It is a well known fact that email marketing is the lifeblood of any website. Many of those websites use annoying popups that hit you when you first get to the page covering up the content you can to view. Or they slide in as you are reaching a thirty second mark, again obscuring what it is you are trying to view. It doesn’t matter if you read the entire page or not. Then they try again as you are trying to leave, whether or not they actually had any value.
It’s no wonder some people are fierce opponents of any type of popup forms. It’s probably one of the reasons that Google is cracking down on websites that make getting to the content difficult. However, you can still use an exit intent popup for the maximum effect alongside methods discussed in this article.
Roughly 2/3rds of people say they dislike popups, because they do tend to get in the way and come off as obtrusive. So how do the websites that don’t employ popups gain an email following? Let’s dive and get creative to get a clear answer to that question.
What You Need
If you are opting to stay away from popups for the fear of annoying your visitors, you will have to employ creative use of your forms and sliders. Placement will also be a huge factor, because nothing is greeting you, sliding up next to you, or trying to stop you from leaving.
Then it’s just getting creative in your approach. First, ensure your content is engaging and either educates your visitors or helps them solve a problem. Second, make sure your calls to action (CTA) use strong language and are compelling enough to encourage the sign up. When both of these are done well your email list will grow, all without using those annoying popups.
Finally, the last piece of the puzzle is a solid and reliable hosting provider which will ensure your website is constantly up as well as fast help your website loads as fast as possible. Both of these can be accomplished with a managed WordPress host. After all, there is little point in creating optin forms and incorporating them into your website if your visitors land on a page that’s not accessible because your website is down due to server overload.
How to Grow Your Email List Without Popups
There are several ways to get your forms ready to become email address gathering machines without sacrificing any kind of user experience, and still be pleasantly integrated throughout your website.
Feature Box
Originally used to great success by Derek Halpern, a feature box sits between the header and the blog posts themselves on the homepage of your website. It acts like a huge call to action that does get a lot of attention. By sitting between the header and the blog posts it is not disruptive to the user and allows them to scroll right by and get into the content they want.
Subscribe Button
WordPress has made it easy not only to share your blog posts via sharing plugins, but to also grow your following through social media follow plugins as well. Capitalize on that by subtly adding in a subscribe button alongside your other social media icons. This method lends itself well to the concept of social proof because you can show off how many subscribers you already have. Since the subscribe button sits in your sidebar, it doesn’t obstruct the attention of the visitor, and allows them to notice it without having to do any extra clicking to read your content.
Subscribe Checkbox
This is a little ingenious if you think about it. It is quite common to be required to enter a name and an email address to submit comments to blog posts. Take it further by adding a checkbox that allows your commenters to subscribe to your email list at the same time. Comments by default come after the post, and if the visitor is ready to comment on your post, that means they are already engaging with your content. This is the best time to ask them to go a step further and sign up for your newsletter. The same checkbox can be added to your contact forms because that’s another opportunity to grab the email address when a visitor is highly engaged with your site.
Dedicated Landing Page
You can make a dedicated landing page to sign people up for your email list and incorporate the link to that page in your social media profiles and in your email signatures. Because it doesn’t create a conflict for attention with your normal content, this is a perfect solution that doesn’t become annoying. It should contain all the other makings of a stellar landing page like sharing a sample of the content that will be delivered, the frequency you will send out emails, and any social proof you may have.
The Header and Footer
Having an email subscription button in your navigation bar is pretty standard, and it can be found on every page of your website that way. You can still make a wonderful header image that includes a strong call to action and allows for form submissions. Most people won’t make it all the way down to your footer unless they are seriously looking for something. Offering them a chance to find what it is what they are looking for and a chance to subscribe to our email list at the same time is a smart choice.
Growing Your Email List Without Popups Is Possible
Gathering email addresses may seem difficult, but it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s all in how great your content is, and how well placed your call to action is. If you aren’t sending a compelling message to your readers, then no matter which method you use to get email address, it just won’t happen. But if your content truly satisfies the needs of your target audience, then you will be able to grow your email list even without popups.