Online marketers rely on their email subscriber lists for continued online success. But building up a large list of responsive email subscribers is the hardest part, especially for new marketers. So, if you are struggling to gain more email subscribers and build your lists, this post is perfect for you. Read on for some tried-and-true tips on how to gain more email subscribers.
How to Gain More Email Subscribers in 2020
1. Create Incentives
By developing better, more enticing email sign-up incentive offers, your leads are more likely to provide their email addresses. However, to do this successfully, you need to understand clearly just who your ideal customers are.
Also, before you settle on an incentive, it is a good idea to develop and try out a few different offerings so that you can see which ones result in the highest conversions.
2. Make It Easy for Your Readers to Subscribe
Make sure your readers can find your opt-in forms! It’s a good idea to include opt-in forms on the home page so visitors can easily find them.
Another way to simplify the sign-up process is to limit the number of details required. For example, some marketers ask for only a first name. Alternatively, you could take a different approach and ask only for an email address. The less information visitors have to give up, the more likely they’ll be to opt-in.
3. Optimize Sign-up Incentives to Gain More Email Subscribers
Research on visitor behavior from Direct Marketing Association (DMA) on Consumer Email Tracking shows that readers are likely to: sign-up for discounts and offers (51%), become regular customers (46%) or actively participate in some type of loyalty program (40%).
However, to encourage more email subscriptions, you need to provide your readers with a good enough reason to actually participate; this usually means offering some compelling email sign-up incentives. These could include content downloads, discounts, exclusive content, access to discounts, training content or templates.
Other incentives you could offer include:
- Checklists
- Free books or other downloadable products
- Resource guides
- Recommended product lists
4. Use Pop-ups and Slide-ins
Utilizing pop-ups can be a helpful way to successfully gain more email subscribers. You can use pop-ups in much the same way as opt-in forms — and there are a few good ways you can incorporate them onto your page.
First, you can add a pop-up that encourages visitor sign-ups to your newsletter once they are on your website. Alternatively, your pop-up could appear while the visitor is reading your blog or when they are about to leave. Another alternative is to use slide-ins.
However, there can also be downsides to using pop-ups. Although they can be an effective way to gain subscribers, not everyone is a fan of them. One test showed that while a pop-up box increased subscriptions, it negatively affected engagement. This might not be the same for every marketer, but it is a possible disadvantage to look out for.
Finally, make sure your pop-ups are as unobtrusive as possible to lower the chances of irritating the website visitors you aim to appeal to.
5. Craft a New Call to Action (CTA) Button
Just a slight tweak to your call-to-action button can have a considerable impact on subscriptions. It might even be as simple as changing a few words or reorganizing the CTA structure. In other cases, you may need to make the CTA more compelling by creating an entirely new offer.
Finally, do not forget the importance of color and placement of your CTA button. As Neil Patel writes: “The placement and button color of your call-to-action buttons is as important as the message.”
Neil also recommends using a contrasting color for your CTA and placing the CTA button at the bottom. To further enhance your CTA, you can offer incentives, use a simpler design, keep the copy short and use strong, actionable words.
6. Use A/B testing
Sometimes, it is just a matter of testing what works and what appeals to your target audience. You can test out which approach gets the best results by A/B testing the various elements of your marketing. For instance, you could word your headlines differently, change the email sign-up incentives you offer or change the colors of your text.
Once you know what you want to change, test the results over a 7-14-day period and see which campaign achieves the best results.
7. Give Your Readers Greater Flexibility
Your readers’ interests and priorities can change over time, so provide your subscribers with some flexibility. This means letting them choose when they receive their email newsletters. This could be weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or just on weekends.
You should also make it easy for readers to change their preferences and clearly let them know that they can unsubscribe anytime.
8. Consider All Different Devices and Channels
With so much online traffic now coming from mobile devices, ignoring these users is not an option. To encourage more mobile sign-ups, ensure your online forms are accessible and your templates are streamlined and mobile responsive.
Make use of analytics so you can observe the channels that bring you the most new subscribers. Once you know whether email, video marketing, social media or landing pages are the most effective, you can then optimize the proper methods and refine your marketing strategy.
9. Carefully Craft Your Content
They say that content is king, but that does not mean any kind of content will suffice. To win your visitors’ trust, you need to provide high-quality content that adds value for your reader.
Your content should show that you are authoritative on the topic(s) you are writing about. This is all part of winning the visitor over and convincing them to take the next step and therefore is key to gaining more email subscribers.
10. Measure Key Stats
There are several stats that will tell you how well your current content and headlines are working. These include:
- Clicks and opens
- Email bounce rates
- Delivery rates
When you analyze these stats, you will gain a better understanding of the consumer’s behavior. You can then use this new information to create more content that will attract clicks and opens, which can lead to more subscribers.
11. Send Out Trigger Emails
Getting subscribers is just one element of building a successful list – your next task is to keep them engaged. You can do this by sending out trigger emails that let you send out personalized, timely content to your subscribers to help increase sales.
In addition, you can use trigger emails to rebuild relationships with inactive customers: send specialized offers to re-engage with them and turn them back into a responsive subscriber.
12. Promote Your Newsletter Online
Use social media to promote your newsletter. Online forums or your YouTube channel are also good ways to promote your newsletter. However, remember to keep any online promotion targeted to users with a keen interest in your subject area or you risk wasting your marketing dollars.
Conclusion
To be a successful marketer, you need to engage in best practices to gain  more email subscribers. For those just starting out, this can be a daunting task. However, by following the steps outlined above, you’ll have the information you need to create a targeted mailing list and start working towards online subscriber success.
Understanding your subscribers, creating personalized emails and testing your campaigns for increased conversions is easy with SharpSpring’s automated marketing system. To find out more or to request a demo, visit our website today.
