A reader made a comment to me this week that went something like this:
“I’m getting new traffic, and thanks to some of your Linky features (Tools | Followers) people are spending more time on my site and connecting with me but I’m not getting any new subscribers. My next educational goal is to figure how to convert traffic to subscribers.”
I’m glad they sent that comment. It gives me a chance not only to respond to them but to share my experience with all of you. I’m having a fair amount of success getting new subscribers so I can speak with experience – not just in concept.
To be honest, I find getting subscribers from new traffic to be rather straightforward and easy. Not easy in the sense that it’s cheap, gimmicky, or effortless but easy with regard to the method of understanding it. It involves two things; and, as you read the rest of this, reference my signup area over there in the top of the right sidebar. I practice what I preach.
The Incentive to Subscribe
Everyone is trying to get everyone to sign up for everything. So readers are getting a little burned out on adding their name to a list. Aren’t you? So put yourself in their shoes. Looking at your blog, would you sign up? Have you given enough reason, offered enough value, or enticed them with anything they actually want? Ask yourself honestly: would YOU sign up for YOUR blog (assume you are a new visitor and have little to no knowledge of your blog)?
So the first “easy” step is to offer an incentive (some bait) as an enticement – a lure to get people to decide “trading my email address for [your offer] is worth it.” I give away a very nicely done eBook that is packed with truly useful information as well as 200+ tips on how to improve and grow your blog. It’s real content based on my experience, not dollar-store junk. A LOT of time went into producing this truly valuable and beneficial content.
It’s that simple. There are many ways to make sure your incentive doesn’t work:
- Make the incentive this: “sign up to get an email when I post new content.”
- Offer a boring, been-there-seen-that-eBook-report just like a thousand other mediocre copycat blogs.
- Make it less than easy to figure out what your incentive is and how to get it.
- Make them give you a lot of information and jump through hoops to get your incentive.
- Have a generally boring, ugly, or tired blog which yells loudly that everything else you offer will be more of the same.
- Use a lot of language about “sign up,” “subscribe,” and “emails” to scare them off before you even get a chance to get their address on your list.
On the other hand, if you want your incentive to work magic:
- Make the incentive truly valuable.
- Make the incentive quick and easy to get.
- Surround the incentive with a high-quality blog and content.
- Make the incentive unique and excellent in quality.
Ideally, you want people thinking “I WANT the stuff that comes from this blog… sign me up!” At a minimum, you want people to take the initial step of “yes, I’ll sign up to get this cool free thing they are offering, but I’ll probably just unsubscribe after I get it…” Don’t fool yourself, that is very often the mindset of new subscribers. However, if you get them to sign up, you at least have a running chance to engage them. Which brings me to the next step….
Keep Them On Your List
Now you’ve got to keep them on your list… easy to understand but much harder to accomplish. The first thing you’ll do after they sign up is either send them an email or direct them to a page that will WELCOME them and give them a way to retrieve their gift or incentive. Don’t stop there.
Surprise them with a “bonus” of some sort, but not some leftover they won’t care about. Make an impression… give them another gift of real value. I give new subscribers a bonus eBook about online business. Then, give them some additional valuable information in the form of links to popular posts, valuable resources, and “great whatever” you have on your blog. Make a splash, leave them thinking “WOW, I’m glad I signed up!”
Next, keeping in mind our goal is to KEEP them on our email list, send the first “content” email right after they sign up. Why? To give yourself a chance with the folks who have it in their head to “get my free stuff and then unsubscribe.” Here’s your real test though. Very few people will give you a second chance… it’s a true “first impression.”
Make sure your first “content” email (this is the normal type of email they can expect from you) is demonstrably valuable to them; it should not be a sales pitch; and it should not scream “junk mail” or people will burn up your unsubscribe link (and even though they signed up voluntarily, often will hit the “spam report” button too).
That first content email sets the tone and your new subscriber will decide “Man, I really want the stuff this blog is putting out…” or “(yawn)… not worth staying on this list.” Your first (and 2nd and 3rd and 4th and every) content email to them must be of VALUE to them. How do you know if your email marketing is a “value”? The recipient must have only one answer to this question: AM I GLAD I GOT THIS EMAIL AND AM I LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONE?
You have to be serious and rough on yourself when you answer that question. Would YOU want YOUR emails? Be honest. It will be the difference between keeping subscribers or having them bail out. Subscribers do not mind an occasional “pitch” or “offer” via email as long as the vast majority of your emails SERVE THEM, are of value to them, and benefit them. Not you. Them.
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I’m currently getting about 50-100 new subscribers a day with an opt-out rate of less than 1% and the growing momentum is obvious. My daily subscriber number is steadily growing. That doesn’t put me up there with the 1-2% of elite bloggers but after years of being online and getting a handful of subscribers a week at best for most of that time, I know full well my current growth is something that most bloggers would jump for joy over. Am I right?
You can check out my sidebar over on the right and see exactly what I’m doing. It’s no secret. Do the same. Mimic success. That’s how you learn, improve, and grow.
What are your thoughts about getting and keeping new subscribers? Let’s have some Comment Cash fun… the comment, question, or suggestion that gets my attention the most wins $25 cash!
PS: WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS FOR ME? Ask here. Want to book me for training, speaking or business consulting? Go here. If you benefitted from this post, would you be so kind to share this post with others by clicking one of the SHARE buttons?
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19 Responses to “Converting Visitors To Subscribers Is Easy:
I’m Getting 50-100 New Subscribers a Day”
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My blog seriously plateaued at 200 subscribers. It’s been disappointing, but I’m certainly willing to put in the work to make it grow. Right now I’m half-way through a printable book that will hopefully target the readers of my blog, and make them excited to join. It’s hard to be a blessing to others when no one knows you exist!
The model I’m showing you here WORKS, so feel free to mimic what I’m doing. I’m still getting 50-100 (over a hundred some times!) new subscribers a day, and still less than 1% opt out. You can do it too!!! BR
Brent,
I have thoroughly enjoyed receiving your emails daily for some time, and often visit to read them these past few wks I’ve been extremely busy, and haven’t had the time to visit, Today when I received the email with your new blog link I had to check it out, WOW…… you have done an excellent job and dedicated a lot of time into getting it up and running. I’ve been a little lax in updating my blog, however, It is on my to do soon list… And I’m looking forward to using and incorporating some of your wonderful tips to help grow it. I will be back and I have shared with my sister as she just started a online business and and created a blog over the weekend to start promoting it. Thank you again for the wonderful opportunity to grow with you and learn.. I look forward to it.
lisa
Thank you Lisa… I appreciate those kind words… thats very encouraging to me too. BR
Wow! this is a really good lesson for me… I see your side bar offer to sign up… I’m going to work on that for my little old blog too! thanks. Little Bit from http://www.DecorateWithaLittleBit.com
Thanks for the great comment.. I always appreciate knowing that something I’ve taught has genuinely helped someone. That’s what it is all about. BR
Congratulations on the new blog, and yes, I will be visiting often, I really want to grow my blog and some of your information sounds very interesting. Hugs, Marty
I’ve been a subscriber for a while and excited about your new blog. I JUST started my 2nd blog, http://funkinjunkin.blogspot.com and am focusing on adding content before I seriously go after subscribers so that I know I have a blog worth following. Great post and thanks for the e-book!!
I have several blogs but they are informational, personal or having to do with photography. I can’t figure out what I can offer as an incentive, or what kind of free downloads I can give people. It seems like I would have to spend a lot of time creating something to give away for free, and then who knows if people would even want it? Without hiring a marketing genius, how can I create an incentive?
Maybe you could find someone else who has a resource, service or product you could offer on your blog for subscriptions but in return, it also gives the other person new traffic too. BR
Interesting, I love the question would I want to subscribe to my own blog. Great advice! How many hours a day do you work on your blog/content/ebooks etc? I would harbor a guess that it’s a lot of time.
It is a lot but I treat my blogging like a growing business, not a hobby, so I’m willing to invest time in making that business pay off. I’m a little bit blessed (and cursed
) to be “hyper productive” which means I can really churn out stuff. That’s the good part. The bad side is that it very exhausting and I sometimes get sucked into production binges that exhaust me. But… I’ve been working that way all my life and as long as my wife can tolerate it (most of the time!), I guess that’s just how I’m wired. BR
Great post and great new blog! You have my wheels turning. Now I must start planning an e-Book that includes original recipes that I do not have posted on my blog. Thanks for motivating me to get going on this!
Thanks Nicole… keep me posted on your new book… BR
Would I want my emails? Wow. That is where the rubber meets the road so-to-speak. It is definitely a question I will deeply ponder. I just came across your site today when someone shared your free eBook download. Thanks for the offer and I look forward to reading the content from YOUR emails.
My blog is small and I am not sure what I could offer my first time subscribers. I haven’t figured out yet how to turn the wall art on refurbished cabinet doors that I create into something digital that would cost me less than the shipping would be to mail them!
I have written a children’s book and am currently working with an illustrator for it. I am writing two other books of a completely different nature and it will require much more time to finish.
Thank you for the time and research you invested into making your first time subscribers coming back for more.
Blessings!
You’ll figure it out. What’s popular? What gets good response? Why do people like your blog? Ask your readers what they like about your blog… what keeps them coming back? BR
Your blog link was given to me by my publisher when I mentioned that I was going to see about getting my e book on Kindle. I am now going to be reading your ideas. I love the question: would I want to join/follow my blog. I love writing it and get a lot of readers but not a lot of them join. Time to work on that.
I like your publisher!
Welcome aboard… keep me posted and let me know if my advice about getting more subscribers actually works for you. Brent
Great Post , Im open to any info that will help me learn how to earn more money with
Affiliate Marketing .