Think about a boat. It’s designed to float, right? But it doesn’t do much of anything without water.
Your email newsletter is the same thing.
It might be valuable, it might be entertaining and it might be worth reading, but it won’t have much of an impact without subscribers. Subscribers are the water that keeps your boat afloat.
The question, then, is how you get more of them.
An extensive, quality list of email subscribers is one of the most valuable things a business can have. If you’re attracting the right kinds of subscribers and keeping them engaged, your company will grow faster than you can say “sign-up!”
So, how do you get more ecommerce newsletter subscribers? Here’s what you need to know:
How to Get More Newsletter Subscribers
You’ve got an ecommerce newsletter already, but now you want to grow it. Luckily, that’s far from impossible. Here’s your step-by-step guide to getting more ecommerce newsletter subscribers:
1. Push it on LinkedIn
Sure, you could change your CTA button text or A/B test a headline, but you may be better off using LinkedIn to boost your newsletter subscriptions. SEMrush advocates creating something called a “viral loop.” Here’s how it works:
- Create something that’s incredibly valuable for your target audience and give it away for free on LinkedIn.
- Write a LinkedIn article that introduces your new freebie.
- Create a custom header image (or use a high-quality, relevant stock photo).
- Outline your CTA at the bottom of the post and include an opt-in form.
- Share this article across your other social profiles.
- Email the content to your current email subscribers to expand your audience.
A simple yet incredibly useful hack, this is a great way to grow your email subscribers quickly and efficiently.
2. Use Inline Field Labels
Inline field labels are those bits of text in subscription boxes. They may say “enter your email here” or “Address.” Here’s an example from Tim Ferriss’s opt-in forms:
While inline field labels are a simple addition, they help users understand what they should be entering in the field. As soon as they start typing, the default text is removed, so it doesn’t interfere with the user’s process.
3. Use a Service to Create Lightbox Popups
Lightbox popups can be a useful way to earn email subscribers, especially when compared to other methods, like sidebar forms. In some cases, users have been able to drive more than 1,300% more subscribers through lightbox popups. Luckily, lightbox popups are easy to create via web form generation services. Try them to promote your ecommerce newsletter this year!
4. Enable Push Notifications
One of the keys of growing your email subscriber list is to reach clients, even when they’re not on your site. Push notifications are a great way to do this. By working on both desktop and mobile browsers, push notifications can boost your user engagement rate and promote opt-in for your various subscriber platforms.
Luckily, push notifications are also easy to use. Simply place a smart code in your website’s header tag and activate the opt-in, which allows users to add themselves to your subscriber list automatically.
5. Use Trigger Words to Drive Action
Sometimes, increasing your subscriber sign-ups is as simple as shifting the words you use in your CTAs.
By including trigger words in your copy, you can drive readers to action and encourage those who might be on-the-fence to become subscribers.
Here are a few great action words to start including now:
- You. This establishes a connection with your audience and is direct and conversational.
- Yes. This is a positive statement that creates an affirmative sentiment with your audience.
- New. People get excited about new things, and this is a great way to promote opt-in.
- Stop. This catches the user’s attention and encourages them to spend some time with your offer.
- Instantly. Create a sense of urgency with the word “instant.”
6. Offer Incentives for Every Sign-Up
What better to get customers to sign up than a 20% off coupon or a free ebook? Incentives are the name of the game when it comes to boosting your subscriber rates. No matter who you are or what your company does, you can find a giveaway that appeals to your users, costs you next-to-nothing to share and promotes engagement with your customer base.
For best results, be sure to showcase your offer prominently alongside your subscriber sign-up. Your offer should be prominent enough that customers have no questions about it and understand exactly what they’re going to get when they subscribe.
7. Ask People to Share Your Signup Form
What better way to spread the news about your signup form than to ask people to share it? As you create your ecommerce newsletters, be sure to include a signup form and a CTA that asks readers to share the newsletter with interested friends.
You can also take this one step further by adding social share buttons to the bottom of each email.
Start Getting More Subscribers!
As your subscriber base grows, your ecommerce newsletter can as well. By taking proactive steps to grow your subscriber numbers, you can draw people to your newsletter, encourage more conversions and promote brand awareness within your target audience.
While most people assume that driving these results will be difficult, the fact is that it’s a pretty straightforward process. By marrying a selection of ecommerce technology tools (like those used for lightbox popups and push notifications) and simple content marketing tactics, like sharing your sign-up forms on LinkedIn and your other social platforms and inputting social share buttons at the bottom of your ecommerce emails, you can grow your email newsletter and your business!
Need even more info? We’ve got you covered with this awesome infographic from our friends at Constant Contact!
