Last week, I shared 10 opt-in incentives that make your audience excited about signing up for your email list. But here’s the thing: it isn’t enough to have attractive opt-in offers on your blog or website. You also need people to see your opt-in forms and calls to action in the first place. By making your email opt-ins more visible, more people will see them and, as a result, more people will sign up for your email list. And what happens when you have more people signing up for your email list on a daily basis? You can gain more subscribers, make more sales with your email list, and grow your business or blog faster. Sounds pretty sweet, right?
So how do you get your email opt-ins in front of more eyeballs? Use these 16 ways to make them more visible.
How do you keep your email subscribers from unsubscribing? By delivering tons of value in your emails. Need some ideas?
Download my free tip sheet on 19 types of emails you can send to your email list.
On your website or blog
You don’t have to head to another platform to start making your email opt-ins more visible. There are lots of strategies you can implement right on your website or blog. Here are just some of the ways you can get more people to see your email opt-ins on your website or blog:
1. Home page
Want to make it easier for your website or blog visitors to stumble across your email opt-ins? Place one front and centre on your home page. Lots of people will land on the home page of your blog or website, so it’s a great place to promote one of your top email opt-in incentives.
Example: Melyssa Griffin put her key email opt-in front and centre on her home page.
2. Bottom of a page or post
Anyone who visits your website is already at least somewhat interested in what you have to offer. But if someone scrolls all the way to the bottom of a webpage or blog post, you know they’re particularly invested in learning more about your brand. Capitalize on this by placing email opt-ins at the bottom of key pages and blog posts.
Related: How to correctly set up content upgrades on your blog + free tool list
Example: This Crazy Egg blog post contains a visible email opt-in at the bottom.
3. Top of a page or post
Not everyone who visits your website or blog will scroll down the page they land on. But this doesn’t mean you should count them out as an email subscriber. Show them an offer they can’t resist by promoting an email opt-in incentive right at the top of a webpage or blog post.
You can place email opt-ins at the top of the “body” section of a webpage or blog post, or you add them as a bar that sits at the top of the page. You can even make this bar “sticky” so that it remains visible as people scroll down the page or post.
Example: Nesha Woolery uses a bar at the top of this webpage to make her email opt-in more visible.
4. The middle of a page or post
Signing up for your email list is a bit of a commitment. That’s why your website or blog visitors may not be ready to convert before they’ve learned anything about you. But they may be sold once they’ve read a few sections of your page or blog post. Catch them before they bounce by placing email opt-ins right in the middle of a page or post.
Related: 6 content upgrade tips that will skyrocket your email list + free fillable checklist cheat sheet
Example: Neil Patel promotes an email opt-in right in the middle of this blog post.
How do you keep your email subscribers from unsubscribing? By delivering tons of value in your emails. Need some ideas?
Download my free tip sheet on 19 types of emails you can send to your email list.
5. The sidebar
When you’re adding email opt-ins to your website or blog, don’t forget about your sidebar. Because your sidebar is set off from the rest of the content on your webpage or blog post, opt-in links that are placed in it can be much easier to notice.
When you place email opt-ins in your sidebar, you can make them sticky so that they remain visible when your website or blog visitors scroll down.
Example: Caitlin Bacher uses a sticky sidebar to promote her Facebook group roadmap opt-in.
6. The navigation bar
When people visit your website or blog for the first time, they’ll probably take a quick look at your navigation bar to figure out what they can learn about you. That’s why it’s strategic and effective to place a link to one of your top email opt-ins right in your navigation bar. Because a navigation link to your opt-in is pretty subtle, you can add it to your website or blog even if you already feature an opt-in incentive on your home page.
Example: Social Media Examiner uses the navigation bar to make its email opt-in more visible.
7. Timed pop-ups
You may avoid adding pop-ups to your website or blog because they’re annoying. And you definitely don’t want to annoy your visitors, right?
But the truth is that pop-ups are a lot like Buckley’s cough syrup. They may seem unpleasant to deal with, but they work. And that why lots of entrepreneurs and bloggers continue to use them.
You can make your pop-ups less annoying by setting them up to appear after a certain period of time. You can even set them up so that if someone visits your website or blog repeatedly, they won’t see the pop-up again until a certain number of days have passed.
Example: TOMS uses a timed pop-up to promote this email opt-in.
8. Welcome mats
Welcome mats are pop-ups that cover an entire browser screen. They show up when someone first lands on your website or blog. Welcome mats are good for getting your visitors’ undivided attention and forcing them to actively accept or reject your email opt-ins.
Example: Sumo uses a welcome mat to make its email opt-in impossible to miss.
9. Exit intent pop-ups
Want to make one last attempt at converting visitors before they leave your website or blog (possibly forever)? Create exit intent pop-ups for your email opt-ins. Exit intent pop-ups are a special type of pop-up. They show up when your website or blog detects that a visitor is about to leave. If someone is about to peace out anyway, why not try to hook them one last time by showing them an attractive email opt-in incentive that they can get for free?
Example: Help My Business uses an exit intent pop-up to promote its email opt-in.
How do you keep your email subscribers from unsubscribing? By delivering tons of value in your emails. Need some ideas?
Download my free tip sheet on 19 types of emails you can send to your email list.
On social media
Have a social media account for your business or blog? Now’s the time to put it to work. Because social media helps you connect with new members of your audience, it’s a great place to promote email opt-ins.
10. Social media posts
One of the most obvious ways to make your email opt-ins more visible on social media is to create social media posts about them. For example, you can create a Facebook post that teases your newest blog post and its accompanying content upgrade. Or you can create a Pinterest pin that promotes your top lead magnet. Where possible, link these posts to your email opt-in forms so that it’s easier for your followers to sign up for them.
Related: How to use Pinterest to grow your email list + free Pinterest profile cheat sheet
Example: I share pins featuring my content upgrades on Pinterest to encourage people to sign up for them.
11. Social media account bios
Creating posts about your opt-in incentives isn’t the only way to make them more visible on social media. You can also use your social media account bios to promote your email opt-ins. Just select one of your top opt-ins and add a link to it in your bio.
Example: The Crown Fox has a link to an email opt-in right in her Instagram bio.
12. Social media account cover images
On platforms where you can create your own profile cover image (for example, Facebook), you can use your cover photo to promote one of your best email opt-in incentives.
Example: Amber McCue uses her Facebook cover photo to showcase her email opt-in.
13. Social media account call-to-action buttons
On some platforms, you also have the option of adding a call-to-action button to your profile. To get more people to see your email opt-ins, create a call-to-action button that directs your followers to your email opt-in form.
Example: Todd Herman uses the “sign up” button on his Facebook page to enhance the visibility of his opt-in.
In your emails
You may not think about using email to boost your email opt-ins. After all, won’t it just be the people who have already subscribed to your email list who see your emails? Well, not quite. Here are two ways you can use email to get your email opt-ins in front of new eyeballs:
14. Email signature
Your email signature may contain your name, position, and contact info. But there’s something else you can add: A link to an email opt-in. This is a pretty nonintrusive way to promote your email opt-ins. And because many of the people you email probably already have some sort of relationship with you or interest in your brand, your email recipients are the perfect people to target.
Example: My email signature includes a link to my welcome email series copy template opt-in.
15. Updates to your email list
Do you send updates to your email list where you tease your newest blog post, offer helpful tips, or share a roundup of awesome resources? Add a link to your email updates that makes it easy for your subscribers to forward the updates to a friend. If you do this and add an email opt-in at the bottom of your updates, you can use your subscribers to gain even more subscribers.
Other blogs
16. Guest blog bios
When it comes to making your email opt-ins more visible, you aren’t stuck just with the platforms and channels associated with your brand. You can also leverage other blogs to gain more subscribers. How do you do this? Publish guest posts on other blogs.
Guest posting helps you reach members of your audience who are the perfect fit for your brand but haven’t heard about you yet. And if you write a blog post that appeals to them, create an opt-in incentive they’ll love, and link to the opt-in form in your guest author profile, you’ll be able to convert tons of new fans.
Make your email opt-ins impossible to miss
You’ve put a lot of effort into creating epic opt-in incentives to build your email list. Now it’s time to help them reach their full potential by getting more people to see them. Use the 16 strategies I’ve shared above to make it impossible for your website or blog visitors to miss your email opt-ins. They’ll help you get more subscribers, boost your sales, and grow your brand.
How do you keep your email subscribers from unsubscribing? By delivering tons of value in your emails. Need some ideas?
Download my free tip sheet on 19 types of emails you can send to your email list.
