Many businesses measure website conversions by determining how many of their customers sign up for their email marketing newsletter(s). Email marketing newsletters and mailing lists are a great cost-effective marketing tool that can help anyone expand their business’ customer base. While social media platforms can still be very effective when reaching audiences, email is still one of the best methods to grow your marketing business. Consumers prefer it because they have control over the message especially compared to the advertisements they receive on social media platforms. They can read your email, delete it, ignore it, or opt out – but most of all email marketing engages consumers when they aren’t visiting or working with your business. But how can you convince your existing and potential consumers to join your email newsletter? These tips should help.
10 WAYS TO GROW YOUR EMAIL MARKETING LIST
1. EMPHASIZE WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE READER
When trying to convince users to sign up for your email newsletter tell them the benefits. What can they get out of your email newsletter? Are there coupons, promotions, weekly digests, articles that are relevant to the their interests? Not only that but you’ll need to be clear in how often you’ll be sending these emails and when it will happen. Will it happen once a month on the first Saturday? Or every week on a Wednesday? Be completely transparent about what subscribers will get out of these email newsletters and you’ll get more people interested in signing up.
2. ADD SOCIAL SHARING BUTTONS
Remember to add social sharing buttons as well as the “Email to a Friend” button to the content of your email newsletter. This makes it easy for users and subscribers to share content with their social network. And because many people who AREN’T on your email list could see your newsletter content, be sure to add a subscribe button at the bottom of your emails. This allows anyone who got your email through other means to easily add themselves to your mailing list.
3. OFFER A DEAL
If you offer potential subscribers a deal, they’ll be much more likely to join the newsletter. Add a 10% off coupon or early access, and be upfront that you’re doing this. Let users know that they can get a great deal only by signing up. Rewarding your subscribers can remind your subscribers that you value them.
4. MAKE IT EASY TO SUBSCRIBE
Don’t make people have to search on your website for the newsletter, make it easy to find! Make it easy to subscribe – make sure there are links throughout your website that lead to the email sign-up page. Include call-to-actions to your email newsletter on about every page of your website. Minimizing the steps for finding the signup form maximizes conversions.
5. SHARE FEEDBACK FROM EXISTING SUBSCRIBERS
On the landing page for the email newsletter, it’s helpful if you add feedback from existing subscribers. Here’s an example of what this could look like: “I learned a lot from April 2014’s newsletter about digital marketing – I’ve been in this business a decade now, and I still learned something new. – Jane Smith, Smith Marketing Inc.”. People are reassured by testimonials, they feel as though they can trust the other consumer and are more likely to subscribe when they see one. Just be sure to use your customer’s names, business, and if you can manage it, their photographs. People won’t trust anonymous testimonials, only ones backed up by real customers.
6. INDEX YOUR SIGN-UP PAGE
Make sure that your sign-up page on your website is indexed! Many people forget to do this, but it’s the only way your page can be easily found by search engines. If someone is searching for your newsletter they’ll have to dig through pages of search results if you the sign-up page isn’t indexed.
7. ASSUAGE PRIVACY CONCERNS
Some users are turned off by the idea that you could be using their email or other information in distasteful ways like sharing it with other companies. Explain clearly on the signup page that you will not distribute your subscribers’ emails. This will increase trust between you and the user and encourage them to sign up.
8. DON’T ASK FOR TOO MUCH
Related to the privacy concerns, remember not to ask for too much information. Asking for a lot of details often scares away potential subscribers. They’re typically fine with just giving their email address and you usually don’t need to ask for more than that.
9. INCORPORATE SIGN-UP IN E-COMMERCE
If you have an e-commerce website, there’s another way you can enlist subscribers. During the checkout process on your online store, you can include a checkbox that allows your customer to opt-in on the email newsletter without having to fill out another form. State what they’re going to receive in the email newsletter (Click here to sign up and receive weekly promotions!).
10. ADD AN OPT-IN LINK IN PLACES YOU WOULDN’T THINK OF!
There are many places you can add an opt-in link to, places that you may not automatically think of when considering calls-to-action. For instance, you could add a link to your employees’ email signatures that leads people to the email newsletter sign-up page. If you’re involved on social media, there are several ways you can incorporate your email mailing list into a social media marketing campaign. You could use your Facebook page to promote an offer that requires an email address submission (just make sure to mention that they will be getting monthly newsletters – transparency is key). You could also add a call-to-action button on top of your Facebook page, link the call to action button to a landing page that requires an email address for submission. Or if you’re more active on Twitter, you could promote a free resource or another offer that requires an email address. LinkedIn is also often overlooked as a way to generate leads and conversions, but you could publish links to offers on your company page or, if the discussion is appropriate (don’t spam) in relevant LinkedIn group discussions.
These are all great examples of how you can start increasing your business’ email newsletter subscribers today. Most of these aren’t hard to implement, some of them require very little A/B testing or web design changes.
At digiTech Web Design, our clients know they can expect high-quality internet marketing services from us. We improve our clients’ conversion rate regularly when we design their web pages and we can help you achieve your optimal conversion rate. For more information on how we can help you with your web design and internet marketing needs, please contact us today!
