I’ve been reflecting on my own email newsletter, and I’ve been thinking about how I can up my game and provide more value to my subscribers. So I did some research.
Here are 12 proven tactics to grow your newsletter subscriber base.
1. Make it easy to sign up
If you want to grow your newsletter subscriber base, the first thing you need to do is make sure your sign-up form is easy to find, and easy to use.
There are a few different types of sign-up forms you can use to collect email addresses. The most common are embedded forms, pop-up forms, and landing pages.
Embedded forms are forms that you can embed on your website. They’re a great way to collect email addresses from people who are already on your website, and they’re easy to create and customize.
Pop-up forms are forms that pop up on your website when someone visits. They’re a great way to collect email addresses from people who are just browsing your website, and they’re easy to create and customize.
Landing pages are standalone web pages that are designed to collect email addresses. They’re a great way to collect email addresses from people who are not yet on your website, and they’re easy to create and customize.
No matter which type of sign-up form you choose to use, make sure it’s easy to find on your website. You should have a sign-up form on every page of your website, and you should also have a dedicated sign-up page.
2. Use a lightbox pop-up
A lightbox pop-up is a website pop-up that appears on top of a web page, darkening out the rest of the content in the background. It’s hard to miss and is great for catching the attention of your visitors.
Lightbox pop-ups typically appear after a visitor has spent a certain amount of time on a website, or when they’re about to leave the website.
You can create a lightbox pop-up to promote your email newsletter and offer a discount to new subscribers. Or, you can use a lightbox pop-up to promote a specific piece of content that you think your visitors will be interested in.
There are a number of tools you can use to create lightbox pop-ups, but one of the most popular is Privy. With Privy, you can create beautiful pop-ups and embed them on your website quickly and easily.
3. Create a dedicated subscription landing page
If you want to grow your newsletter subscriber count, you need to treat it like any other conversion on your website. That means creating a dedicated subscription landing page.
This page should be designed to convert visitors into subscribers. It should include information about what subscribers will receive, the benefits of subscribing, the type of content they can expect, and social proof.
You can also include a sign-up form on the page, as well as links to any other content or resources you have that are related to your newsletter.
4. Use a content upgrade
A content upgrade is a free, bonus piece of content that is offered in exchange for the reader’s email address. It’s a great way to provide value to your audience and grow your email list.
The key to a successful content upgrade is to make sure it’s highly relevant to the blog post or article it’s being offered on. For example, if you have a blog post about the best tools for social media marketing, you could offer a content upgrade that includes a list of 50 additional tools that didn’t make the blog post.
When creating your content upgrade, make sure it’s something that your audience actually wants. You can do this by looking at the most popular blog posts on your site and creating a content upgrade that is related to that topic.
5. Add a “read this later” button
If you’re anything like me, then you likely have a ton of tabs open on your computer right now. I’m a notorious tab hoarder, and I almost always have at least 10 open at any given time.
That’s where “read this later” buttons come in handy. They allow me to save articles and blog posts to read at a later time, and they keep my browser nice and tidy.
One of the most popular “read this later” buttons is Pocket. Pocket allows you to save articles, videos, and web pages from anywhere on the web and view them all in one place. You can even save content to your Pocket account and read it on your Kindle or other e-reader.
By adding a Pocket button to your blog, you can give your readers a way to save your content and come back to it later. And, of course, you can ask them to subscribe to your email list so they never miss a new post.
6. Create a referral program
Referral programs are a fantastic way to grow your customer base, and they can also be used to grow your email subscriber list.
With a referral program, you can reward your existing subscribers for referring new people to your newsletter. Using a platform like ReferralCandy makes it easy to automate this process — tracking referrals, rewarding loyal subscribers, and turning your readers into active promoters of your newsletter. This not only helps you grow your list, but it also helps you build loyalty with your existing subscribers.
There are many different ways you can structure a referral program. For example, you could offer a discount on a future purchase to anyone who refers a new subscriber. Or you could enter everyone who refers a new subscriber into a drawing to win a prize.
The key is to make sure the reward is valuable enough to incentivize people to refer their friends and family, but not so valuable that it will eat into your profits.
7. Run a contest
If you have a little bit of money to spend, running a contest is a great way to grow your newsletter subscriber list. People love the chance to win free stuff, and it’s an easy way for them to get involved with your brand.
There are a few different ways you can structure your contest. You could give away a prize to one lucky winner, or you could offer a smaller prize to multiple winners. You could also choose to have people enter the contest by signing up for your newsletter or by performing other actions, like following you on social media or tagging a friend in the comments.
8. Use social proof
Social proof is a powerful marketing tool that involves using evidence of other people’s experiences with your brand to convince new people to take action on your site.
In the case of newsletter sign-up forms, you can use social proof to show how many people have already signed up for your newsletter. This shows new visitors that your newsletter is popular and worth subscribing to.
You can also reinforce that trust by making your emails instantly recognizable in the inbox. Displaying your verified brand logo through BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) helps your emails stand out and look authentic. You can use a BIMI checker to ensure your logo is properly configured and visible to your subscribers.
You can also use other forms of social proof in your newsletter sign-up forms, such as customer reviews, testimonials, or ratings. Social proof is a great way to build trust with your audience and encourage them to sign up for your newsletter.
9. Create an evergreen webinar
Webinars are one of the best ways to generate new leads and grow your email list.
The problem is that webinars are often time-consuming to put together and require a lot of effort to promote.
An evergreen webinar is a pre-recorded webinar that you can promote and run on autopilot. This allows you to generate leads and grow your email list without having to put in all of the time and effort required to create and promote a live webinar.
You can use a tool like Demio to create an evergreen webinar and then use a tool like ConvertBox or Telecrm to promote it and capture leads.
When someone registers for your webinar, you can automatically add them to your email list and send them a welcome email that includes a link to the webinar.
10. Add a signup link to your email signature
You can promote your email newsletter in the emails you send to your list by adding a link to the newsletter in your email signature. This way, every time you send an email, you’re promoting your newsletter.
This is a simple, yet effective way to grow your newsletter subscriber base. You can also use this tactic to promote your newsletter in the emails you send to potential subscribers.
11. Promote your newsletter on social media
In addition to adding a link to your newsletter landing page in your social media profiles, you should also promote your newsletter content on your social media accounts.
You can post links to your newsletter landing page, share individual articles or posts from your newsletter, or even post images created with an AI image generator or videos that are related to your newsletter content. Be sure to include a call-to-action in your posts that encourages people to subscribe to your newsletter.
You can also use social media to connect with other newsletter publishers and bloggers in your niche. Building relationships with other publishers and bloggers can help you grow your subscriber base, so be sure to follow, like, and comment on their content. Consider engaging with communities like Minorities in Tech, which highlight underrepresented voices and foster collaboration across the tech industry — a great place to share your content and build authentic connections.
12. Add a subscribe button to your Facebook page
One of the best ways to grow your newsletter subscriber base is to promote your newsletter on different channels. This means you should be promoting your newsletter on your social media profiles, your website, and anywhere else your brand has a presence.
One great way to promote your newsletter on social media is to add a subscribe button to your Facebook page. This is a simple and effective way to drive traffic to your newsletter landing page and get more people to sign up.
To add a subscribe button to your Facebook page, click on the “+ Add a Button” option at the top of your page. Then, choose the “Sign Up” option and enter the URL for your newsletter landing page.
Conclusion
Growing your newsletter subscriber base doesn’t need to be a long, hard process. It can be done quickly and effectively, all while still being a positive experience for the reader. Use these tactics to start growing your subscriber list today.
