A quality, qualified, opt-in only list of people who want to read your emails and look forward to your newsletters is the single most important thing you can do for your digital marketing ROI and your bottom line. The only trick is, getting people to opt in.
To get people to subscribe, you’ll need to give them a compelling reason to do just that. Here are a few you may not have thought of:
1. Social Proof: a Numbers Game
Here’s a secret: no one will ever want to be the first to sign up for your list. They probably won’t want to be 10th either. But if you’ve got hundreds of people subscribed, they’ll want to know what’s great about your newsletter. If you have a big list already, use that social proof to boost your numbers! Share the number such as, “Join over 5,000 others…”
2. Keep Them Guessing
The best newsletters, emails, and headlines tell just enough to get you interested but leave some mystery. To get more subscriptions, you need to learn the art of keeping your target audience guessing, just enough.
3. Use the Power of Exclusivity
There’s a reason people will spend months on the waiting list for a Gucci purse, and then spend enough to buy a small car to get one: exclusivity. The more exclusive the club, the more people want to be in it, so make your list an invitation-only affair, or put a time or number limit on it.
4. Promise Something Great… and Deliver
Successful newsletters have people waiting for them. If they can’t wait for your newsletter to arrive because it’s so full of deals, information, and other valuable stuff, you’ll have a captive audience. Because it’s not just about getting the subscriptions: it’s about keeping them too!
There is so much information and so many options that people are fatigued. They’re inundated with choices, and drowning in variety, so if you want to make email marketing work for you, you really have to stand out.
Make it easy to sign up. Give people compelling reasons to try your newsletter, and then consistently over deliver your content. In a world full of bored and jaded people, it’s the companies that delight and surprise that really stand out.
Author: Mike Gingerich, President of web firm Digital Hill, Co-Founder of TabSite .
Digital and Social Media Marketer, Speaker, and Business Consultant. Part geek, part marketer, total digital junkie! Seeking to add value, make the complex simple, and leave a positive impact.
Follow me on twitter: @mike_gingerich.
