Your email list is literally your best source of traffic and income online. That’s why questions on how to get more email subscribers are most-asked by website owners and bloggers.
Most online entrepreneurs have understood the remarkable value in a big list so every day, they break off their comfort zones, in an effort to add new members to their lists. But as we all know, it’s not without difficulties.
Generally, the more your traffic, the more subscribers you get. But this is not true in some cases because some websites lack the right elements to attract subscribers.
We are told to offer some irresistible free gift so that our readers will submit their email addresses in order to access the offer. But that’s not enough.
Sometimes you have an awesome free stuff but the way you call the email submit action from your readers is the stumbling block. Here are the most common ways to capture leads using your blog;
- Have a signup form on the sidebar: Ok this is the old school method. It’s already hitting its limit as most marketers see very little or no results with it
- Add a signup form below content: Well, this is still getting some results based on the power of your call to action
- Using Popups: Evidently, this is the most used method to build a list today. Contrary, it is the most annoying that can at the same time keep your readers away for good. People get pissed off when some popup window from no where jumps before them while reading. This interruption is most often considered to obfuscate smooth comprehension of content. And once it happens, some readers simply click off.
- Content Upgrade: This happens to be the most recent way to build targeted lists. This allows readers to get the same content they are reading in different format or get something highly related to the page they are on. Content upgrade has proven to be very effective and can grow your list so quickly.
- Feature Box: That’s the magic and madness of list building. See details below
- Sumo Welcome Mat: If after doing all those things, you still have 0 subscribers (or very few signups), I think you’ll have to try this madness. See below for some more stuffs on it.
How to get more email subscribers from your blog with same traffic!
Let’s touch more closely some of these methods I mentioned above. Note that tradition forms on sidebars and below content are not being focused on in this post.
Popups Ruin A Blog Readers Experience
Now, according to Mitch Mitchell in this post on his blog, using popups will ruin your readers experience. Mitch makes it clear he is completely disconnecting from any blogs with popups.
The popup experience can sometimes be really ugly and annoying especially if the blog is using some poorly conceived and configured plugin. I have seen some bloggers using three and more different popups. They worry so much about how to get more subscriber, that they end up going out of the way.
Imaging a case where the popup window jumps to your face each time you load the page. Some are even stupid enough to keep jumping out even after you’ve given them your email. Such plugins are not intelligent at all and I think their developers should update.
What about Content Upgrades?
If you haven’t head of Content Upgrades before, you are surely new to the content marketing world. The idea however is simple;
You let your readers give you their email addresses to access the upgraded version of what they are reading. In some cases, you just give them the same content in different format.
Let me explain further!
First, you have your main list where every subscriber is channeled to. Now, each blog posts where you plan to implement the upgrade should have a mini list.
The reason is that the mini list will have its unique Autoresponder that should handle its subscribers. The Autoresponder should automatically send to the subscriber the item promised.
Once the subscriber is validated on the mini list and the item sent, a list automation should shift him to the main blog list.
Note that the main blog list should not have an Autoresponder that sends out mails instantly.
Do content upgrades really work?
Yes. There are reasons to try them out!
Content Upgrade functions through popup windows but the difference is in the action that triggers it. That’s what makes is not annoying. The readers actually control when the window pops up.
Check out ContentUpgradePro
And the Feature Box ?
The feature box is the non-intrusive master of list building. By its nature, everyone that visits your blog gets hooked. It’s that conspicuous box that sticks above the fold where no one can ignore its presence. It makes giving out your email irresistible especially if the item promised is alluring.
Many bloggers who have used the feature box have attest to a remarkable improvement in their list signup rate:
I have 200+ new subscribers on this blog within 24 hours of installing this Feature box and note that there was no increase in traffic;
Check out Plugmatter Feature Box. That’s what I use
How to get more email subscribers Using Feature box and Content Upgrade together
Now, I think any serious marketing should stop worrying about how to get Newsletter Subscribers and implement these two methods. They don’t conflict at all. They can combine their efforts to blow out your list.
You should be able to structure your lists and channel your subscribers from your mini lists to the main list. There is nothing wrong with having more than one main lists. It all boils down to your strategy.
So start with one and then implement all of these two to see the magical explosion of your list.
How to get more mail subsription with Sumo Welcome Mat
This technology is what I see on many big blogs today. Welcome Mat displays a full-screen call to action that shows when visitors land on your site. While this is considered as intrusive as popups, it works for some.
As a matter of fact, my first experience with this technology was frustrating. This was on Quicksprout blog, powered by the HelloBar. A few seconds after landing on the blog, there was this sudden push of the content down the window by an almost empty page.
My heart jumped to my stomach!
But I soon realized Neil was using it to attract more Facebook likes. That was some obstruction man 😉
Here is how it looks like;
How to Get Blog Subscribers – Free gift or no free gift ?
The bribe is something very strong to pull someone’s email address to your list. But the problem is some folks just do that to gain access to the free stuff.
Once they grab it, they hit the unsubscribe button. We’ve seen that a lot of times and I think it’s going to continue.
But what about just allowing people to subscribe just to get your blog updates?
I think it’s a cool idea for people to subscribe just to not miss out your next blog post. Such quality of subscribers stick around for a pretty long time.
But here is the bad news…
Some bloggers who claim not to send offers (Just my next blog post) end up slapping against their promises and soon start sending news about the next new product. And to add more salt to the injury, they link out on affiliate links.
What do you think?
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