Hi Daenerys and other subscribers,

The Tesla Model S Plaid can go 0-60 in less than 2 seconds, but take out the battery and it’s just an expensive hunk of metal. 

Ready for the email analogy? Here it comes…

Without a growing subscriber list, your email marketing is going nowhere fast, and getting new subscribers is not as easy as all those email marketing blogs make it seem. There are no silver bullets. Keep working hard, be consistent, and try some of these ideas.

1. Make it super easy for people to subscribe

💡 It’s nice to get a first name for personalization, but over the years, we found that just asking for an email address is the best approach. You can find out more about them later on after you build some trust.

2. Add subscribe forms in unexpected places 

💡 You probably already have your forms on your blog, homepage and social media profiles. Think of other places people interact with you. We found success in adding a form to our About Us page.

3. Pop-ups are lame (unless you want subscribers)

💡 Pop-ups can be conversion machines when displayed near relevant content at the right times. There are lots of options and settings you can try so you don’t interrupt the experience... too much. Start with exit-intent pop-ups!

4. Don’t just ask, persuade

💡 Do you have a compelling reason for people to subscribe? Don’t assume people ‘get’ the value without being explicit. Make it clear why they should sign up (functional reasoning) and how amazing the experience will be (emotional).

5. Your subscribers know WHY!

💡 If you’re not sure why people subscribe, ask the people that already did it. Send an embedded survey in your next newsletter with a simple question: Why did you subscribe? Use the insights to craft super persuasive subscribe forms.

Know someone who might love these ideas?

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6. Use subscriber testimonials as social proof

💡People tend to believe recommendations from complete strangers. Get some subscribers to talk about the newsletter and use it as social proof to get more signups.

7. Make a promise and keep it

💡Think of your subscribe pitch as making a promise. You promise to offer people something of value. Does every email you send keep that promise? If the answer is yes, your email marketing will bear fruit.   

8. Send a welcome email within 24 hours

💡Yes! We know that this comes after you get a subscriber, but here’s the deal. People that don’t get a welcome email are very, very, very likely to unsubscribe or become inactive. It’s like they never existed.

9. Another way to use your blog

💡Adding a subscribe form on your blog page is email marketing 101. Another effective tactic is to add tailored opt-ins throughout the blog post to get people when they are in the moment. Make the CTA relevant to that post.

10. Another "other" way to use your blog

💡If you are brave enough to allow comments on your blog, you might be sitting on a gold mine of potential subscribers who just need a little nudge. Redirect those positive commenters to a subscribe form!

Stay hydrated!

You're halfway done.

11. Get interactive on your site

💡People love to do quizzes, take polls or answer fun surveys that might help them as well. You can add an interactive element to your website and then ask for an email address to see the results.

12. Gate some content

💡For those of you who have healthy website traffic and can afford to gate some of your best content, this is an effective way to gain subscribers. Do you have some amazing, original content people need? Gate it and see what happens.

13. Integrate your marketing tools

💡If you have a CMS or e-commerce app, make sure you integrate it with your email service so you can sync contacts across all tools. You might have more subscribers than you think. Just make sure you are following opt-in rules!

14. Guest blog and make it count

💡Find companies that you respect and barter with them. Maybe they can write a post for your site or share backlinks, etc. The point is to get in front of other audiences and don’t be shy to mention your newsletter.

15. Subscribers exist offline too

💡There are plenty of opportunities to grab (not literally) new subscribers at in-person events such as trade shows, conferences, etc. Some email tools offer offline signup forms for tablets where emails are loaded to your account immediately.

Get more subscriber tips 

These ideas were inspired by MailerLite's Ultimate Guide to Growing a High-quality Email List. If you want more details and examples, check it out!

16. Turn subscribers into avocados

💡We meant advocates. Encourage subscribers to share the newsletter. Consider adding a subscribe button to your newsletters. Try a refer-a-friend campaign every few months.

17. Experiment with landing pages

💡Landing pages are great because you can focus on one specific benefit and see if it converts. Build a few pages with different strategies and see what works. You can A/B test several pages at once.

18. A social media hack

💡You all should be adding subscribe links to your social media channels. Another social idea is to post your newsletter preview link on social media to help promote it. Give people a taste and encourage them to provide feedback and sign up.

19. Get creative with paid ads

💡For those with an ad budget, there are lots of creative things you can do like adding QR codes to display ads or promoting lead magnets on social media. If your email ROI can handle it, ads are an effective growth driver.

20. We didn't forget about lead magnets!

💡Lead magnets can dramatically grow your email list if you offer the right thing. People are happy to exchange their emails for a valuable piece of content. Let's look at 15 classic ideas.

1. Ebooks / Guides
2. Resource libraries
3. Checklists
4. Workbooks
5. Case studies
6. Cheatsheets
7. Bonus content
8. Templates
9. Educational course
10. Invite-only groups
11. Webinar
12. Original research (Whitepapers)
13. Free product trial / Coupon code
14. Quizzes / Polls related to your business 
15. Business tool / calculator

Your Turn!

We know there are more great ideas out there. Please REPLY to this email and let us know the ideas we missed. If we like it, we'll add them to our website and credit you with a backlink!