Opt in Forms - how important are they?

[Live Free]

My Muse is up and running, with my PPC campaign just started. I have already had some click through to my site (yeah, only three so far) but none of them purchased (I am aiming for a 3-5% conversion).

I do not have an opt in form on my sales page. How important are these, and what ratio of people who sign up to a free newsletter actually go on to buy? (What is considered a good ratio?)

Also, does anyone know a good wordpress plug in (non widget - I don't have a sidebar) that can put an opt in form on my site, or am I better to use Aweber or some other paid service? What is a good paid service apart from Aweber?

Cheers :) Hoping for a sale in the first 24 hours, its been 8 so far but I am in New Zealand and my product is targeted at America. When I go to bed, most Americans are up and about, so I will get a better idea tomorrow!

Thanks :)

[Matthew Connors]

LOTS and LOTS of people take 5-7 contacts with your organisation prior to purchasing.
Thus you are leaving a huge slice of profit pie on the table if you dont offer an opt-in list.

Your list is worth about $1 per person per month. Its your biggest asset for getting repeat sales..

Take a look at my squeeze page for ideas on the incentives i use to get sign ups. My subscribers love these. The simply cant get enough of them. 100% Free e-Books (http://www.autoincometoday.com/freebies.html)