How To Convert Blog Visitors Into Email Subscribers FAST
You have a blog that is either very successful or at least has a decent amount of traffic, and you want to start an email list for the people who view your blog. But how do you get your viewers interested in handing over their email? This may seem almost impossible at times, but it doesn’t have to be that hard. I am going to share five tips with you on how to get the people who view your blog to sign up for more.
Write Quality Blog Content
One of the best ways to entice your readers to join your email list is to give them quality content. If they find themselves coming back to your blog for more of your content, they are much more likely to hit the subscribe button and sign up for your email list. Even better is if you can write content that is so beneficial that they can’t stop reading.
One of the best ways to make sure that you are delivering quality content is to do your research. Your readers want to see that you know what you are talking about. If you can reference well-known writers on your topic, this will really grab your readers’ attention. They respect the person you quote, and, as a result, they will respect you. This trust alone could lead to a higher subscriber count.
Another way to make sure that you have quality content is to have a good format and structure. Break up a long post with subheadings. If you have a number of points, make a list post. Having the post broken up makes it appear less intimidating, and busy readers won’t feel like they have to slog through endless text. When there are several subheadings breaking it up, this makes it easier to follow and digest, and your readers won’t have to concentrate on not losing their place.
Avoid Blog Content Clutter
You want your blog to be simple to use. Make your posts easy to read and scroll through and make them straight-forward. If you have too much clutter, you will lose readers.
Don’t fill your sidebars with ads and offers. Yes, ads can make you money, but they will greatly distract from the content you really want people to read.
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But what if you have products you endorse and want your readers to buy? Go for it. Affiliate marketing is a wonderful thing, and many people make a lot of money doing it. But there is a right way to do it.
Instead of having your sidebar cluttered with ads, include one or two affiliate ads in an article. Sure, your readers will only see it if they read that specific post, but that is far better than shoving an ad about dog harnesses in their face when they are only interested in pet-safe toothpaste.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Make the sign-up fun and inviting, not demanding. No one will want to join your list if they think you are pushing them to. But they will want to join if you have something to offer that isn’t worth missing.” quote=”Make the sign-up fun and inviting, not demanding. No one will want to join your list if they think you are pushing them to. But they will want to join if you have something to offer that isn’t worth missing.”]
The other benefit to having your affiliate links in a relevant post is that your readers get it in context. They get to read about how it works and how much you enjoy the product. That is much more convincing than seeing a random ad in the sidebar of your site.
Instead of the distracting ads, have a box in the sidebar that asks readers to sign up for your email list. You will then have the opportunity to send emails with affiliate links that they can take advantage of. That way, you can make limited-time offers instead of having something always there on the side that motivates no one.
Care For Your Email List Health
It will not hurt your subscriber rate to have a button at the end of your emails to remind people that they can unsubscribe at any time. This is an important reminder, since some of your readers may already be subscribed to a bunch of different email lists. If they are reminded that they can unsubscribe at any time, it will feel like less of a burden to add one more email to their already cluttered inbox.
I don’t know how often it actually happens, but I have heard of unsubscription requests being ignored by blogs and businesses. This is another good reason to give reminders. If your readers had a bad experience in the past, they need reassurance that you will honor their request, even if you don’t want to see them go. As an added touch, you can even add a personal note saying that you would be sorry to see them go. That could possibly deter some people who would otherwise unsubscribe.
Just make sure that you actually honor the request. It is against the law not to and will only hurt your business if a frustrated subscriber continues to get unwanted emails after they’ve asked to be removed from your list.
Take Care Of Website Branding
It may seem like you can just make your blog any color you want, but the colors you use make more of a difference than you realize at first. I’m sure you have come across something covered in colors that just clash. It is “busy” or “loud” with conflicting colors. This type of color combination on your website wouldn’t make for an enjoyable experience.
You want your visitors to find your website pleasing, not grating on their nerves. Have you ever heard about the color red winding a person up and the color blue calming them? Colors can have a profound impact on the way we feel. There are reasons that most houses don’t have bright red walls, a deep blue ceiling, and bright green carpets. It just wouldn’t feel good being in that environment. Of course, there are probably some people who would feel right at home in such an environment, but most people wouldn’t.
A good way to see if your website colors are compatible is to run it by a graphic designer. Some of this will depend on your brand, so if you find a graphic designer who isn’t familiar with your brand, you still might be a little off. One of the best things to do is keep tweaking the color to see what works best and attracts the most traffic. It could take some trial and error for a while until you get it just right, but keep going until you find the perfect color combination.
Create An Email Subscription Pop-up
You have probably visited a site where a box popped up, asking you to sign up for an email list. These pop-ups come in all shapes and sizes. There are some that practically fill the middle of the screen, and you have to hit the “X” or “no thanks” button in order to continue reading. While this in-the-face approach ensures that your visitor doesn’t miss your email opt-in, it can get annoying because it disrupts the reader while they are in the middle of reading.
I personally would prefer that websites don’t shove a sign-up in my face. If you choose this route, I highly recommend that you offer something of value to the reader in exchange for an email address.
Another less obtrusive option is to have an opt-in form in the right lower corner of the page. This isn’t as annoying since it only covers a small part of the page instead of blocking the middle of the text. But it still pops up and catches the reader’s attention, so you don’t have to worry about not being seen.
However you set it up, it is important to say something more motivating than just “sign up for my emails.” Readers need to know why they should sign up for your emails. What are they going to get that will be of benefit to them? For example, if you post about writing, your pop-up could say, “Hungry for more writing tips? Join my email list and receive an exclusive tip every week.”
There are a lot of creative ways you can go about asking people to sign up for your list. Just make it fun and inviting, not demanding. No one will want to join your list if they think you are pushing them to. But they will want to join if you have something to offer that isn’t worth missing.
Now that you have read through my tips to get your blog visitors to sign up for your email list, put a few to good use. First, write quality content. None of the other tips will matter if you don’t first write a good post. Avoid clutter on your website. You want your readers paying attention to your writing, not getting sidetracked by the flashing ad in your sidebar. Be sure to remind your potential subscribers that they are free to unsubscribe from your list at any time, even if you would be sorry to see them go. Use good color combinations that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and compatible with your brand. Don’t forget to set up some sort of pop-up, preferably one that isn’t quite so in-your-face.
Once you have your subscribers, don’t forget to come back and share your success in the comments. I want to hear what tip helped you the most.
Ready to explode your list growth and build a following of super fans? Download my free guide "Listbuilding Turbo" to accelerate your list growth today. Click here to get the guide.