Gain More Subscribers for Your Business’ Email Newsletter
Newsletters are a great marketing tool for keeping your customers updated on the latest news without hoping they check your site every day. Unlike other marketing tools, you already know the reader is at least somewhat interested: either they opted into your distribution list from your website, or they purchased from or otherwise engaged with your brand to give you their email. You want to continue growing that audience by making visitors want to sign up for your newsletter.
To make sure your newsletter reaches your target audience, follow these tips to engage your subscribers at the outset.
Be strategic about sign-up placement
There are a few standard places you could add a link for visitors to subscribe to your newsletter: the header, sidebar, footer and menu are all good options. Depending on your layout and calls to action, any of these may make more sense than another. Look at your website’s design and the user journey to determine where they might be when they decide to subscribe.
Another popular tactic is using a pop-up to encourage visitors to enter their email and subscribe. This is a polarizing strategy, but while some hate pop-ups it does garner subscribers. Consider your brand and your audience when deciding whether a pop-up fits your site.
Take design into consideration
Just as you’ve spent time ensuring your website and marketing materials fit your brand, your sign-up form should too. Use your logo and colors to make the form feel like it is part of your brand, even if users are going to the third-party site managing your newsletter. Use contrasting colors to draw the reader’s eye to a box calling out your newsletter, and ultimately the subscribe button.
Demonstrate value with your call-to-action
Calls-to-action are an important part of marketing strategy; however, customers are constantly being asked to subscribe to websites they visit. What makes your newsletter different? What will your readers gain by staying informed? Use language that demonstrates your value: “Never miss a new arrival,” or “Stay updated on the latest industry news.”
Don’t give subscribers the third degree
Hooray! Your site visitor has decided she wants to subscribe to your newsletter. Don’t make her regret the decision by sending her to a lengthy sign-up form. You need to strike a balance between collecting useful data and giving a quiz. Some information may be helpful to collect if you want to reach different audiences, e.g. a checkbox noting if the subscriber is a teacher or a parent.
Information that’s helpful to collect on a sign-up form includes:
- Email address, the only required field
- First (and maybe last) name
- Interests via a dropdown menu or checkbox directly relevant to your business
- ZIP code
Get permission
Giving subscribers the opportunity to opt-in to certain types of email builds trust with your customers and ensures you’re sending your message to the right person. Plus with the recent enforcement of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you’ll legally want to gain consent from users to send them messages.
There are two layers of opt-in you can use in your sign-up form:
- Single opt-in: Ask subscribers to check a box stating they agree to receive your emails.
- Double opt-in: After completing the sign-up form, subscribers receive an email asking them to confirm their email and acknowledging their willingness to receive emails.
At IDMI.Net we understand the importance of maintaining regular, productive communications with your target audience. We can help you launch an email marketing campaign and add a newsletter sign-up option on your website to get more people engaged with your content. Learn more about our email marketing services by contacting us today.