What’s more important, A) visitors or B) loyal visitors? Answer: B. The best way to create loyal visitors is through providing multiple ways for them to be informed of exclusive, website-related information and when new content is posted. Such ways include an RSS feed, Facebook and Twitter, but what will be discussed in this post has to do specifically with collecting emails via an opt-in form. Even more specifically, how to turn the most visitors to your website into subscribers (and hopefully into customers if a product is being sold).
1) Picking your email marketing service. First you need to decide which email marketing service to use — personally I prefer iContact and GetResponse… there are many options out there, though, and the majority offer a free trial so “shop around” if you’d like. With one of these services, allow anyone to join your email list with ease by supplying you with their email and name (or just email, depending on how much information you’d like). The service keeps all the individual’s information together and when you want to send an email out (or have one automatically sent over intervals of time i.e. a 7 week after subscribing), the process is super simplified. No longer are the days of having 100 emails and having to literally send 100 separate emails.
2) Have more than one way for people to subscribe. Now there are many ways to get people to opt-in to your list but there is a balance you have to realize. You don’t want to create your entire website based on getting people to opt-in or else no one will — before anything else you need great content (and the rest will follow). What I mean is, don’t overload your page with opt-in forms up top, on the side bars, at the bottom, it’ll be overwhelming and visitors will exit right away. Ideally you want between one and two ways for people to subscribe. I would certainly have a form on the sidebar of your pages, that’s nearly a must. It doesn’t get in people’s ways and is visually appealing. You must also want to consider a bar on the top of your screen such as HelloBar or ViperBar. Google either (both are free and I promise you’ll love them both). Another option is PopUp Domination. It’s cheap and a great way to increase conversions (only for WordPress users, however).
3) Offer incentives. People will join your list just because they like what your site looks like or the topic(s) you write on… but not a huge amount of people. Want to know the trick? Incentive. Offer a free e-Book, some freebie that no one else receives, or something along those lines. That way you’ll get the crowd that just wants to join, but also the crowd that wants to read your e-Book or get access to your freebie. Spend a couple hours writing a 5 page report, provide excellent information on your niche and people will love you for it.
4) Tell people to subscribe to your mailing list. Just come right out and say it. Mention it at the end of your post, for example, “If you liked reading this post, you’ll love what I send out in my monthly newsletter. Subscribe at the top of the page.” It sounds like a basic concept and it is — but don’t look past it, it works!
5) Provide value to your readers every time you write. Time is a valuable thing and if you waste it for other people they have no reason to ever come back to your site, let alone subscribe to your email list. Answer questions people are constantly wanting to know the answer to. Provide your opinion on matters that you actually know about — don’t simply write to write, and don’t take other people’s words and use them for your own. In the long run it won’t help you.
6) Take advantage of the many opt-in templates email marketing solutions give you. No matter which one you pick, they will come with many, many (even in the hundreds) templates for opt-in forms that you can customize until you’re pleased. You can change colors, text, and even enlarge and shrink some of them. “Work it” until it fits your site’s style, color scheme, and shows readers that it’s important to check out but not so visually unattractive (meaning, way too stand out-ish) that people can’t bare to look at it.
7) Get people involved — create conversion. Most sites on the web offer content and that’s it. You read it, you leave (yawn!). Have a comments section so people can provide their thoughts on what you have to say, and others can comment on those comments. Create a massive conversion that’s interesting and people continue coming back to. Have an affiliate program in place if you’re selling something. Provide people reason to help sell your digital product(s) by offering a high commission. There are just some thoughts to get people involved, have more? Post them below!
8 ) Write new content regularly and let readers know you’re here to stay. If someone signs up for a newsletter they genuinely want to hear from you (hopefully not too frequently). They care when you write new content or publish new information because they trust your opinion or consider you a guru in a specific niche. At least write once a week or twice if you can, and be active. Respond to people’s comments and emails. If you write a new post only every month people are going to be less inclined to attempt and keep up with your site unless when you do post it’s really THAT good. An example of this would be ViperChill (he writes infrequently, but when he does, it’s great — and look at his following!).
Discussion