Integrate Your Opt-In Forms
Okay, today we’re getting to the more technical aspect of email list building. I’m going to share some places where you can add an opt-in form to gain subscribers but it’s important to understand that this list is far from exhaustive. You can really get creative in terms of where you place opt-in forms or links to your landing pages.
For example, you could add a link to your lead magnet in your regular email signature or you could set up a chatbot on your travel blog that directs readers more intuitively to a signup page for your freebies. The sky is the limit. But for the purposes of this challenge, we’re going to keep it simple and discuss the basics.
One thing that’s super important is ensuring that you are GDPR compliant by clearly explaining to readers what they are signing up for. They need to know when they download your ebook that they are also being put on your subscriber list and will receive future emails.
Ways to Gain Subscribers:
1) Landing Pages – This is one of the methods I currently use to gain subscribers. I have a landing page tab on my main menu for my one freebie and have also integrated the Substack sign-up landing page into my home page. I also direct readers to either landing page from specific posts that lead back to my main landing page on the site which includes a sign-up form.
2) Pop-ups – I'm hesitant about using pop-ups (even though they work) because I kinda hate them, especially when they pop up immediately before I've even had a chance to view the content I came to see. Some ESPs have “Exit Intent” popups which I've used before. Those only appear as the visitor starts to leave. MailerLite actually allows you to specify when it pops up which is useful. You can test to see what works best for you. Instead of pop-ups, I use a chatbot software Tidio that first asks readers if they would be interested in signing up for my newsletter before directing them to the landing page. If they decline, the chatbot goes away. I find this is more respectful of my readers.
3) Top Bars – Those are the kind of horizontal sign-up forms that display on top of a blog and often have an e-mail capture embedded in them or a button that leads to a signup form. Certain themes have top bars built in, or there are specific top bar plugins. They're also known as “notification bars”. I like these because they can have a motion to them as they appear, but they don't cover up the content like a pop-up. I feel like it's a happy medium.
4) Comment Opt-in – Some comment plugins let you integrate a checkbox for people to check (or uncheck) to subscribe to your email list when they leave a comment. Be careful though about the one built into Jetpack comments if you use that plugin because it subscribes commenters to your WordPress.com subscription (which you can't export) as opposed to your MailerLite list. However, check to see if your comment plugin has an option for integrating with your third-party list.
5) Embedded Forms – These are the most common types of sign-up forms that you see within blog posts, in footers, and on sidebars. The problem with embedded forms is that they can slow down your page load speed. A solution for this is directing people to one landing page with the sign-up form.
6) Quizzes / Polls – This is something I'd like to focus on this year as I’ve been told it’s quite an effective way to gain subscribers quickly due to the viral nature of quizzes. Instead of directly and immediately asking people to join your list, you lead up to it with a few questions via a poll or quiz. I have started setting it up on Smart Quiz Builder from WickedCool Plugins simply because of all the features it offers and the creator is super helpful with support. It also integrates with many ESPs which simplifies the tech aspect.
For example, you could add a link to your lead magnet in your regular email signature or you could set up a chatbot on your travel blog that directs readers more intuitively to a signup page for your freebies. The sky is the limit. But for the purposes of this challenge, we’re going to keep it simple and discuss the basics.
One thing that’s super important is ensuring that you are GDPR compliant by clearly explaining to readers what they are signing up for. They need to know when they download your ebook that they are also being put on your subscriber list and will receive future emails.
Ways to Gain Subscribers:
1) Landing Pages – This is one of the methods I currently use to gain subscribers. I have a landing page tab on my main menu for my one freebie and have also integrated the Substack sign-up landing page into my home page. I also direct readers to either landing page from specific posts that lead back to my main landing page on the site which includes a sign-up form.
2) Pop-ups – I'm hesitant about using pop-ups (even though they work) because I kinda hate them, especially when they pop up immediately before I've even had a chance to view the content I came to see. Some ESPs have “Exit Intent” popups which I've used before. Those only appear as the visitor starts to leave. MailerLite actually allows you to specify when it pops up which is useful. You can test to see what works best for you. Instead of pop-ups, I use a chatbot software Tidio that first asks readers if they would be interested in signing up for my newsletter before directing them to the landing page. If they decline, the chatbot goes away. I find this is more respectful of my readers.
3) Top Bars – Those are the kind of horizontal sign-up forms that display on top of a blog and often have an e-mail capture embedded in them or a button that leads to a signup form. Certain themes have top bars built in, or there are specific top bar plugins. They're also known as “notification bars”. I like these because they can have a motion to them as they appear, but they don't cover up the content like a pop-up. I feel like it's a happy medium.
4) Comment Opt-in – Some comment plugins let you integrate a checkbox for people to check (or uncheck) to subscribe to your email list when they leave a comment. Be careful though about the one built into Jetpack comments if you use that plugin because it subscribes commenters to your WordPress.com subscription (which you can't export) as opposed to your MailerLite list. However, check to see if your comment plugin has an option for integrating with your third-party list.
5) Embedded Forms – These are the most common types of sign-up forms that you see within blog posts, in footers, and on sidebars. The problem with embedded forms is that they can slow down your page load speed. A solution for this is directing people to one landing page with the sign-up form.
6) Quizzes / Polls – This is something I'd like to focus on this year as I’ve been told it’s quite an effective way to gain subscribers quickly due to the viral nature of quizzes. Instead of directly and immediately asking people to join your list, you lead up to it with a few questions via a poll or quiz. I have started setting it up on Smart Quiz Builder from WickedCool Plugins simply because of all the features it offers and the creator is super helpful with support. It also integrates with many ESPs which simplifies the tech aspect.