How To Increase Newsletter Subscriptions From Your Website

Publishing a regular newsletter is a great way to keep customers updated on the latest events at your company. It can include any new products, special offers or recent achievements. But more importantly, every time you get a new subscriber to your newsletters you have also gained a new contact. And getting contact details from website visitors is crucial for any business. It’s not enough just to get them to visit your site: you have to turn them into proper customers.

But how can you modify your website to help ensure you get these all-important subscriptions?

Use The Top Right-Hand Corner: In case you didn’t realise it, the top right-hand corner of the page is the prime position to place any kind of call to action. Visitors seem to be programmed to expect an option to be available there, and it’s the place to which the eye is naturally drawn. If you place it right next to the main menu it makes it even more accessible.

At The Bottom Of Posts: Having a blog section on your website is a great idea. For one thing, publishing well thought-out pieces on the sector in which you operate sets you up as an expert in your field. It helps visitors to your website to see you as trustworthy and that is sometimes half the battle. But it’s also an excellent way to get newsletter subscriptions – but you should always put this at the bottom of the post. Why? Think about it: if a person has been interested enough to read all the way down to the bottom of the post then you have grabbed their attention. They may well be hooked. What better time, then, to ask them to sign up for future news or posts from your company?

Pop-Up Notices: Some companies don’t like to use these but they can really be very effective if you don’t overdo it. And there are several ways in which they can be employed. Some websites like to use a pop-up notice when visitors go to leave their site. This has the element of surprise to it and allows you to make one last-ditch attempt to reel them in with something new and fresh, or a particularly tempting special offer if they sign up to your newsletter. Pop-up boxes for first-time visitors are also becoming increasingly popular. These can redirect them to website content prepared especially for beginners.

Header Bars: Finally, you should always be trying to make the best use of your header bar to increase newsletter subscriptions. After all, this is probably the most prominent section of your website and it can now be made to float down as the user navigates the site – meaning that it’s always visible. Always have a special ‘newsletter’ section on your header toolbar and, once the user has clicked on it, make sure the text on your sign-up page emphasises the benefits they will gain from subscribing.

Tips For Writing Effective Web Content

Writing content for your website is very different to writing for print. Ideally, your visitors will be on the look-out for the kinds of products and services you provide. Hopefully they will have been driven there through an effective SEO or online marketing strategy. The idea is to get them to make a quick decision.

To convert them to paying customers as soon as possible. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

Get your priorities right: 
Tell your visitors the most important facts first, and tell them quickly. Don’t waste their time on lengthy sales spiels, preambles or market reports. Think about what they need to know. What makes your products different to everything else on the market? What kind of discount are you offering? Any additional information can be added later on. After all, buying decisions are usually made in a matter of seconds. First get them through the door. Then you can show them the room.

Don’t Be Obscure: 
Where many companies fall down with their web copy is trying to be too clever or creative. People don’t have time to puzzle out what you mean. Or they may find your obscurity off-putting. Keep your text as simple as possible. Even if you’re a person who’s fond of a clever analogy or likes a sub-text, your website is not the place to indulge this. If you want to use jokes to keep the tone light, make absolutely sure your target audience will get them right away.

Use Familiar Words: 
When it comes to writing website content, you also need to think about your SEO strategy. Put yourself into the mind of your customer base: what kinds of search terms are they most likely to enter into a search engine? If you sell discount shoes, for example, don’t talk about your ‘competitive pricing’. Use the kinds of words that they might automatically enter – think ‘low-cost’, ‘cheap’ or ‘discount’. It may not sound classy but ultimately it will lead more customers to your website. It’s only when you are going for the very high end of the market that you can afford to use more specialised terms.

Scan-Friendly Design:
Many people will tend to scan website content to get the gist of it. They may not have time to read every word. With that in mind, your text has to be set out in the right way. Make sure that the most important phrases – the things that are likely to clinch the sale – are in bold or appear in cross-headings throughout the text. This way the scanners will pick up on what you want them to know.