“Subscribe to my newsletter – someone, anyone!”
There’s nothing worse than slaving away writing awesome stuff when the numbers who subscribe to your newsletter are massively low.
Sure, you might be tweeting and posting wherever you can for people to subscribe, but unless you’re already a big name in your industry.
Or you’ve got a big following online because you’re known for providing kick-ass content. Chances are, your subscriber numbers won’t go up much.
So, if this sounds familiar, here are a few ideas for how to get people to subscribe to your newsletter.
Ideas for getting people to subscribe to your newsletter
Before you can get people reading, you need them to sign up. Posting a link on social media might win a few, but it’s not going to bring in large numbers for most people.
So, to gain more subscribers, try these on for size:
1. Add a form on your website and include a benefit
Don’t put loads of preamble before your form. Just give them a key benefit that explains what they get. This is [an image] of mine:
For my readers, it’s so they can get copywriting and marketing tips direct to their inbox.
For you?
Think of all the different benefits. It might be something physical. For example, if you’re a nutritionist, tell them you have tips guaranteed to lower their cholesterol.
2. Include a sign-up form at the bottom of articles
Okay, I don’t, but that’s because I have one in the sidebar to the right at the top.
The end of your blog posts is a great place to put them because your visitors will have just read some kick-ass article full of helpful advice.
The result?
They’ll be in a good mood – making them more likely to sign up.
3. Add a pop up on your website
A pop-up is a great way to capture subscribers. But make sure it’s just one and that it either:
- Pops up after a certain length of time (say 15-seconds)
- Pops up when they reach a certain section of your page
Resist the urge to have fifteen popping up left, right and centre. And don’t include them on every page. People don’t like pop-ups at the best of times, but they do work.
Have loads and people will click off your website in a rage.
4. Give something away
People love free stuff, so give something away your audience will find useful.
It might be:
- a how-to guide or listicle in PDF form
- an ebook
- a free 2-day course
- discounts and vouchers
You’ll always get people who come just for the free stuff and leave (Any marketer telling you they can guarantee they won’t is a bullshitter).
What freebies will do is tempt those sitting on the fence to sign up, so if sign-ups are slow, give first-time subscribers an incentive to do so.
5. Give your newsletter a name
Calling it ‘Newsletter’ is boring and won’t inspire people to sign up, let alone read your newsletter.
There are loads out there in your niche or industry, so make it stand out by giving it an exciting or catchy name.
Mine’s called ‘Think About It‘:
Brainstorm loads of names and pick something related to your business or business name.
Make it as memorable as you can.
6. Add a sign-up option in your email signature
And if you have staff, make sure it’s added to theirs too.
Don’t just add a line of text saying: “Sign up for our newsletter.”
Like you do on your website, include a benefit. Or use an eye-catching image that links to a sign-up landing page. You’ll drive traffic to your website and add subscribers – not just from your current clients but from new ones and your suppliers too.
Unfortunately, my email provider no longer supports images in my email signature, but here was mine when it did:
7. Create a video giving away a few free tips
People can’t resist clicking on a video, and it’s a great place to give away some killer advice. Pick one or two nuggets of brilliance and share them in a video.
You can do this on:
- YouTube
- Your blog
Or wherever else you can think of that lets you post some lovely video of your awesome face and voice.
Then ask people to sign up for your newsletter to receive more groundbreaking tips. I’ve seen a few business owners and fellow copywriters do this and their uptake of subscribers has been out of this world.
8. Add links in your social media profiles
Lump a link in your Twitter profile:
Include it in your LinkedIn profile. Or use Linktree to add it to your Instagram bio.
These are places lots of people don’t think about, so give yourself an even better chance of capturing sign-ups by adding them to your profiles.
9. Create a QR code for digital sign-ups
QR codes are crazy popular since the pandemic, and it makes it dead easy for people to subscribe to your newsletter via a mobile device.
Your newsletter provider should have a link in their FAQs explaining how to do this. But if you can’t be arsed, lob the address for your subscription page into a QR code creation website, like QRCodeMonkey.
Not only can you use them online, but you can add them to print marketing too, like your leaflets, brochures, business cards and ads.
10. Add social proof
Once your numbers shoot up, make sure you add the number of followers to your sign-up form.
You won’t win many if you have it on while you have 46 subscribers. But once you start bumping up into the hundreds and thousands, make sure you include it. People will want to read something attracting 300-1000 readers.
46, not so much.
11. Share the hell out of it on social media
The most obvious one of all – share it on social media.
You’re probably doing that already, but if not, make sure you do.
It’s the easiest way to get more subscribers. So, post on the platform where they hang out and you’ll get high-quality subscribers who’ll stick around.
Share it on a platform where your audience doesn’t hang out? Well, you might get a few friends and randoms subscribing, but they’re not going to engage with what you’re saying.
12. Ask your subscribers to share it
Okay, you don’t want 500 people reading it via a forwarded email every week/month, etc., who never sign up. But what asking your followers to share will do is capture sign-ups you wouldn’t otherwise have captured.
Every person on your signup list has the potential of upping your numbers because they’ll know someone who would love to read your stuff.
Don’t feel bad about asking. A friend of one of your subscribers might just turn out to be your next big client.
And there we have it, twelve ways to get more people to subscribe to your newsletter.
But how do you keep them engaged once they sign up?
Well, the answer to that is coming soon.
Until next time,
Matt
First published on indeliblethink.co.uk