10 Powerful Hacks to Spike Your Email List Conversions 

This is a guest post by Ige Lewis.

Why do bloggers love Email lists and want to grow it at all costs? I will tell you!

They want to grow their audience, increase their traffic and make more money - and even more money.

If you are one, then this post is for you!

But hey, you won’t grow your blog traffic and make the money, if you can’t retain the peeps that are already coming your blog.

So, in this post, I will show you 10 ways to grow your email signup list. No sweat, no blows. All free!

Let’s kick off...

I know its so obvious, but think of it:

How many times have you read a great content, I mean something wow, that you had to stick to the end.

You wanted more of it, like a butterfly to a nectar and you decided to hit on the sign-up button.

But, there was none at the end of the post.

Worst still, the author only tells you to “leave a message in the comment box”.

So, you did just that and rolled with the flow.

Now, that’s a potential sale gone like a bird.

See this: 

70% of your blog visitors won't stick around till the end of the post.

But, if they do, they like you (at least they like your post) and they won’t mind signing up.

But, if you don’t have a signup form with a clear CTA telling them to sign up at the end if a post, they won’t.

Sadly, if 90% of your visitors are like me, then they are probably too lazy searching your site for a hidden sign up form. 

So, they would rather click away.

If you think you could still get people to jump into your email list with something as vague as “Sign up for more tips”.

I bet, you would be stunned!

This is why: Email is gold, so everyone hoards it.

You want your blog visitors to give you their emails and sign up for your posts? Then you need something more convincing:

The principle of Reciprocity.

It's this simple: Create something awesome, use it as a bait in exchange for your visitors' emails.

See how Julian does it here.

According to a study, 60% of email lists subscribers sign up to receive offers.

Here's a what you can do:

Content upgrades... Find some of your best contents, upgrade them to a new format and offer it as a bait.

To do that:

Go to your google analytics and navigate to: Behavior > Site content > All pages

Select your top 10 related posts with lowest bounce rate and the highest time on page.

Update the selected posts with more details, media, case studies, and checklists.

Turn it to new formats, a PDF, eBook or video, and offer it as a bait to capture emails.

Simple, but it’s a straight shot.

Influence is one of the most potent in forces psychology.

It's a secret:

We all want to be known with the top guys.

For instance, while in basic schools, I would iron my uniform sleeves into a loop of kite-shaped rings.

Why? Because the cool kids did it.

But, the game is no different in the content marketing world.

See this:

That’s Derek Halpern of socialtriggers, one of the top guys in the content marketing world.

First, he tells his visitors: Hey, social triggers has been featured on these highly influential sites. And then right after, a signup button with a pretty clear call to action:

It works…

When niche influencers recommend you, they are basically telling your visitors: “Hey this guy is the next best thing after cheese”.

That reduces their doubts and then, they can trust you with their emails.

Popups are cool.

But, welcoming a new visitor to your site with a popup and telling him to sign up for your email is not.

So, 90% of them would probably hit the close button, jump to the post, skim and jump off.

That’s because they came for your contents and not your signup form. So, they see your pop up as a distraction.

Now that's where the exit-intent technology comes in.

Exit-intent technology helps you to capture your visitors' attention just before they exit your site.

It's more effective because, at this time, site visitors are less in a hurry, more relaxed and more responsive.

They have already read your post, knows what you can offer. 

Now, if they love what they read, they won't mind signing up.

How do you do it?

Many email optin tools like OptinMonster have the exit-intent technology.

So, all you need to do is set and activate it for your it.

Does it work?

Manybooks spiked their email opt-ins conversion by 100% using exit intent technology.

If you think color doesn’t play a role in your marketing campaign, you would be in for a shock.

I know it's a debated topic.

But, think of this, how would you feel rocking a yellow suit on a red denim to a friend’s birthday party?

Weird?

That's because colors influence human behaviors.

It's called the psychology of colors.

But how does it affect your email sign up?

In his book, Color persuasion, Michael Campbell says color can influence people's emotion and decisions.

Here’s Robert Plutchick’s wheel of emotion:

Each different color has the potential to trigger a reaction on your visitor.

A dull color or dark color background on your opt-in form can depress your visitors' mood and turn them off.

A warm color like red, orange or green has the power to spark actions - including a signup.

So, how do you use this?

A single tweak in your email form can cause a high shift in

But, how do you know specifically which of the tweaks on your sign up form caused a spike or a fall in your subscribe form?

That's where split A/B testing comes in.

Split A/B testing means deliberately tweaking certain elements of your signup form and tracking the effects of the changes have on the signup result.

Now, to successfully track how a single element affects the result of your email list sign up, it means all the other elements of the signup form are left the same, while the elements being tested is changed.

For example, here are some of the elements of an email list form you may want to change to see how such changes would affect your sign up rate:

Testing various elements of your list campaign lets you know

The exact tweaks that caused a positive shift in your subscription rates.

Which of the tweaks should be kept and which should be done with.

Does it work?

Vendio spikes its email list conversion by 60% with split A/B Testing.

You know what?

An Interactive Email sign up form can spark a spike in your email list conversion.

I will tell you why:

An interactive design arrest users attention, increased a see the users dwell time and so, the likelihood that such a user would finally sign up.

HockeySpinner used an interactive form technology that rolls across from the left when the user hovers on the web page. 

By arresting the visitors’ attention, they were able to boost their email conversion rate by a wide margin.

I will tell you a SURE way to get your blog visitors NEVER to subscribe to your mail list:

Request for more personal information than necessary.

Why?

Firstly, think of a stranger a cousin's prom walking up to you and asking for your first name, surname, uncle's name, more and then some more questions? 

You would probably cringe or call him a creep. But that is what many content writers do.

Here's the sad truth: more than 90% of your site visitors see you as a stranger. 

So, requesting for too many personal information turns them off.

Secondly, It's not in the nature of humans to respond to too many choices.

Professor Sheena’s Jam Test study shows that when we are faced with too many choices, we most likely end up making none.

So, what do you do?

1. The most basic personal information to request is EMAil. 

2. If having your subscribers' name will help to personalize your outreach, then only ask their first name.

Go beyond that? 

You would probably make them feel like their privacy is being ripped off.

And yes, don't expect them to hit on the signup button.

Shortly after the great Uncle Lee invented the WWW, to get your visitors to sign up, all you needed was a bland looking form at the footer or sidebar.

Sorry, but those days are gone with the wind.

That’s because every Tom and his Mom do the same.

Site users are used to seeing them, they are now blind to it and so, they leave without taking any action.

Do you want to beat that? Then go out of the norm.

Here are some high converting blocks on your site to spike your email list conversion rate.

Right under the first paragraph: Here, your site visitor is still eager. 

Arrest his attention with an interesting introduction and get him on your list with a clear call to action.

About me page: Here, the visitor is curious, and he decided to check you out. 

This is the best time to present him with a single choice: A signup CTA.

Feature Box: A visitor to a site homepage is focused.

With a feature box, present your value proposition and a clear signup call to action.

Welcome mat: Pop-ups convert, but they are also freakily annoying. A welcome mat presents your CTA clearly to your site visitors. 

It goes up easily when the user clicks the close button or scrolls down. It's less intrusive and converts well.

Does it work?

Fedora got a 70% more email sign up conversion with this strategy.

It’s not just enough to to grow your email list. But to keep, your list growing, you must keep your already signed up subscribers.

But hey, they won’t stay if you spam the daylight out of them. Yes, It’s good to pitch or sales and make some money doing it. But don’t over do it.

So, here’s the golden rule. Don’t Spam. Nobody loves it.

Which of these methods have you tried?

What was your email sign up rate like?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Guest Author: Ige Lewis is a content marketer, a computer programmer and a personal finance blog freak at incomefizo. He now spends his free time on one of his new blogs where he talks all things income and personal finance. Twitter