1. Present the value of your newsletter in a clear and precise way
Your potential subscribers must quickly grasp the interest they have in subscribing to your emailing list. Highlight the value that your newsletter will bring to your recipients. You set up a newsletter for your blog? Tell them that they will receive tips and tricks in the field you cover. You have an e-commerce site? Tell them that the newsletter allows them to be informed about new products, promotional offers, etc.
A good way to present the interest of your newsletter is to detail its content on a dedicated page. You can even display the last email sent.
In any case, present your newsletter in a clear and precise way without trying to do too much. A text that is too long often says more than is necessary and loses effectiveness.
2. Reassure your future subscribers
Asking for the email address of your visitors is not a trivial request. Put them in confidence by specifying the use that will be made of their email address.
If you have a privacy policy, add a link to it. If not, specify that the email address will not be shared with third parties. In other words, make a commitment that they will not receive spam through you.
Reassure your subscribers by indicating that they can easily unsubscribe, whenever they want, with immediate effect. As a reminder, it is mandatory to insert an unsubscribe link in your newsletter. It is even recommended to put the unsubscribe link in front to avoid being classified as spam.
Finally, inform your visitors about the frequency of sending emails. This is a question that any potential subscriber may ask and to which you can easily provide an answer (e.g.: "receive our weekly newsletter..."). You will thus remove a potential obstacle to registration, especially for those who are not afraid of overloading their email box.
3. Motivate your visitors with a reward
Setting up a reward or a bonus for subscribing is one of the most powerful levers to improve the conversion rate of your registration form. Base your reward on exclusivity and promotion (or even free) mechanisms.
If you have an e-commerce site, offer your subscribers a promotion in the form of a code to be sent by email. Many brands also play on the exclusive character of private sales to collect email addresses.
You can also offer access to exclusive, high-quality content. This can be educational or entertaining content, depending on your domain and your target. Some examples of content formats: an online training (called webinar), a video tutorial, a guide or white paper (in pdf), an entertainment video, a free chapter of a book you authored, etc. The possibility to access exclusive and original content will motivate your visitors to subscribe to your newsletter.
To be more effective, use a call to action with strong words like: exclusive, unique, free, download, etc.
4. Make it easy to subscribe with a quick and easy process
Increase subscription rates by reducing the barriers your visitors may face. The less effort you require from them, the better the conversion rate of your mailing list will be.
The first step is to keep the form short with as few fields as possible. If you only need the email address, stop there. If you need to qualify your base, think carefully about the essential information that will allow you to segment your list intelligently. Don't try to over qualify your database by adding multiple fields. There may be other opportunities to fill in your subscriber data.
If you use a double opt-in subscription form (which you should, if you don't want to have too many invalid addresses), be sure to remind your new subscribers to validate their subscription by clicking on the link in the confirmation email.
Also make sure to send a clear and direct confirmation email. Use your site name as the sender's name and specify in the subject line that it is the confirmation email. In the body of the message, get to the point by inviting your subscriber to click on the link.
In addition to these tactics, you can strengthen your subscriber list growth strategy by applying the recommendations on the best ways to place your newsletter sign-up form.
Growing your list of recipients also involves limiting the unsubscribe rate. Convincing your visitors and customers to subscribe is one thing, keeping them loyal is another. It is by offering a newsletter that lives up to the promise you made when you signed up that you will build the long-term growth of your mailing list.
