To really get results from your online business, you have to do more than just create a website. It’s important to have a solid business model and it’s more important to learn how to generate traffic to your blog; not just any traffic but traffic that can readily convert into sales.
The most viable, cost effective and user friendly method of ensuring loyal and returning website traffic is by developing a sizable email subscription list. Any leading online business owner would tell you that his biggest asset is not the traffic that he gets; rather, it’s the number of subscribers on his email list. You can use these emails to establish countless new business, sell as many products as you want and most importantly, build a community around your website.
Therefore as an online business owner, it is absolutely critical for you to make sure that your website gives your visitors as many chances of subscribing to your email list as possible. Here are ten ways to ensure that your email list swells up pretty quickly.
1. Email form Placement – Critical!
You need to make sure that your opt-in form is as visible and tempting as possible. Many websites make the mistake of leaving their subscription form in the footer or in a dull sidebar. That’s just not good enough. Make sure your form is in the top half of your website, preferably near the header, and is as visible as possible with a clear heading. Try different combinations to find the best place that works for you.
2. Keep it as Simple as Possible
Let’s face it; nobody likes to fill detailed forms again and again. Keep your form requirements as simple as possible. Focus on getting the email first. At most, ask for the subscribers’ name and email address. Once they’re onboard you can approach them for detailed profile information later, only if required.
3. Subscription via Comments
This is a great way of getting more subscribers. Just leave a small checkbox at the end of the comments section that users can select to receive future updates of your website. I would recommend leaving this checkbox selected by default. You can add this functionality through a number of free plugins available for WordPress.
4. Offer eBook for Subscription
Offering eBooks is probably the most successful, and widely used, method to get subscribers. People are attracted to free information, if they believe it can help them achieve more success. You can offer free eBooks to your visitors in return for their emails. And it doesn’t have to be a detailed document either. A 10-12 page eBook that offers something unique or valuable can be used to get more subscribers easily.
5. Be Visible, Be Everywhere!
Yes that’s the most important part. Don’t just sit there and wait for the visitors to find your opt in form. That won’t work. Instead, be everywhere. Use your subscription form at the end of every post and at all important locations of your websites. Use your subscription link in the signatures of your emails and forum posts. Be as visible as possible.
6. Use Subscription Popups
This is one strategy that had the biggest impact on my email list subscriptions. I saw an increase of more than 200% in my email subscribers using this pop up form strategy. Make sure you design an attractive but simple pop up form that shows up every time a user visits your website. But you need to use this wisely, as users sometimes find these pop ups extremely annoying and may go away. Therefore, I recommend using them on selected pages or only during the initial days of your website.
7. Use the Power of Social Media
Converting your social media fans and likes to your email subscribers is one of the best ways of gaining control of your social media following. As soon as your likes and fans become your email subscribers, you have much more control on how to make use of them. You can do that by using email opt in forms on your Facebook page and by configuring an automatic direct message to your Twitter followers offering something valuable, like an eBook, to become a subscriber.
8. Encourage Sharing through Incentives
One great way of getting more email subscribers is by offering a freebie to your visitors if they invite 5, or any number, of their friends to subscribe to your email list. This is a killer strategy if used wisely. Not only will you get more visitors as a result of these invitations, you can also use a plugin at the backend to ensure that every email address your that visitors invite is stored in a database. This way, even if those email addresses do not subscribe to your email list, you will still have their email addresses that you can use for future promotions.
9. Generate Word of Mouth through Wow Emails
Once your subscribers are with you, it is imperative that you deliver Wow content, in your first few emails at least, to get them excited. This can be a game changer for you. If you provide real value through your emails, you can soon find yourself with hundreds or even thousands of referral email subscribers and website visitors. Use your existing subscribers as your most effective marketing tool and reach wider audiences through their consistent word of mouth.
10. Create Special Landing Pages for Guest Posts
Guest posts are a great way to attract more traffic to your website. But you can increase their effectiveness by developing special landing pages with email subscription forms for the traffic that is generated through these guest posts. An intelligently designed landing page will not only give you more subscribers but will also ensure that none of the traffic generated through your guest post goes to waste.
