Know-How Exchange : Strategy

If word of mouth is working for you, give it some gas. Ask for more referrals, wait six weeks, then ask again. Asking for referrals should be a regular part of your marketing/advertising. If folks like your content, and they are already passing word to like minded folks for you, add a little fuel to the process and pick up the pace. Do a targeted issue around referrals, and include refering friends to subscribe. Refer folks to great restaurants, great places to stay, great places to shop...and if YOU like this, why not tell a friend right now by clicking here and forwarding a copy.

You might get lucky, and catch a wave that takes you where you want to go.

Darcy Moen

Couple of suggestions. Perhaps moving the description of the subscription up right under the subscribe button (from the bottom of the right column to the top).

Your subscription form makes me a bit suspicious. Here's why. It's a free email that is going to tell me about business in the area.....that list is valuable to your local businesses. You ask me for address etc, so that leads me to wonder when you are going to sell my contact info for direct mail. You can tell me you are only going to email me, but if you are asking for snail mail address I'm no longer sure I can trust you.

I noticed you have a why I should give you my information button. You tell me it is to serve me better...but How? It doesn't sound credible to me. Not having anything to do with your site or the impression you have created.....my wariness comes from my trust being violated so often by other marketers, and the proliferation of scams on the internet.

You might get more subscribers if you ask just for an email. You can come up with other ways to get the other information you want after you have earned trust from your subscribers. Maybe contests where they give you the information (so you can mail them the prize if they win)? I suspect local businesses would even provide the prizes. I know contest didn't work so well for getting subscribers, but I have found they work really well for current subscribers. Maybe even give them extra entries if they get new people to sign up?

Like Christine, I have concerns about your opt-in button. Studies have shown that the less information you request, the higher the opt-in numbers. I notice that you've installed Google Analytics - they should tell you if people are going to the sign up page and bouncing or completing the form.

Add an easy way for people to social bookmark your articles. You're looking for viral effect, and social bookmarking will help dramatically. One such free service: https://www.socialmarker.com/

Also, make it easier for people to read your site by offering a RSS news feed. For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)

Some good comments above but I have some additional perspectives to add here:

The subscribe for free button is in the wrong place on the HP.

Why is in the header? Your goal is to get subscribers right? So put it in the first block on the right column just below the head. make it a 300 x 250 block and make it clear with a nice Title line and 3 lines of text what they are going to do there.

eg: Join the Savvy Insider for free today.
become an insider yourself with one easy click and receive the latest inside scoop weekly right in your email box.

Add the email address input box immediately below

Then a nice button 'Join us Today'

Give them a little check box below the Join Now! button (get rid of the word subscribe :) it stinks).
I agree to the T's & C'sThen a link to the terms and conditions page. (Which they won't look at :)) )

Remove all that crazy text you have about how to subscribe. YOU MUST CLICK the link etc. It is well intentioned but completely ineffective and just drives them away.

After they click the submit button, send your confirmation email. You can also display a thank you message and a reminder to check their email box now? keep the text very very simple and as little as possible. Remember 'less is more'.

Once they get the email confirmation link, now you can send them to a data capture page to ask a few more basic questions. Ask them about their preferences, do you want to know about shopping? dining? theatre? etc. Then you will know what advertisers to approach later.

All of your how to text is missing the point. Don't sell the features, sell the benefits.

In other words, don't tell them about what is in the news letter, tell them why being a member is so great :) and how they will benefit from all this 'insider' knowledge.

I guarantee that if you make these changes, you will double your 'membership' uptake :) (Not subscribers - the word stinks :))))

Build a community - make them members of a community - get them all talking with each other and discussing your insider scoop on the blog (Where is your user forum?? )

Ok all of that stuff is about getting more members.

Let me know how it goes, if you like my advice then I will give you some more about how to 'keep' your members longer :))

Just jumping in right now, so answering your original question: in my experience, the best ways to get new subscribers is through search engine optimization (SEO) and a presence at other succesful sites which cater to your prospect pool but don't address the same need as your site. That is actually how this site (which brought us together) became big. Compared to these two channels, the effect of other promotions such as emails etc is minimal in the companies I researched - for quantitative details and an assessment of your for-free versus a fee& free model, see https://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/koen.pauwels/2008%20updates/pa...