17 Proven Tips on How To Get More Email Subscribers in 2023

Are you wondering how to get more email subscribers but not sure where to start?

Growing your email list can be tough. How do you make your email list stand apart from the rest in a world where everyone is competing for everyone else’s attention online?

Today, we’ll teach you 17 proven ways to get more email subscribers.

How To Get More Email Subscribers

Here are 17 great email list-building strategies to increase subscribers. Feel free to read straight through or skip around to whatever interests you.

Table of Contents

1. Add an Exit-Intent Popup
2. Add an Optin at the End of Articles
3. Turn Popular Posts Into Lead Magnets
4. Use Gated Content (also known as Content Locking)
5. Use a 2-Step Optin
6. Run an Online Contest
7. Try a Different Button Color
8. Split Test Button Copy
9. Show Off Your Testimonials
10. Remove Distractions
11. Stop Asking for Too Much Information
12. Share Your Campaign Everywhere
13. Link to a Campaign in Your Social Media Bio
14. Add an Optin Link to Your Email Signature
15. Be More Social
16. Add a “Subscribe” Checkbox
17. Add a “Thanks for Commenting” Redirect

1. Add an Exit-Intent® Popup

Hey, did you know that over 70% of the people who leave your website will never return?

Did you know you can convert many of these abandoning users into email list subscribers with one simple trick?

It’s called Exit-Intent® Technology. It detects user behavior and prompts them with an optin form when they’re about to leave. And exit-intent is OptinMonster’s specialty!

OptinMonster is hands down the best way to grow your email list. We provide you with the tools you need to create high-converting optin campaigns that you can target to your site’s traffic.

You can get started with stunning templates and customize them using the drag-and-drop builder.

OptinMonster lets you personalize these campaigns to make sure you’re showing the right optin form to the right person at just the right time in their customer journey.

Plus, you don’t need any coding or tech skills to get started. Our drag-and-drop editor will have you creating beautiful popups, floating bars, inline campaigns, and much more in a matter of minutes.

Want to check it out? Click below to sign up for your risk-free OptinMonster account:

Get Started With OptinMonster Today!

Here’s How You Do It

You can create an Exit-Intent® popup with OptinMonster in a matter of minutes.

Just follow our guide to create your first campaign. Then go to Display Rules » If… and choose “exit detected.” After that, choose the level of sensitivity you want.

Or, follow this easy video tutorial:

 

OptinMonster makes sure your popups are mobile-friendly so you can grow your audience no matter which device they’re using.

Don’t have OptinMonster yet? Click here to get started!

2. Add an Optin at the End of Articles

Readers who reach the end of your article are primed.

Your headline grabbed their attention. The introduction drew them in like moths to a flame. Your bullet points and anecdotes kept them on the edge of their seats.

Of the millions of articles they could have read, they read yours. And they read until the very end.

They like you. They really, really like you.

That’s why the end of your article is the perfect time to ask them to join your email subscription list.

Here’s How You Do It

Adding a call to action in your author bio and the end of each article is a great way to strike while the iron is hot. Here’s how Jeff Goins does it:

But what if your blog’s theme lacks an author bio section? What if your website has numerous authors?

Then you can use OptinMonster to create an after-content widget with some enticing copy to get more email subscribers. All you need is an inline campaign and a compelling call to action (CTA).

Lilach Bulloch uses inline forms to help her convert 57% of website visitors.

Readers who make it to the end of your articles are focused. They’re engaged and looking for direction.

Direct them to your email subscription list.

3. Turn Popular Posts Into Lead Magnets

It has many names.

Lead magnets, giveaways, content upgrades…

Whatever you call it, it’s super effective for getting more email subscribers:

“Want this free eBook! I just need your email address…”

But here’s the thing:

Creating lead magnets can be tricky.

What if you don’t have time to write an ebook or create a PDF checklist? Maybe producing an email or video series is more than you can do right now. And, what if creating dazzling infographics is beyond your current skill set?

If this describes you, it doesn’t mean you’re resigned to sitting on the sidelines while everyone gets more email subscribers.

Not if you have 30 seconds to spare.

That’s all the time it takes to convert one of your popular articles into a handy, easy-to-print PDF file.

Go to Print Friendly and enter the URL of the article you’d like to convert. Click the “PDF” button. Click “Download.”

Then all you have to do is offer it and deliver it to visitors. And that’s a simple process with OptinMonster.

Here’s How You Do It

All you need to do to deliver your lead magnet is to use one of OptinMonster’s Success Themes.

Go to the Success View in the OptinMonster campaign builder.

Choose the button on your optin and click Editing Button Element » Action. You’re going to edit the Action to redirect to a URL by entering the download URL for your lead magnet.

Here are some more ways to deliver your lead magnet when people sign up.

Pretty easy, right? Almost as easy as our next way to grow your email subscription list.

4. Use Gated Content (also known as Content Locking)

Want a quick way to get more email subscribers without creating new content?

Gated content, or content locking.

It’s where you block off part of the content visitors are reading until they subscribe. And it’s easy to do with OptinMonster. In fact, Trading Strategy Guides added 11,000 new subscribers by using it.

Here’s How You Do It

First, identify which of your blog posts bring in the most website traffic. If you’re using WordPress, you can easily see your most popular posts in your dashboard by using MonsterInsights:

MonsterInsights is the world’s best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. With this, you can get all the data you need to make smarter marketing decisions straight in your WordPress dashboard.

Then, you can identify your most popular posts and pages:

With that information, you can quickly turn your best-performing posts into exclusive content for subscribers only.

Start by creating an after-post or inline campaign as described earlier, then go to Optin » Inline Settings in the OptinMonster campaign builder. Click the “Lock Content Below Campaign?” toggle to activate it, then choose how you want the content to be blocked. You can either blur it with Obfuscation or remove it completely:

That’s it! Once visitors subscribe, they’ll magically get access to the content, and you’ll increase your email subscription list.

When visitors have email subscription benefits like this, they’re less likely to unsubscribe and this is how you can grow your newsletter subscribers.

You can check out our guide to gated content marketing for more details on this strategy.

5. Use a 2-Step Optin

Want to know a neat psychological trick that’s proven to increase email subscribers? It’s the Zeigarnik effect.

This bit of human psychology just means we’re primed to finish an action we start. And it’s why OptinMonster’s 2-step optins are so successful.

Here’s How You Do It

Choose a popup campaign, go to Display Rules » visitor clicked MonsterLink™ to enable MonsterLink™. Then click the “Copy MonsterLink™” button to copy the code. You can add it to any page on your site.

When visitors click the link, your email subscription campaign will appear.

Here’s an example of a 2-step optin used by the US Student Loan Center. This is what visitors see when they click the link.

You can also integrate the campaign with your favorite email providers such as Constant Contact or Sendinblue . You can then set up automated email series, so your subscribers will receive emails as soon as they fill out this subscription form.

You can send a welcome email and then follow up with product updates, new posts on your blog, and recent launches.

For more detailed step-by-step instructions, see our guide on how to use MonsterLinks to load your popup with the click of a button.

6. Run an Online Contest

Online contests are one of the best ways to increase email optins. You can instantly boost your email subscription list by offering a prize that your target audience loves.

Plus, with an online contest plugin like RafflePress, you can put everything on auto-pilot:

RafflePress is the best giveaway and online plugin around.

It lets you create various entry options such as following you on social media, visiting certain web pages, sending referrals to your contest, and, of course, signing up for your email subscription list.

With RafflePress, contest automation is easy so you can gather entries and declare winners just by clicking a few buttons.

The tool works great for any WordPress site including eCommerce stores, business sites, and blogs.

For more information, check out this post on how to run an online contest to grow your traffic and generate leads.

7. Try a Different Button Color

What color is your optin button?

If you answered “I don’t know” or “what does it matter?” you’re potentially missing out on an easy way to get more email subscribers.

Did you know 85% of shoppers say that color is a primary reason why they buy a certain product?

Did you know the color blue creates a sensation of trust? Red a sense of urgency? Green a sense of relaxation?

Knowing how people perceive different colors and using this knowledge to your advantage can increase the likelihood that someone will click through your newsletter signup form.

Here’s How You Do It

If you’re using OptinMonster, changing the button colors in any campaign is pretty easy.. Just click on the button, and you’ll see the editing options on the left. Click on the color button to popup the color picker and choose your new color.

What color should you use?

Research into color and conversions says it depends on the context.

All the psychology in the world won’t matter if your CTA color blends into the background, so choose a color that stands out from the rest of your blog or website.

And while we’re on the subject of buttons…

8. Split Test Button Copy

Do you use generic copy such as “Subscribe” or “Sign Up” for your optin buttons? If so, we have bad news for you:

It’s actually your CTA button’s copy, not color or positioning, that matters most.

If you’ve never given your button’s copy a passing thought, it’s time to remedy the situation.

Provide value and relevance, but be sure not to exaggerate.

Keep it simple, but don’t be boring. It’s okay to use two sentences so long as they are short.

One particularly effective digital marketing strategy is to personalize your optin button.

Joanna Wiebe of Copy Hackers suggests writing button copy in the first person. By personalizing the words, they become more appealing to the reader.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Which sounds better?

 

What wording do you relate to?

Which button would you rather click?

The differences are subtle, but during her a/b testing, Joanna found first-person pronouns (“I” and “my”) beat the competition by a whopping 24%.

Sometimes, “subtle” can be huge.

To get the same data on your button, you’ll need to split test. This is easy with OptinMonster.

Here’s How You Do It

Login to OptinMonster, and click on the three-dot menu to the right of the campaign you want to split test.

Select “A/B Split Test,” then “Create Split Test.” Name your split test, and you’ll get a duplicate of your campaign.

Then change one element of your campaign, like the button wording. Save and publish the campaign, and OptinMonster will automatically divide your traffic and collect data, so you know which one works best.

A good copy is a simple yet successful trick to increase email sign ups and help grow newsletter subscribers.

9. Show Off Your Testimonials

Did you know OptinMonster is recommended by the likes of Michael Stelzner,Ian Cleary, and Yoast?

Of course, you did.

OptinMonster prominently displays these heavy hitters on our homepage and Testimonials page. There’s no way you could miss them.

Why do we do this? Because it shows we’re the real deal.

People won’t give their hard-earned money or email address to simply anyone. They want to know you’re on the up and up.

Offering testimonials and case studies help build trust, and more trust means you get more email subscribers.

Here’s How You Do It

Go find a great endorsement you’ve received.

Look at the reviews and other social proof you have. Browse through your comments and emails. Search for mentions on social media.

Be A Better Blogger found its featured testimonial when the great Amy Harrison tweeted the following:

This tweet was turned into a testimonial that’s displayed whenever a reader clicks on one of Be A Better Blogger’s MonsterLinks™:

That optin form? It’s currently sporting an awesome 26.09% conversion rate.

I’m no mathematician, but it would appear Testimonial + OptinMonster = Get More Email Subscriptions.

Of course, all the awesome testimonials in the world won’t help you if readers can’t see them, so this next tip is a great one!

10. Remove Distractions

How many widgets do you have on your website’s sidebar?

Do you use several calls to action at the end of your articles?

How many choices are your visitors given?

If you’re overwhelming your readers with options, how can they be expected to take the one action you want them to take?

Want to grow your email subscription list? You need to cut down on the clutter.

Here’s How You Do It

The following screenshot from Henneke Duistermaat is a perfect example of a landing page that optimizes for one thing: get more email subscribers.

Per Henneke, this landing page has converted as high as 59.6 percent.

It’s easy to see why. Every aspect (from the headline to the testimonial) is designed to build an email list. There are no social media icons, advertisements, or anything else to distract readers from the task at hand.

What lessons can we learn from Henneke’s landing page?

• Remove distractions
• Don’t prioritize our social media icons
• Move the “search” option (which few people ever use) to the footer
• Stick to one CTA for each article.

We should get rid of anything that doesn’t help us get more email subscribers.

Focus on making it easy for visitors to share their contact information without distractions.

On that note, here are some more tips on how to build an email list.

11. Stop Asking for Too Much Information

What information are you asking potential customers to provide on your lead generation and contact forms? Name, email, phone, more?

Now, let me ask you another question:

Do you need it? Do you do anything with that information?

If the answer is “no,” you need to stop asking people to provide it. A/B test after A/B test confirms the more information you ask from readers, the less likely they are to optin.

Keep it short and sweet.

Stick to the bare essentials with a simple subject line. Only ask for the information you need. If you need the other information, you can ask for it later.

This is called progressive profiling, and it really works to create an email list!

Here’s How You Do It

Don’t need names? Don’t ask for them. Have no use for phone numbers? Don’t ask people to input them.

Just keep it simple.

The less data you request, the more email subscribers you’ll earn.

Customizing your optin form fields is easy with OptinMonster, and it works on any campaign. Simply choose the fields you want on your signup form. It’s all drag and drop.

12. Share Your Campaign Everywhere

It stands to reason that the more places you can display campaigns, the more chances you have to build your email list.

You can share them on your company’s LinkedIn profile, in the descriptions of YouTube videos, in the show notes of any podcast episodes you appear on, during webinars you host, and more. You can even link to campaigns from Facebook ads and other paid advertising.

Luckily, this couldn’t be simpler with OptinMonster.

Here’s How You Do It

Once you’ve created a campaign you’re happy with, go to the publishing options. One of those is a Shareable MonsterLink™.

Grab the link, and add it anywhere you want to show the campaign – social media, author bios, email signature, and more.

See how simple that was?

Using the MonsterLink™ functionality, you can boost your chances of getting more email subscribers fast.

13. Link to a Campaign in Your Social Media Bio

Right now, what information is in your Twitter bio or Instagram bio? What information shows up on your Facebook page?

Your occupation? A personal quote that holds special meaning to you? Perhaps a hashtag or two or ten?

Why don’t you use that precious real estate to promote your email subscription list?

That’s how Brent Jones used his Twitter bio:

Simple, effective, and takes minutes to implement.

Here are some more ways to get leads from Twitter. Does your audience live on Instagram? Here’s how to generate leads on Instagram.

Here’s How You Do It

While logged into your Twitter account, click the “Edit profile” button on the right-hand side of your profile page. You’ll then be able to change your name, profile and header photos, bio, and more:

Once you’ve added a link to your bio, click “Save changes” and admire your handiwork.

14. Add an Optin Link to Your Email Signature

On any given day, how many emails do you send? Ten? Twenty? More?

If you’re like most people, the answer is: “A lot. I send lots and lots of emails.”

What if we told you each of those emails you send is an opportunity, either lost or gained?

You can turn every recipient into a newsletter subscriber by placing a hyperlinked call to action in your email signature.

Here’s How You Do It

Each email provider is slightly different, but for Gmail, go to Settings » General. Scroll down, and you’ll find the Signature section:

The link in your signature could point to a landing page, your homepage (assuming it’s optimized), or an article with a particularly-appealing optin bribe.

15. Be More Social

Chances are you already spend several hours each week on various social media platforms.

That’s good! Social Media Examiner noted how a majority of marketers increase leads when they use social media for 6+ hours each week:

But there’s a catch.

How you’re using those hours matters.

Sharing even high-quality videos of kittens and puppies won’t help unless your business is related to kittens and puppies. Publishing food photos won’t help unless you’re a chef or restaurant owner. Live tweeting a Kardashian TV show won’t help you unless… well, it’ll probably never help you. Or anyone.

To see how to grow your email list with social media, you need to be purposeful with those 6+ hours.

Here’s How You Do It

Be helpful. Answer questions. Share worthwhile content. Reach out to people. Make connections.

People who find you indispensable on social media will want more of you.

More helpful advice. Answers to ALL their questions. More worthwhile content.

And where will they go to get “more?”

Your email subscription list.

16. Add a Subscribe Checkbox

If you’re a WordPress user, two plugins can boost optins with little-to-no upkeep. Just ensure the plugins stay up to date, and you’re good to go.

But don’t worry; you’ll be notified when updates are available in your WordPress dashboard!

The first plugin is WPForms, which you can use to add a subscribe checkbox to any form on your site. This works with the most popular email service providers, including Sendinblue, Constant Contact, and AWeber.

With one simple click, readers can optin to your email subscription list while submitting your contact form or any other form. This is GDPR-friendly, and it makes building an email list extremely easy.

You can check out these step-by-step tutorials on how to add a Mailchimp signup checkbox to your contact form or see the tutorials for AWeber and Constant Contact instead.

Ready for the second plugin?

17. Add a “Thanks for Commenting” Redirect

The second plugin we mentioned is Yoast Comment Hacks.

When someone leaves you a comment for the very first time, this plugin redirects them to a “thank you” page. Ramsay Taplin of Blog Tyrant uses this page to encourage newsletter subscriptions:

Check out these step-by-step instructions on how to set up an after-comment redirect on your WordPress site.

If you ask readers to subscribe when they are engaged (and it’s hard to get more engaged than “leaving a comment for the first time ever”), the odds of them taking you up on your offer are pretty good.

And that’s it! These have been the 17 best ways to get more email subscribers.

We hope that you found this article helpful. If so, we encourage you to check out the following resources:

• How to Run a Successful Email Marketing Campaign
• Email Marketing for Beginners: A Step by Step Guide
• How to Create an Effective Email Autoresponder Series

These articles will teach you how to grow leads and monetize the new email subscription list to create new income streams for your business.

Again, like any job you do, using the right tool will make or break your success. Click below to start building your email database today with the world’s #1 lead generation software.

Get Started With OptinMonster Today!