What’s the key to getting more subscribers to your email list? We talked with clients to discover what they do to grow their lists, and we compiled their 25 most applicable ideas.
Be consistent. You spend so much energy creating a newsletter your subscribers will look forward to, don’t risk diminishing their enthusiasm with an unreliable schedule.
Be yourself. Authentic newsletters are easier on the reader. They’re typically more interesting (because they’re unique to you), plus, you don’t risk a tone that swings from formal to informal.
Be honest. What are you sending out (product info, special deals, a genuine newsletter)? How often do you send it? How easy is it to unsubscribe? Do you sell reader’s names and email addresses? All of this should be addressed on the subscription page.
Be original. Write your own content. Collect your own resources. (Or hire someone to do it.)
Be relevant. Make sure you’re writing about topics that apply to your reader’s unique situations and experiences.
Be engaging. Invite your readers to participate by offering surveys and quizzes.
Be well dressed. Whether your newsletter is text or HTML, readers should just know you care about presentation. When’s the last time you stayed subscribed to a newsletter that was riddled with errors and formatting problems?
Be diverse. Offer both short and long articles to give both scanners and in-depth readers what they’re looking for.
Set goals. This is even better if you give away prizes as you reach these goals. Perhaps you could give away a great e-book every 100 subscribers. Even if you’re not offering a prize, though, make your readers aware of your goals and ask for their help.
Entice them. More and more companies are finding that offering a newsletter isn’t enough to get people to part with their email addresses. By offering a free report or something else of value, potential readers may be more likely to sign up.
Offer a sneak peak. Take a look at those magazine offers you get in the mail and write something similar for your newsletter.
Post sample issues online. This way readers can see for themselves if they’re interested in your newsletter.
Make your website useful. Visitors will assume that if your website is helpful, your newsletter will be, too.
Make a one-time popup that invites subscriptions. You can get a one-time popup code at: www.web-source.net/popups.htm.
Make subscribing easy. Your subscribe link should be visible on every page of your site. Also, make the process as easy as possible (don’t make them fill out long forms, etc.). And, above all else, try the process yourself to make sure it works!
Archive issues on your website. This lets readers catch up and see what they’ve been missing. It also may improve your search engine rankings.
Set up a promotion station. Make a page at your website with ways other people can promote your newsletter-graphics, articles, testimonials, etc. (And let people know they can freely copy what they want to use.)
Promote it at ezine and company newsletter compilation websites.
Advertise it in your signature file on all email with a description and subscribe instructions.
Find other related ezines that you enjoy and ask about exchanging reviews of one another’s ezines.
Ask other ezine publishers to recommend your newsletter on their “Thanks for subscribing” page (with a note like, “Here’s another ezine you may be interested in” and do the same for them.
Ask readers to forward the newsletter to a specific person. For example, write, “Please forward this newsletter to someone you know who needs a new printer.”
Gather testimonials. It’s not enough for you to say your newsletter is great. Get other people to say it for you. (Make sure you have permission to print the testimonial!)
Always offer subscribing instructions. (Of course, you always include unsubscribing instructions, right?)
Send a copy to us. Each month, we review a company newsletter in our newsletter to offer our readers a glimpse into what other company newsletter publishers are doing.
A bonus tip: promote regularly. Any promotion, whether it’s of your company or your ezine list, is more successful when it’s done on a regular basis.
So, take some time to grow your list and before you know it, your list will be twice (or more) it’s current size.
Want more tips on making your newsletter personable?
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