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- In Out-Of-Box
Why isn’t Anyone Subscribing to My Website?
One problem that I am asked about over and over is, “How can I get new subscribers to opt-in on my website?”
Website traffic is the mainstay of the Internet. Without visitors your website falls flat. Yet without targeted traffic – people who want what you have to offer; and, a strong call to action which your visitors are interested in receiving, then that traffic you worked so hard to get has just left the building (your website), probably never to be seen again. With an increase in traffic AND conversion into your list, your brand or business can reach more potential people consistently which can be converted into sales over time.
In Internet Marketing terms, we say, “The money is in the list.” But how do you build that list?
Above all else, you need a strategy. Without one, you are flying blind with your website promotion and the chances of building a list are slim.
Here are 7 ways to increase your subscribe rate and build an email list from your website:
1.Your website is your home base
Choosing the right domain is one of the most important things to start with in order to help your online brand succeed. Think of it as an advertisement to attract leads. When your domain name is your name, or your business name, or your product name – then the chances become higher of attracting your target market. Your focus in any effort to grow your list should be on getting more targeted and quality subscribers that are a good match for your business versus just increasing your subscriber number with dead-weight non-interested email addresses. I’ll take 50 quality subscribers over 500 uninterested ones any day of the week. So make sure your website name and content is a ‘message match’ that people will respond to accordingly.
On your website, you need an ‘optin’ or link that is prominently displayed. Believe it or not, the biggest goal you should have with your website is to capture your visitor’s email, so don’t bury it beneath the fold (what appears in your display without scrolling). Just because you have a mailing list doesn’t mean that people will automatically subscribe. Don’t just stick a form in your sidebar and hope that people will give you their details – sell it. Mention it in posts, develop landing pages, talk about it in your guest posts. You need to let people know what’s going on. Include your offer often to remind them of what they are missing if they haven’t yet subscribed.
2. Use social media as a feeder
It’s important to be set up an active on the major social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and YouTube. Make sure all of your accounts are consistent with your brand and website, and you will want to actively post and tweet at least five days a week. But it is not enough to just share information. You will need to engage in conversation, and even ask questions of our community to build trust and credibility. Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social media. Network in the same way you would in person, only do it online.
Does your business have videos or slides to share? When you create a YouTube channel and post valuable and engaging content, your website will attract even more subscribers and potential leads. With YouTube including a subscriber option on your channel, it’s one more way to stay in touch with your market.
3. A strong call to action
This requires knowing what your target market deeply desires, and how to best meet those needs.
Offer a free report packed full of value if you’re a service provider and both e-books and courses work extremely well. If you sell products, consider a welcome discount for signing up. If you can give them something good you’ll make an instant fan who will want to receive your emails and additional information from you. Give them something weak, and you’ve branded yourself as
No longer can you put ‘Subscribe to my Newsletter’ and expect for anyone to give up their email for such a weak request.
4. Use a Landing Page
A landing page, name capture page, launch page, squeeze page or registration page is a way to highlight one particular product, service, event or opportunity designed to sell a product, service or to simply collect leads. These targeted pages guide your visitor though the benefits of why they want to subscribe and what they will receive in return. There are third party programs that can make adding these to your website easier than starting from scratch. Here is a recent tutorial I created via a blog post: Better Website Conversions with Landing Pages.
5. Subscribe via comment box
Increasing the number of conversions is all about reducing the number of steps between the visitor and your desired action. If your visitor is already entering their email address somewhere like in a comment box, it only makes sense that adding a check mark to also subscribe to your newsletter would increase conversions. What other places can you add an optin?
6. Garner article placement on other online properties in your niche
Connect with and find other websites and start engaging there. Make sure these have a strong following, and are active. After a few months you can reach out to these websites and offer your quality content, which can link directly back to your website.
7. Don’t be afraid to be different
In fact, it’s necessary to be unique. Being different is the most important thing you can do online. If you have a unique approach or languaging to an otherwise common or boring topic, it is a surefire way to make your brand stand out from the crowd.
When attracting new subscribers to your website remember that persistence and consistency is the key to success. Give the process time and effort, as the more you put into these efforts the more your brand or business will benefit. Be willing to do split testing with multiple opt-in offers and you may be surprised at which one pulls more people into your list. If something isn’t working, even if you’ve given it a lot of time and effort, it’s sometimes better give it another go and try another offer.
These online marketing tips have the potential to bring more exposure for you and your business when done correctly, and can open the door to more connections and influence in your niche.
By : Susan Gilbert