Blogging has come a long way from how it was in the ’90s. From what used to be a personal platform for individuals has extended its benefits to business the world over. Business blogging as we know it, have helped companies improve their online visibility and in turn, generate better profit.
Of course, blogging is only as good as you make it to be. No matter how much of a grand-slam your content is, it’s useless without subscribers. That’s why it’s crucial to always grow your readers. Without them, you won’t get substantial business results.
If you want to learn how to increase your blog subscribers significantly, then worry no more. With help form HubSpot, here are fresh ideas to boost the number of your readers.
- Offer something to new subscribers
Everyone appreciates a little something for any effort exerted. HubSpot explains: “One way to encourage subscription is to provide something extra for people who sign up for your emails — something that’s usually reserved for people who complete a much longer form.”
Whether it’s an exclusive discount or a freebie, let your new subscribers feel that they’ve made the right choice. Let them know that you’re about to spoil them from hereon out that it would be impossible not to share your content with their own network.
- Use your top posts and optimize them
Content continuously shared means it’s fantastic. It’s irresistible not to spread it throughout various networks. Seize this opportunity by optimizing your top posts no matter how old they could be. The best examples are your evergreen content or your “How to’s”.
HubSpot gives this brilliant tip in optimizing your best content for subscriptions: “Once you’ve figured out which blog posts get the most traffic, start optimizing those posts one by one for subscribers. You can do this in a number of ways: by adding a smart subscription CTA to the post, adding a slide-in CTA, and so on.”
- Get rid of the distractions surrounding your CTA
Your call-to-action is arguably the most valuable part of your content. It tells your market what you want them to do. It has the power to convert continuously and get your business where it should be. Sadly, many make the common mistake of putting so many distracting items around their CTA that their subscribers miss the whole point. Remember, the faster they understand where you’re getting at, the better.
One example HubSpot points out is the sidebar on your blog. “f you have a sidebar on your blog, for example, how is that affecting your conversion rate? What about user experience? Marketers at a number of different companies — including here at HubSpot — have reported that sidebars on their blogs are actually a big distraction for their readers.”
Re-assess which design aspects of your website is more distracting than helpful. From here, make the necessary adjustments so your CTA will always be as visible as possible.
- Include opt-in check boxes on your landing page
We always believe in the mindset of “always be converting”. It’s important that every aspect of your blog aims to add more subscribers and have those subscribers share your content to their own networks. This cycle generates a long chain of engaged customers and in turn, a very happy business.
A simply way to increase the likelihood of conversion is adding an opt-in check box on your landing page. HubSpot is known to be one of the businesses that first initiated this tactic. Years later, it still works for them.
“Adding opt-in check boxes on your landing pages is an easy way to capture more subscribers because all the person has to do to subscribe is check a box. This could be especially lucrative if you have a lot of landing pages to add this to,” the HubSpot explains. “If you auto-check that box, you can look forward to a whole lot of low-quality subscribers. And low-quality subscribers are bad for email deliverability because it can lead to really low engagement rates on your emails and land you a pot in recipients’ “junk” folders.”
- Be nice
If you have one of those blogs that make people feel guilty about saying “no” to your CTA, then you’re definitely doing something wrong. The last thing you want is to make potential readers feel as if they’re making the worst decision in their life or saying “no” will make them feel inadequate. Those “Yes! I want to save money.” // “No, I have enough money” aren’t exactly the nicest way to win over subscribers.
HubSpot’s tip? Be nice, or funny, or both. “For example, Tipsy Elves’ brand voice is funny and a little sassy, making the “No” option in their CTA below (“Sorry, I have to check with my mom first”) funny instead of insulting for those familiar with their brand. But it could come at a cost when it comes to newcomers who could take it the wrong way.”
