Last post I described in detail why I have a newsletter. I also mentioned a bit about how it all happens. Did you read that yet? (click here)
The one roadblock to all this success is getting people to sign up for it in the first place.
Here’s what I’m doing right now to build my Newsletter list.
MAKE IT DEAD SIMPLE EASY TO SIGN UP
All I want is your email address. The bare minimum. Studies show that the more fields you ask for, the less completions you’ll get. It’s a give and take. I could ask for first name and then personalize the outgoing email. Studies show that personalization works well but for now I’ll just go with the minimum.
MAKE IT DEAD SIMPLE TO FIND
It is right there on my home page (above the fold) and on the sidebar (at the top). Heck my video on the Home Page even asks you to sign up for it.
MAKE IT DEAD SIMPLE TO MANAGE
If creating a Newsletter is time consuming you can guess what happens when I get busy. My Newsletter pulls automatically from my RSS and goes out a few hours after my posts publish. The template took a little initial setup and from there the rest is automatic. Wayne Gretzky once said
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
If my Newsletter didn’t go out, 100% of the people wouldn’t open it.
And then there’s the Subscribe / Unsubscribe factor. If I had to manually add each person, or manually had to Unsubscribe each person I’d quickly run out of time. My newsletter double opt’s in each person automatically, when that happens I get notified. As for the unsubscribes I get a notification but that’s all. No work on my part. Happy Mike.
MAKE IT DEAD SIMPLE TO READ
Most of my Opens and Click Thru’s are opened on a mobile device. (yes I have tracking like that) It’s the sign of the times. You need everything to be Mobile ready. What happens when you have a long email on your cell phone? Scroll Scroll Scroll – right? My Newsletters have a small amount of Branding, the Title, the Featured Image, and a snippet of text with a link to the post to read more. Minimal scrolling. If the post grabs you – click to read it in full. If it doesn’t, move on. Of course my site is Mobile Responsive as well so the Click Thru post will render fine without pinching and zooming. I think my mobile readers appreciate that. Google does.
I also try to interject a bit of my humor into each post and even the signup form itself. It tends to disarm the antispam types.
I HATE POPUPS
True story. I can’t stand them and yet, I’m testing a popup plugin. Nothing obnoxious. Just a simple little box. Close the box and it won’t popup again for a day. I can track the signups it’s responsible for but for now it’s a bit too early.
You’ll notice most everything on my site is Facebook Blue. Yet my popup is all RED. We’re testing the color right now. The thought is that the color will get people to stop and take notice.
The plugin also has a smart feature that watches for signs and only pops when it thinks you may be done reading the post.
Yes I am for hire and can help you create your list and newsletter system. Let’s talk (after you signup for my newsletter). 😉
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, bought a cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and now,a perfect "BDR Weapon"). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
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