't be annoyed by the pop-up box. Because, if your visitor visits your web site again during the next twenty four hours, he or she won't see the pop-up again.

OptIn Lightning also gives you the choice of placing a normal (stationary) subscription box on your web site. Whatever you choose to do, OptIn Lightning will make it possible for your visitors to sign up for your ezine or just your optin list.

But there are more features in OptIn Lightning. First, you can use OptIn Lightning to send out messages to your subscribers (optin list). And each message can be personalized, so that each subscriber seems to receive a personal message, addressed to him or her, and with his or her personal name one or more times in the text.

Secondly, OptIn Lightning has it's own built-in autoresponder. This means that you can use it to send nine (or less, if you choose) automatic follow up messages to your subscribers.

There are more feature in OptIn Lighning, such as automatic text-wrap and easy administration panel, automatic reports over how many emails was successfully sent to your optin list, an anti-flame system and an anti "Mail Bombing" system, just to mention a few.

As you can see, a lot of features are included in OptIn Lightning.

After having set up the script, I ran it on a secret test page. And the script is running without any problems.

What's so genius about OptIn Lightning, is that it makes it much easier for your visitors to sign up for your ezine and for your optin list. Besides, you can use the script in many other media than your own web site. You can use it to get subscribers through ezine ads, ebooks, other web sites, eBay etc., etc. This is an extremely valuable asset of the script.

Ease of set-up

Brian Garvin and the team behind OptIn Lightning strongly recommends the buyers of OptIn Ligthning to let an expert install OptIn Lightning. And that's quite understandable. Installing OptIn Lightning is not for the person who's inexperienced with installing Perl-scripts and PHP-scripts plus using MySQL database and a socalled SSH-client.

I tried to install my copy of OptIn Lightning, and most of it went well. I almost got everything right. But then, I have some experience with cgi-scripts. But anyway, I ran into a some difficult technical problems too. Fortunately my good friend Rick Hansson - http://www.marketingresource.com/ - who is an expert programmer, was so kind to help me out.

So, I would strongly advice you to invest the few dollars it cost to hire a professional programmer who can install the script for you. Unless you're already experienced with installing scripts, you'll probably find OptIn Lightning difficult to install. But, of course, if you know something about cgi-scripts and installing them, then you'll probably be able to install this script.

Ease of using

Whereas most people probably will find OptIn Lightning difficult to install, it's very easy and straight-forward to use, when it's set up.

The administration panel makes it really easy to make the changes you want, import subscribers to your optin list or delete them. Sending out messages to your list can't possibly be easier. It's just a matter of writing your message in the right box and then click on the "Send" button. And the same applies to the follow-up (autoresponder) function. Just type your text and click the right button. That's it!

So, I really found OptIn Lightning extremely easy to administrate.

Overall assessment

In my opinion OptIn Lightning is one of the most useful scripts I've seen to date. Nothing is more important for you, as a web business owner and marketer, than building and administrating your optin list. And OptIn Lighning is a very valuable tool for this task.

This script makes it much easier for your visitors to sign up for your ezine and your optin list. This means that you'll probably be able to build your optin list much faster - provided, of course, that you give your subscribers and members some really good information.

But not only that. In addition, OptIn Lightning makes it child's play to administrate your list, sending out messages etc.

My conclusion is that I highly recommend this script! It can be an extremely valuable tool for your web business. And considering the low price, it's a real bargain and steal. So, go and get it if you want to grow and administrate your list in the easy and inexpensive way! I can't say enough good things about OptIn Lightning.

Price (at the time of this writing, July 2001)

US $89.95

About Brian Garvin

Who is Brian Garvin? Click here for the answer!
 
 

Buying information

Website 

http://www.optinlightning.com  

Snail mail

Brian Garvin
Optin Lightning
POB 903
Oceanside, CA. 92049

Phone

760-722-3537

Fax

760-722-3537