By: Craig Smith
1. Use “Lead Magnets” to Get People Excited About Signing up for Your Email List
Employ “lead magnets” to entice potential customers to sign up for your newsletter and/or promotions. These are special incentives that convince users to sign up for your list. For example, you might:
- Give away a free sample
- Offer a free gift
- Provide other types of content they’d normally have to pay for.
Keep in mind that If the incentive is something valuable, they’re more likely to take advantage of this.
2. Use popup Opt-in Forms
Another way to increase your opt-ins is by using popup forms. You can add them to different pages or sections on your site, and they’ll appear when people scroll over the page. This allows you to be more creative getting people to sign up for your newsletter. We recommend using these subtly, so you don’t overwhelm a visitor. Also, intrusive popups can impact your eCommerce SEO performance.
3. Send Targeted Emails to Your Customers
You can send targeted emails to customers who’ve shopped with you before. This helps increase the chances they’ll sign up for your newsletter and give them a reason to trust you as an online retailer. People want discounts and coupons, so this is a great way to get those people on your mailing list!
4. Add an Opt-in Bar on Your Homepage
Another idea to increase opt-ins is by adding an opt-in bar on your website’s homepage. This will make it incredibly easy for people to sign up, and they won’t need to search around for a place to subscribe.
5. Offer Something in Return
Make it beneficial for people to sign up by offering them something in return. Make sure you’re not just offering them junk, but instead, something that’s valuable to the customer in exchange for their information. People will be receptive if they see they can get something for opting in.
6. Make Exclusive Content Available Only to Subscribers
Create exclusive content and make it available to subscribers only. Set it up so visitors have to sign up for your newsletter to access to this content. This will drive more people toward signing up because they’ll want to see what’s on the other side.
7. Integrate the Opt-in Form With a popup Chat
You can increase the number of opt-ins on your website by adding a popup chat. This will make things easier for people, and they won’t need to leave your site to check their email. It’ll be right there waiting for them when they’re ready. Plus, it doubles as good customer service.
8. Use Facebook Retargeting Campaigns
Another idea to consider is utilizing Facebook retargeting campaigns. These will allow you to target people who have visited your site and offer them something exclusively available through these ads. This will incentivize them to visit your site and can help increase those opt-ins when they get there.
Below is an example from Zenefits. A sponsored ad to download an HR checklist acts as a lead magnet to gain more email address opt-ins after downloading.
9. Place Subscribe Links on Key Pages of Your Website
Place subscribe links on key pages of your website. You want to make them visible on all the right pages so people don’t have to go out of their way to find them. For example, make them available on your Contact Us, About Us and/or FAQs pages.
10. Track Your Progress and Analyze the Results
This item is one OuterBox is passionate about. We highly recommend you track your progress and analyze the results of what you’ve changed. Use tools like Google Analytics to track how many people are visiting your site, what pages they visit, where they leave or click more, etc. Look for anything that could be standing in the way of users signing up. If things don’t work quite right the first time around, circle back to your data to find out why.
11. Place Contextual Text Links Under Posts
Another good idea is to place contextual text links under posts so people know where they can get updates. For example, if someone reads about a beverage you sell, tell them about your email list right there while you have their attention.
13. Consider a Referral Program and Reward Your User
Consider offering a referral program. How does this work? Let’s say Bob signs up on your site for your newsletter. He then goes ahead and refers 10 other people who sign up, too – he’ll get rewarded for it, and you will, too.
14. Make Your Opt-in Forms Mobile-Friendly
Making your opt-in forms mobile-friendly is another way to increase the number of people who sign up on your site. This makes life easier for new subscribers since they can sign up anytime, anywhere. This option should be made readily available to people on all mobile devices.
Ready to Move the Needle?
Now that you have some ideas on how to increase opt-ins, try implementing them into your site and see how they perform. But remember: Unless you track your results, you’ll be left guessing which changes are making the most impact, meaning you could be leaving valuable revenue on the table. Use Google Analytics or another tracking service to really see what’s going on – what’s working? Is there something that can be improved? If so, how? Track things like page views per visit, bounce rate and time spent per visit – these are some examples of things that will make a difference in your campaigns.
Rely on OuterBox for Online Marketing Solutions
We hope these tips helped you think about implementing opt-ins more effectively on your e-commerce site. If you need of a bit of help getting started or maturing your site, contact us for a free, personalized consultation on how to help you grow your e-commerce site.
