Your blog needs readers. Without readers, your blog is just a hobby. And your business blog needs more than just readers, it needs subscribers.
With almost 4 billion people worldwide currently connected to the internet, there has never been a better time for you to include blogging in your content marketing strategy.
If you have a blog for your business but need more subscribers, what can you do?
Blogging drives traffic to your company’s site and helps convert traffic into leads. Blogs can help promote your products and services and build trust with potential customers as well as lock your existing customers into long-term loyalty
Having subscribers to your blog is much more important than simply having readers because subscribers increase blog traffic.
A subscriber to your content is a person who has effectively said: “Yes, I like what I’m reading and I want more.” Voluntary subscribers show that your content is resonating with your audience.
Tips and tricks to increase your blog subscribers
Whether you’re just starting your business blog or you have had one for some time, increasing your blog subscribers is important. Here are five tips and tricks to help you increase your blog subscribers:
Many people are busy. They often skim a blog post and this means they are likely to miss things, some of which may be important things.
Don't make it difficult for visitors to your blog to figure out how to opt into your blog.
Display a clear, obvious call-to-action module to subscribe to your blog, along with an RSS subscription button and a simple, one-field email opt-in form. Place this near the top of your blog, not buried within the body, at the bottom of a post, or in the sidebar along with all those other little ads, links, or icons.
You don’t want to risk something as important as your opt-in or subscribe button being glossed over by a visitor.
2. Add a consistent footer to the bottom of each blog article
Give your blog posts an element of consistency where it matters most. For each of your blog articles, add a simple, text-based footer that acts as a call to action to subscribe to your blog.
This footer doesn’t have to be fancy, long, or complicated. In fact, the simpler the better, and it can even essentially follow the same format for every blog post.
The value of this consistent footer is if a visitor finishes reading an article on your blog and has found the content they’ve read to be valuable, you'll capture them at the height of their interest.
3. Offer an exclusive incentive for subscribing
People love to receive things. It makes them feel like they’ve obtained something of value. You can leverage this by offering readers an incentive to subscribe to your blog.
Many companies are doing this today. You see it all over the most popular social media channels. It might look like this: Do a push to boost subscribers, such as a dedicated email send or a social media campaign, and offer an incentive for subscribing, such as an exclusive free .pdf ebook, download, or coupon.
Even better, set up a dedicated landing page, and reward anyone who subscribes via that landing page with the exclusive offer. The exclusive offer should provide some value to the subscriber, enough to be a “teaser” so they’ll want to continue to visit your blog.
4. Direct people toward a landing page
Speaking of landing pages, don’t fall into the trap of creating a great landing page, then expect blog readers to just stumble upon it on their own.
Once you’ve built your landing page, promoting it becomes vital. You can do this with direct advertising in social media profiles, driving traffic to the landing page through paid ads, or even by redirecting readers after they have commented on a blog post
5. Use pop-up opt-ins
Another effective tactic to increase blog site and email subscribers is pop-ups. Adding a pop-up to your pages engages with readers but doesn’t hinder their experience while visiting your site.
A pop-up forces every visitor to make a yes or no decision to subscribe to your list. Essentially this means that they can’t ignore it.
Plus, pop-ups work on autopilot—it’s a set it and forget it process. Plugin software is available that allows you to choose from a variety of pop-up types, so you can customize the pop-up to best fit your site’s needs and style.
Blogging drives traffic to your company’s site, and having subscribers to your blog means a visitor liked what they read and want more. The above tips and tricks will help you increase your blog subscribers which will convert traffic into leads, promote your products and services, and build loyalty to your brand.