Email & SMS

Optimizing Your Site for Email List Growth

By Tinuiti Team

There’s no shortage of subscriber acquisition tactics to quickly grow your email list, but not every approach is going to bring in the high-intent leads who can provide long-term value to your business.

By strategically approaching opt-in opportunities, brands can convert quality site traffic into engaged email subscribers who can then be nurtured into loyal customers.

Whether you’re looking to boost your email sign-up rates, or in need of a new approach to attract a higher intent audience, implement the capture methods below to optimize your site for email acquisition:
 

Global Footer Form

 
Giving site visitors an opportunity to stay in touch via a static sign-up form is a must for any brand. Some Tinuiti clients see as many as 10% of their new contacts come from this source, as site visitors will naturally navigate to the bottom of the page when attempting to opt-in without prompting. These contacts often end up being some of the most highly engaged subscribers, which is not surprising given their motivation to seek out a sign-up opportunity.

Design your footer sign-up form to stand out against the rest of the page to capture more attention and thus, more email addresses. Utilize a contrasting call-to-action button and separate the form from social icons to completely differentiate email sign up from other links.
email-list-growth-brooks
 

Checkout Checkbox

 
Give new customers a simple way to stay in touch with your brand by adding a checkbox to opt in to receive marketing emails during the checkout process. Be sure to leave the checkbox unchecked to be compliant with anti-spam and privacy laws (CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR, etc.).

Motivate sign-ups with enticing verbiage that communicates the benefits of your brand’s email program: being the first to hear about new arrivals, access to exclusive discounts, etc. If you’re driving new customers to create an account, keep it simple by only asking for basic information you’re sure to utilize for future content targeting. Asking for too many details can cause users to abandon the form fill.
 

Email Capture Pop-Up

 
Leverage an onsite pop-up overlay to grab the attention of visitors upon site landing and convert them into subscribers as early as possible. Tailor your trigger rules to target new and returning visitors with different creative, or optimize the experience by device type. Be sure to prevent sign-up offers from triggering for existing email contacts to avoid interrupting their shopping experience.

Sign-up rates and same session conversions tend to be higher when an enticing incentive is offered. One Tinuiti client saw a 47% lift in email captures when offering an incentive versus no incentive. If a discount isn’t an option for your brand, highlight access to exclusive content, sneak peeks or the ability to pre-shop new arrivals. Lend an air of exclusivity by promoting incentives for “email subscribers only” to reinforce the benefits of participating in your email program.
 

Universal Navigation Bar

 
Feature a live sign-up field as a drop-down/slide-in banner to allow visitors on any page and from any source to sign up without navigating away from the page they are on (a big deterrent for opting-in!). Many third-party platforms offer the ability to customize this placement to work with your site’s layout.
 

 

Blog Sign-Up

 
Convert your captive blog readers into engaged email subscribers by offering readers an option to subscribe for more relevant updates delivered straight to their inbox. Providing value-adding content in the form of email newsletters gives your brand the opportunity to build a relationship with these contacts, and the chance to convert them into long-term loyal customers.

Once these foundational email capture tactics have been put in place, utilize A/B testing to optimize capture rates, testing the incentive, imagery, layout, calls to action, and more. Incremental lift in sign-up rates can breathe new life into a stagnant email list, and pay dividends for months and even years into the future.
 

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