If you already have a newsletter signup CTA on your website and a lead magnet, is there anything else you can do to get email subscribers without paying for promotion?
The real secret is that they execute the basic organic newsletter growth strategies more effectively (and consistently) than the average newsletter creator or email marketer.
For example, you probably already have a lead magnet. Yet the relevancy and value of the lead magnet is the difference between earning 100 or 100,000 email subscribers. So the real question isn’t do I have a lead magnet, but rather, how effective is my lead magnet?
In this post, we’ll discuss not just the basic strategies to get more email subscribers, but more importantly, how to effectively execute each of these strategies like the top 1% of newsletter and email marketers.
Email marketing remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels. But growing your subscriber list can feel like a hopeless uphill battle at times.
The average email open rate across industries is only 21.33%. For ecommerce, it’s a bit higher at 23.95%. But those numbers mean over 75% of emails sent never get opened.
Clearly, most people are highly selective about which emails they open – and who they even subscribe to in the first place.
So how can you compel more visitors to join your mailing list and engage with your emails?
In this guide we’ll explore 8 proven tactics to rapidly grow your email subscriber list and keep it optimized for maximum deliverability and engagement.
1. Create Hyper Specific Lead Magnets
Lead magnets or opt-in offers are incentives used to exchange for a visitor’s email address. Rather than offering generic magnets like “Free Ebook”, create highly targeted ones based on your audience’s precise interests.
For example, a fictional dog training business could offer:
-
Free Guide to Training Puppies Under 3 Months
-
7 Must-Have Commands to Teach Your New Puppy
-
Sample Weekly Training Schedule for a 2 Month Old Labrador
The more relevant your lead magnet is to a visitor, the more compelled they will be to subscribe. Get ultra specific with titles and be sure the content also overdelivers value.
2. Promote Your Newsletter on Social Media
Your existing social media followers are a prime pool of potential subscribers. Promote your newsletter in your bio links and occasionally showcase subscribe opt-ins in posts:
-
Share an appealing image of your latest lead magnet offer.
-
Organically mention users can subscribe to receive similar content.
-
Run a newsletter-focused social contest or giveaway.
-
Use social ads to target cold audiences with lead gen campaigns.
Add social buttons on opt-in forms too. Many people prefer logging in via social accounts rather than creating new usernames and passwords.
3. Implement Exit-Intent Popups
Exit-intent popups detect when a visitor is about to leave your site and display a targeted message to keep them engaged. They offer a prime opportunity for a final subscribe pitch.
Some best practices include:
-
Offering an irresistible deal like a limited-time discount code.
-
Highlighting a compelling lead magnet they will miss out on.
-
Using concise, benefit-driven copy – e.g. “Don’t Miss Out: Get Our Best Tips Delivered Weekly”.
-
Adding social proof elements like subscriber counts to build trust.
-
Allowing users to close the popup easily if they wish to exit.
Timed well, these “last chance” opt-ins can significantly lift conversion rates from existing traffic.
4. Gate Helpful Content Behind Opt-in Forms
If you have premium content visitors want – like guides, templates, datasets or tools – consider gating access behind a newsletter signup to grow your list.
For example, a SaaS site could gate access to an ROI template or sample report behind a lead capture form.
Important tips for gating content:
-
Only gate truly useful, high-demand content – not just any old blog posts.
-
On the page, clearly communicate the premium value of the gated content.
-
On the form, be transparent about the opt-in tradeoff to build trust.
-
Offer an ethical one-click unsubscribe on all emails.
When done right, content upgrades incentivize subscriptions from motivated visitors.
5. Create a Dedicated Landing Page for List Building
Having a singular page dedicated to showcasing your newsletter helps concentrate signups rather than diluting them across your site.
Essential elements to include:
-
Benefit-focused headline and subheading – e.g. “Get Actionable Marketing Tips Delivered to Your Inbox Weekly”
-
Detailed list of topics, tips or perks subscribers can expect.
-
Eye-catching visuals that reinforce the value.
-
Social proof elements like testimonials, subscriber counts, popular posts, etc.
-
A focused lead gen form – name/email only.
-
Clear messaging around privacy and the ability to unsubscribe.
A dedicated page allows you to put conversion optimization efforts behind one URL and theme.
6. Continuously Split Test Your Opt-in Form
There are always ways to incrementally improve email signup form conversion rates through A/B testing different elements. Try testing:
-
Headline and sub-headline copy
-
Different lead magnet offers or content upgrades
-
Long vs short form layouts
-
Video vs static image creative
-
Placement and sizing of elements
-
Social proof additions like testimonials or trust badges
Small tweaks can often lead to big lifts. Be sure to test one change at a time for statistical significance.
7. Clearly Pitch the Tangible Value of Your Newsletter
Generic claims like “Sign up for tips” don’t compel action. You need to communicate a concrete reason why your newsletter is worth the inbox space.
Some tangible angles include:
-
Actionable advice based on original research data
-
Exclusive discount codes and special deals
-
Early access to new product releases
-
Complimentary tools, templates or resources
-
Members-only events, webinars or content
Be specific on the information, offers, perks and incentives subscribers can expect. Give them FOMO.
8. Flaunt Social Proof Like Subscriber Counts
High metric numbers act as social validation and build trust with prospective subscribers.
Some elements you can showcase include:
-
Total current subscriber count
-
Average open and click-through rates
-
Notable companies or media featured in
-
Positive client testimonials
-
Sample popular articles or subject lines
But ensure any claims are authentic. Fake vanity metrics will sabotage credibility. Honestly highlight achievements and traction.
Final Tips for List Growth
Here are a few closing tips to keep your list growing:
-
Send a welcome email to greet new subscribers.
-
Offer easy one-click unsubscribes and keep emails relevant.
-
Avoid over-sending – start with 1-2 emails per week.
-
Occasionally re-engage inactive subscribers.
-
Delete hard bounces and bad emails to keep your list clean.
-
Continuously drive traffic to your opt-in page.
With a stellar lead magnet, optimized landing page, and persistent testing, you can steadily grow your email list. Just focus on quality over quantity – engaged subscribers over vanity metrics.
Partner With Other Brands/Creators
One of the easiest ways to earn more subscribers is to partner with another brand or creator with a similar-sized list and a similar audience.
You promote their lead magnet in your newsletter, and they promote your lead magnet in their newsletter.
The key to a successful newsletter promotion swap is partnering with other newsletters with your ideal audience.
For example, if you run an SEO newsletter and want more SEO marketers to subscribe, partnering with another SEO newsletter of a similar size will be more successful than partnering with a general marketing newsletter, as only a fraction of their audience may be interested in SEO.
You can also consider paid newsletter promotions. For example, here at Copyblogger, we offer a weekly newsletter and allow sponsorships. So we partnered with Nicholas Cole, and he promoted one of his lead magnets through our newsletter:
Improve Your Lead Magnet
If you already have a lead magnet, increasing your conversion rate by even a small amount can significantly boost email signups.
In fact, before executing any of the steps below, spend time optimizing your lead magnet, as this is the 80/20 of earning more email subscribers.
So, what makes a highly effective lead magnet?
Two main factors impact your lead magnet’s conversion rate:
Let’s explain both of them.
Relevancy
The relevancy of the lead magnet for that visitor is how specifically it addresses a pain point that the visitor feels.
For example, someone reading a post on keyword research is more likely to download a free keyword research cheat sheet than a “5 marketing hacks” guide. Obviously, this means that creating more lead magnets will help, as you can then create lead magnets specific to each blog post’s topic.
HubSpot is excellent at creating very specific lead magnets that correspond with the blog post topic. For example, in this post on how to write a blog post, the lead magnet is a collection of six blog post templates:
Usefulness
The usefulness of the lead magnet is the degree to which the lead magnet solves the reader’s problem.
For example, a free tool that automates a daily task the reader spends an hour on is much more useful than a “5 tips to X” style blog post (even if the tips are helpful/relevant).
Therefore, even if you have a lead magnet, check that it’s actually relevant to the type of visitors you’re attracting and that it’s ideally useful enough that a person may be willing to pay money to access.
If you’re feeling stuck while creating your lead magnet, look at your blog’s most successful topics to identify the most painful problems your audience feels and then work backward to create a solution you can offer as a lead magnet.
Improving your lead magnet’s performance is important because if you get this step right, you can have a poorly optimized CTA and ignore the other advice in this post, and still produce an excellent email subscriber conversion rate.
How To Go From Zero to 50,000 Email Subscribers – With Email Marketing Unlocked
How do I get more email subscribers?
People won’t give their hard-earned money or email address to simply anyone. They want to know you’re on the up and up. Offering testimonials and case studies builds trust, and more trust means you get more email subscribers. Go find a great endorsement you’ve received. Look at the reviews and other social proof you have.
Why do people sign up for email subscriptions?
People may be more likely to sign up for a subscription if they gain something in return. Incentives offer an extra reason to join your email subscriber list, so consider offering a significant discount, offer or another call-to-action to reward them for signing up.
How to grow your email subscriber list?
If you want to grow your email subscriber list, you need to cut down on the clutter. The following screenshot from Henneke Duistermaat is a perfect example of a landing page that optimizes for one thing: get more email subscribers. Per Henneke, this landing page has converted as high as 59.6 percent. It’s easy to see why.
How do I encourage subscribers to join my email list?
Incentives offer an extra reason to join your email subscriber list, so consider offering a significant discount, offer or another call-to-action to reward them for signing up. For example: Enjoy 25% off your next purchase just for subscribing to our email list. Related:Q&A: What Is Email Marketing? 2. Have an easy sign-up form
