1. Don’t keep your email subscription a secret.
Keep the option to join your mailing list easily visible. Show where or how to subscribe to your content.
We will include a sign-up form on your website, blog and/or resources pages. To further increase your odds, add a link to the form in your email signature, on your social media channel company descriptions, and other relevant locations. No social media channel? We can help with that!
2. Leverage pop-ups and Lead Flows.
Piggybacking on tip #1, Lead Flows are a simple and an effective way to boost visibility and conversion power of your eNewsletter subscriptions. We create pop-up forms that market an offer of your choice on specific website pages. There are multiple types of Lead Flows–drop-downs, exit pop-ups, and slide-ins available for creation, so we can create a number of options to attract subscribers, and help track them through CRM and conversion too!
3. Demonstrate immediate value.
As part of your sign-up form, include messaging describing the value of your content. We will help you tell visitors that by signing up, they’ll receive powerful tips and how-to, deals, savings or other subscribe-worthy incentives.
In order for your visitors to willingly fork over their email address, you need to make benefits crystal clear – and answer the question WIFM – “what’s in it for me?”
4. Offer a special “subscribers only” incentive.
Another stellar way to generate more opt-ins is to give subscribers exclusive access to some kind of offering, whether it’s free content, coupons, resources, etc.
For example, if you offer industry-specific white papers, include a spot on a page that stating “Get access to exclusive guides not available anywhere else on this website! Sign up below.”
Or, give first-time subscribers a special gift. Just make sure you keep your promise!
5. Give ‘em a sneak peek.
Consider this example of a company who promoted an educational “5 step” email series. To encourage people to subscribe to the series, the site included a short video teaser of the first step. Next to the video was a form and call-to-action: “Want to see the rest? Sign up and receive tips 2 through 5.” I signed up for his mailing list!
We can help build and include a teaser and measure how well it works. It could be a video, a link to a document, a coupon, or an article from your newsletter. When done effectively, sneak-peeks can be used to appeal to new subscribers. These are successful.
6. Show authority.
Numbers are powerful. Once a list gains traction, we can publicly show how many subscribers you have. This demonstrates authority and social proof to visitors that your email subscription is worth providing their precious contact info.
7. Add an opt-in field to resource landing page forms.
Regulations like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) are globally impacting marketing strategies on a legal basis. Getting informed consent to send emails beyond the one containing whatever they downloaded is something you should be incorporating into your email marketing anyway. Opting-in to your newsletter is a wise (and increasingly necessary) idea. Let GenXwest offer some good consulting advice that is CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority).
This technique can also help you increase the rate of engagement with your newsletter. Include a drop-down or check box form field (that isn’t already pre-selected) in forms on your landing pages, accompanied by copy like “Would you like to receive our monthly eNewsletter?” When someone submits their information to download your eGuide, infographic or white paper, they can conveniently opt to receive email updates, as well.
Include a link to your company’s privacy policy so prospective subscribers know you won’t be selling their information to third parties upon their submission.
8. Make your email shareable.
Let your subscribers do some of the work for you! When appropriate, include a “Forward to a Friend” link in your email campaigns. Many email marketing applications even have these features built-in or share your email via social media. Remember to include social sharing functionality on the landing page where your email sign-up is located!
9. Test what works and what doesn’t.
The only way to really know what works best is to test your subscription options. Try testing different offers, headlines, form placements or incentives.
Use tools from Google and compare your sign-up form to another variation that provides insight into offers that work best for your audience. Once you start trying different strategies and using metrics, you’ll likely end up with a powerful offer that increases your readership opt-ins.