Marketing Profs

Building a list of responsive subscribers via a Web site that has a bit of traffic and quality content is surprisingly easy.

But sometimes, when working with users, we're surprised to see low conversion rates. So, we take a look into just why that might be.

Here are five factors to consider when growing your list.

1. Make your sign-up form easy to find

Too often, we find newsletter sign-up buttons on Web pages tucked away somewhere out of the obvious. When I see a page like this, my first thought is always "this must be a lower priority on the list of actions that the site owner wants visitors to gravitate toward."

That's a shame, because email, like no other technology, gives us the opportunity to turn one-time, anonymous visitors into engaged subscribers with whom we have the ability to develop beneficial relationships.

And yet, when I do speak with those with hard-to-find sign-up placements, I often find that they do understand the importance of email. They just don't have optimal placement for their sign-up forms.

Make sure you have forms (as opposed to buttons) published in hard-to-miss locations on your pages, and on as many pages where the form is relevant. Remember that nearly every page on your site has the potential to be a landing page, particularly in the case of visitors arriving from search engines.

2. Provide a convincing incentive for subscribers to sign up

For some sites, a form headline as simple as "Sign up to Receive Our Newsletter" does the trick for generating subscribers.

However, if there is room for concern about what will happen with the information that visitors provide, and whether their trust will be abused with too many emails, some people will not sign up.

I always wonder whether Web site owners have tested approaches that give more specifics, including privacy assurance and specifics about what will be sent and when.

This is a great place to split-test copy and design. Testing will tell you what works best for you and your visitors.