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If you think getting people to your site is tricky, you want to try getting them to sign up to newsletters.  Now that’s what I call tricky!

There are a number of reasons as to why this is the case.  The first reason is simple - people just have to do more work.  You can’t make a newsletter sign-up process so simple that all someone has to do is click on a link.  At the very least they have to put their email address into a form, and if you have an opt-in system going, they have to confirm their desire to join the list by clicking on a link in the conformation email they receive.  That may not sound like a lot of work for a go-getting Internet entrepreneur, but for your average user, it’s a lot of work.

On top of that you have to appreciate that people don’t want more spam and junk coming to their inbox.  They have enough to deal with as it is and don’t want more.

So how do you overcome these resistance factors and get people to sign up for your newsletter?  Here are a few tips:

• Make the sign-up process as easy as possible
  Ask the minimum of questions - this isn’t the time to survey your audience.  If they have to jump through too many hoops, they won’t bother signing up.
• Give them a reason to sign up!
  Explain what your newsletter has to offer in terms of benefits to the recipient.  You gotta make them WANT your content!
• Offer a freebie
  The offer of a free gift of some description is a great way to get people to sign up!  Even just using the word “free”, as in “free newsletter” will increase take-up!
• Free sample
  Make available a sample of your newsletter.  This way people know in advance what to expect. If you don’t make or sell a product, this could be a free download, PDF or white paper for example.
• No spam!
  Guarantee, on your mother’s life, that you’re not going to spam your subscribers.  Also pledge that you’re not going to sell their email address to someone else who will spam them. Ever!  Period. (And make 100% certain that you never go back on this promise!)
• Offer the subscriber a way out
  The last thing that you want on your email list are people who want out - make sure that you offer a simple unsubscribe system for those that no longer want your newsletter.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 7th, 2006 at 10:08 am and is filed under Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.