4 Easy Ways to Get More E-mail Subscribers [WITH RESULTS]
E-mail marketing is far from dead. It’s actually proven itself to be more valuable than ever. It’s undeniably cost-effective, and given the right amount of attention it can be a great tool to help you build your brand and drive sales. Before you get started though, you’ll need a subscriber list. Below are 4 simple implementations my company introduced last year to grow our list and the results that we saw in just the first month.
We also shot a quick video on how to get more email subscribers, check that out here!
1. Insert a call to action on your website
Think about it: who will be the most inclined to sign up for your e-mail list? Ten times out of ten, the answer is the people who are already frequenting your website. They have shown that they are interested in your brand, so they should be your first target.
While there are many tools you can use to grow your list directly from your website, I highly recommend using the (free) suite of tools provided by SumoMe. They offer non-intrusive calls to action such as Scroll Box and List Builder that can really help to kick-start your efforts. Scroll Box is triggered to ask your visitors to sign up for your e-mail list when they get to a certain portion of your website, and can be configured to display at any given time/frequency. You can customize the color and font to match your website’s design, and can even adjust where the call to action will be displayed.
Initial setup: 10 minutes
Our first month’s results: 34 new subscribers
2. Gate your best content
If you’re already creating useful, engaging content then this is a no-brainer (and if you’re not it’s time to get started!). SumoMe’s List Builder tool will help you take full advantage of your content by offering it to your website visitors after they have spent a predetermined amount of time on your site. The best part about this tactic is that you’ll be killing two birds with one stone — offering your visitors valuable content that presents you as an expert in your field, and growing your list of e-mail subscribers.
I first installed List Builder on a client’s website that already had an extremely popular piece of content. Their list of “100 Places to See Before You Die” had hundreds of social shares, comments, and was drawing new visitors into the site daily. Over 98% of visitors read through the entire article and spent an average of roughly 5 minutes on the page. We gated the article (see below) and set it to display to visitors once per month, offering it up in exchange for an e-mail address. Visitors were quick to engage with the call to action, as their curiosity for answers drew them to enter their e-mail address and see the full list.
Initial setup: 5 minutes
Our first month’s results: 65 new subscribers
3. Add a call to action in a high traffic spot
Too often I see e-mail subscriber forms in the sidebar of a website, where the click-through rate (CTR) is notoriously low. If you have ever advertised on Facebook, you know that your CTR is substantially higher in the News Feed as opposed to on the right-hand sidebar, so don’t fall into the trap of overlooking your subscriber form placement. Try placing a subscribe button right in the middle of your high traffic blog posts. Visitors will be more likely to see your call to action, making them more likely to subscribe.
Inital setup: 5 minutes
Our first month’s results: 12 new subscribers (from one article)
4. Ask, ask, ask!
Ask and you shall receive. If you’re already using a social media publisher like Hootsuite or Buffer, schedule in recurring messages that ask your followers to subscribe. Once per month on Facebook and once per week on Twitter can go a long way. Another great place to ask for subscribers is in your e-mail signatures — add a link below your company image that entices readers to stay up to date with your brand. Check out WiseStamp if you’re looking for more customization.
Initial setup: 5 minutes
Our first month’s results: 19 new subscribers (combined)
Obviously e-mail should not be the sole focus of your digital marketing strategy, however it can be a cost-effective way to reach an engaged audience. Don’t leave any subscribers on the table — take 20 minutes and start connecting with more awesome people.
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