Recently I’ve been working with a lot of my clients on building their mailing lists. Everyone has learned that the “money’s in the list” (and it is). From the discussions, it’s clear that the psychology of the email sign-up is not intuitive. List-building is clearly nurture versus nature.
“List-building is nurture versus nature. Learn 6 Mistakes you may be making”
People think that if you put up a box in the upper right hand corner of your blog that says, “Sign up for my newsletter” or other default language, that they’ll pick off 1 out of every 2 visitors and their money-making list will swell to gigantic proportions overnight!
In truth it’s a bit harder than that.
Why don’t people just seek out your opt-in box?
Because people are sick of any extraneous email. They want it gone from their inboxes NOW. They’re thinking, “If you want me to sign up for any of your crap, it better be good crap!”
I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s cover several reasons why your list will not grow unless you make some changes.
6 Reasons people are not signing up for your email list
1) You’re not getting enough traffic
At the end of the day, list-building is not a one-on-one battle. You can build a list slowly by referring people you meet at networking events, but it will be very, very slow going. Traffic generation tactics like content marketing, webinars, SEO and guest blogging are great ways to get more (qualified) visitors to your site quickly.
Realize that list-building is a numbers game. In addition to the points you’ll learn about below, you need to have some traffic flow in order to build your list. And by the way, one big event, guest blog post, webinar or public speaking opportunity can lead to hundreds of new subscribers if done correctly.
2) You’re not giving away anything of value
“Subscribe for updates” or “Sign up for my newsletter” won’t cut it unless you’re Beyonce (who has over 3.4 million Twitter followers without ever having tweeted). If you’re Beyonce, people want your updates (Twitter, email or other). If you’re you, they probably don’t.
So figure out what your customers really want. What do they need to know? What things can you teach them? How can you help them take a first step towards fixing their business, solving their dating problems or losing 50 pounds? You don’t have to give away the whole farm but give away something of value in the form of an ebook, webinar, email course or other valuable giveaway.
Put yourself in their shoes. If you (as them) don’t think your giveaway rocks, it’s probably not that attractive. Keep trying.
3) Your language is limp
“The Sales Techniques eReport” is limp. “12 Sales Techniques of Millionaire Salespeople” or “12 Negotiation Techniques To Triple Your Sales” are more exciting (and I’m sure you can come up with even more exciting titles – just make sure they’re true!).
Compel them to get your book or attend your webinar even though they know they’ll start getting more email from you!
4) Your opt-in box is unattractive or boring
The standard, off-the-shelf opt-in boxes rarely get noticed. Unless they have something unique, custom or eye-catching they blend into the scenery of your blog.
It doesn’t have to be obnoxious, bright and flashing, but an attractive box, a picture, clear “call to action” and a unique look will help it to get noticed.
5) Your opt-in box is tucked away in your sidebar
You can call them lazy or forgetful, but if your readers have to scroll back up and find your opt-in box after they read your post, they’re not likely to sign up.
You have to hit them over the head with your opt-in box to get them to sign up! Your opt-in box needs to be right in front of them, at the right time enticing them to register to access your killer content.
6) Your opt-in box is not on all of your posts
Embedding your opt-in box in each post or page it takes time (if you’re putting it on the page versus in the sidebar). But your opt-in box needs to show up on every post, including your older blog posts.
When you update your offer, it needs to apply to your previous posts because people still visit them via search or by using your navigation.
I do consider all the ideas you’ve presented for your post. They’re very convincing and can certainly
work. Still, the posts are very brief for novices.
Could you please lengthen them a bit from next time?
Thank you for the post.
That is a very good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
Brief but very accurate information… Thank you for sharing this one.
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It is sad when people just ignore you
You shouldn’t limit your areas of exploration, explore more
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