6 Ways to Increase Email Subscriptions
Having a large subscriber list can be highly beneficial in any online endeavor. This is because you will be able to send marketing materials to your target audience directly to their inbox. Some people worry about the technical aspects of setting up the subscription form on their webpage but this process is actually quite simple; e-mail management services will give the HTML needed for the subscription form. The real concern is related to marketing.
- Premium placement – it is recommended for you to put the sign-up form prominently on the home page. It should be visible to the reader before the break (towards the top of the page without the need to scroll down). You can also use graphics or even animation or rotating images to draw their eyes to the registration form.
- Use multiple forms – you can put the subscription form on most of your web pages. Putting the form at the end of the article after the reader has read the content has been proven to be effective. Not only will the added reminder help your subscription rate, but if you place forms after your content there’s a good chance prospects have already been exposed to your information and enjoyed it (otherwise why would they keep reading?).
- Provide incentives – you hear this tip all over the internet but I will repeat it here because it works. You should offer something for free such as free articles, free e-books, and free contests. You can even offer discount coupons to your products if you are selling something.
- Provide rationale – information overload is an inevitable part of being an internet user. Realize that your readers suffer from information overload as well so take time to explain why they will benefit from subscribing to your site.
- Offline methods – exhibits are a great way to solicit subscriptions. When people visit your booth, you can ask them to sign up personally. Many of the methods I discussed in Take Blog Promotion Offline can also be effectively applied to list building.
- Co-registration – this is a great way to get subscriptions from other websites. You need to have partners who will place your form at their “thank you page” when their readers have already subscribed to their newsletters. Take note that you will need to return the favor.
What other methods have you used for list building? Have you tried any of these that I listed? If so, please feel free to share your experiences with us in the comment section below!
Comments
Andy Crofford July 21st, 2008
You have pretty much covered the ones I have tried/plan to try. Wish I could provide something new but I am unable to at this time.
Andy
Don't Wait for Search Engines - 14 Ways to Get Traffic Now! July 23rd, 2008
Great tips here, all of these will optimize your email marketing. I do want to say that when you do send out emails space them out, I have signed-up for some sites that bombard me with sales offers and emails, often once a day!! If it’s too much, it loses any meaning and just becomes an irritant and then I just cancel them!
Thanks,
JR
Codrut Turcanu I Remarkable Blogging dot Com July 23rd, 2008
Thanks Ben, you’ve shared almost all the successful methods.
Great information!
Andy - Mr MultiVar July 23rd, 2008
The main method that I plan to use is to avoid the ridiculous big RSS subscribe icon that bloggers use and go for a standard grey “subscribe” button for an email list.
I don’t understand the point of signing up newbies to an RSS feed when you can get them subscribed to your email list.
The free gift/bribe is the way forward I think to incentivize people to sign up.
Scott July 26th, 2008
Max,
These aren’t based in results, but what I find makes me more willing to subscribe:
Sample newsletter. This kinda goes with your rationale idea, but giving the user a sample of what they can expect to entice them to want more.
Link to the Privacy and unsubscribe information. While you may have more, this can be covered in the call to action quickly with something like “Subscribe now, we won’t sell your email address and you can always unsubscribe later”
Including how often you send. Sign up for our Weekly newsletter, Monthly, whatever. Just so I know how often I’m going to get it. Once you post this, stick to it so you don’t upset your subscribers.
Vlada Kynsky July 27th, 2008
Hi,
Very good tips. Thank you. I discovered your web site today and just enjoying your posts. Keep up good blogging.
Vlada
Jayapritha July 28th, 2008
Highlight OR show E-Mail subscriber numbers.People attract people and a site that is obviously being read by others will draw others into it.
Andy - Mr MultiVar July 28th, 2008
It can be a catch 22 situation. Better to offer a link to a valuable free resource to give subscribers a taste of of what they can expect later I think.
However, the topic of this post is a great one, we have to work hard on gaining subscribers to our list since these valued people will be our life force later.
Adam July 28th, 2008
Gah, This is one thing that I need to work on. Getting email subscribers is hard. Our subscriber count jumped over 100 one day and we only got 1 new email subscriber.
It was really frustrating.
Danny Cooper September 26th, 2008
Definetily agree with no.3, I’m just about to release my free ebook so we shall see how that goes.
Haruyoshi November 9th, 2008
Great list, thanks for sharing!
Table Cloths June 16th, 2009
This is a great list. However – I would like to see what makes a list too small to start with?
Is it best to target a list based on past purchases.
door knobs August 8th, 2009
These are very useful ways for increasing email subscription. Great sharing!!
nethosting25 August 17th, 2009
What a great post! It’s a very informative and interesting post. The six steps are very useful. Thanks for sharing.