One Seriously Undervalued Way to Attract More Blog Subscribers

When I first started at IMPACT, our marketing director and I made a pact. 

"When it comes to content, you tell me if my sh*t sucks, and I'll tell you if your sh*t sucks." 

It's a policy we take very seriously, and as a result, we've never had a hard time generating blog subscribers. (As it turns out, people love reading non-sucky content.)

However, when we upped the ante on our blog subscriber goals, it was clear that our content couldn't totally sell itself. 

We needed to employ different tools. A different approach. A new way to get the word out about our latest content. 

We needed a blog subscription page. And if you're serious about attracting more blog subscribers, you need one too.

Here's why...

But first, what's a blog subscription page?

Essentially a blog subscription page is a dedicated landing page focused on increasing email subscribers to your business blog. 

It serves as an opportunity for businesses to sell visitors on the value of their blog, while providing more context than a subscribe CTA.

Here's a look at our brand new page:

Are they effective?

While a blog subscription page seemed like it made sense, we're not the type that does something just to say we've done it. 

We wanted to know more about how it could impact our numbers. Was it working for other people or was it just going to collect dust?

Here's what we found:

First, we turned to our spirit-animal, Noah Kagan. In search of a way to grow his own subscriber list, Noah utilizes his blog subscription page via social:

While his blog, OkDork, normally generates 15 subscribers a day, he managed to reel in 50 thanks to the help of this one tweet. 

Nice. 

But was it working for others?

A little more research revealed that AWeber has also seen the value in creating a blog subscribe page. In fact, theirs is responsible for over 30% of their active web subscribers.

Now we were really intrigued, but unsure how to approach it. We checked out some examples and this is what we found:

How to optimize your blog subscribe page:

Define the benefit

These days you can subscribe to just about anything. 

Beef jerky, wine, fishing tackle, beauty products, hot sauce. Delivered to your door. Monthly. 

Point being, there are a ton of options out there. If you want to grow your audience, you need to be clear about why they should choose your content.

AWeber doesn't just give you a reason to sign up for their free email marketing tips, they give you seven. 

What makes it even better is that each reason is rooted in actionable benefits. Who doesn't want to engage their readers, earn more clicks, and make more sales?

It's a tough offer to refuse. 

Employ social proof

Often times the key to persuading people to subscribe is to stir up a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out.)

Whether it's in the form of testimonials or numbers, social proof helps to illustrate the need to subscribe. 

When Andrew Warner says that Noah showed him how to grow his email list and figure out his site's revenue model, it aims to strike a chord with visitors.

If he can show Andrew Warner how to do all that, what can Noah show me how to do? 

If you don't subscribe, you won't know.

Provide frequency options 

Email inboxes come in all different shapes, sizes, and levels of unruliness. 

While an instant notification might make perfect sense for one subscriber, a weekly notification is likely to make more sense for another. 

HubSpot recognizes that. 

Rather than alienating segments of their audience by providing one way to receive blog updates, they've employed several different frequencies.

Providing people with more than one way to subscribe to your content has the ability to save a potential subscriber who may not sign up otherwise. 

Ease their worries

When being asked to hand over their email address, what's the number one concern people have?

They don't want to be spammed, right?

Hesitation often prevents people from carrying out a desired action, so don't be afraid to address the elephant in the room. 

Uncrate eases the worried minds of potential subscribers by ensuring that they wont share or sell your email address. 

Sure, it's a small consideration, but it means the difference between a subscriber won or a subscriber lost. 

Offer something

In most cases, incentivizing your visitors to subscribe can serve as a powerful motivator to do so. 

Something as simple as a form-free ebook has the ability to show readers that you care about their commitment to your content. 

When selecting an appropriate "free gift" it's important that you focus on two things:

1) Does this resonate with the type of people we're trying to attract?

What type of content interests your ideal audience? Does this offering align with those interests?

2) Does this offering correspond with the amount of work you're asking the visitor to do?

If you're asking them for their first-born, you're going to have to dish out a little more than a free ebook. If you're asking for their email, an ebook will do just fine.