Tag Archives: call to action

Increase Your Email Subscribers with Your Blog Articles

Increase Your Email Subscribers with Your Blog Articles
It’s the digital marketer’s mantra: the real power is in the list. You’ve got one shot to impress a website visitor, but endless opportunities to reach out to your email list subscribers.

Blogs are a great way to capture interest and email addresses, but if yours isn’t exactly a gold mine of signups, then it’s time to make a few tweaks. Our recommendations are:

1. Get Responsive!

Responsive design is so critical that Google and other search engines are penalizing sites that aren’t mobile-friendly, and accessible across platforms. More important than that: if your readers can’t access your blog on their phone, they will go elsewhere.

2. Put Opt-In Forms on Every Page

No one is going to look for your opt-in form. Make it easy. Use simple text. Ask for as little information as possible. Add a big, easy to click button. Finally, put it above the fold.

Did you know that the old “sidebar” forms don’t really work optimally anymore?  It’s good to have one but you need something more to “get in front of” the visitor more clearly.

3. Use the “Skyscraper Method”

The Skyscraper Method technique was developed by Brian Dean of Backlinko, and it’s very simple and very effective.

  • Find the very best content in your niche
  • Figure out how to rework it, rewrite it, and make it BETTER
  • Post your new, improved, viral-ready and completely shareable link bait on your blog
  • Repeat

4. Help People Find What They Need

Even if you have a blog that is Shakespeare worthy in style and has the depth of Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining quasars, you’re not going to get the traction you should be out of it if people struggle to find their way around.

Make sure your navigation is simple and intuitive, and place a search box in a prominent and easy to find place on every page.

5. Add A CTA to Every Post

If you don’t get them to sign up before they read your post, make sure you catch them at the end, by including a call to action (CTA) inviting subscription at the end of your posts.

6. Add a Bounce Popup

Good salespeople never give up, and neither should your site. If your opt-in forms haven’t captured their information, and your CTA fails, add a popup to your site that only appears when people are about to leave without signing up.

Chances are, most visitors who leave won’t come back soon, so you have nothing to lose by disrupting them, and asking them to subscribe.

7. Ask Often and Clearly

Most internet users aren’t sure what they are supposed to do next when they land on most sites. Ask them to take action is often all that’s required. Once they’re on your list, you’ve succeeded in the first step in email marketing and relationship building.

Don’t let your hard work blogging go to waste. Turn your business blog into a marketing machine!  Ready to try a Waftio pop-up or widget?

The Value of a CTA in Your Blog Post

The Value of a CTA in Your Blog Post

Blogging is one of the best strategies you can use to communicate and interact with your online audience. Content management systems like WordPress make it easy to create a blog. As you use the blog to market your products and services, it’s crucial to include a CTA (call to action) within each post.

Without a CTA to motivate your readers into taking the action you want them to take, your readers won’t take any action at all. It’s simply information on the web.  You need to guide your readers to take the action you desire!

Here’s what a CTA can do for your blog:

Increase Web Traffic

Websites that get lots of traffic rank higher in the major search engines. This, in turn, makes the site more readily available (higher in search results) to those doing searches. The key is to include a link to the website product/service page in your CTA. It will help channel traffic from your blog to the site, increasing the success of your online marketing campaigns and your popularity.

Example of a form embedded in a blog post:

The Value of a CTA in Your Blog Post

Get the Reader to Read More Content

One of the best ways to convert traffic is with quality content that makes the reader stay on your website. Adding a call to action of related articles to your blog posts will invite readers to read your other posts. All you have to do is link to the related topics using keywords. For instance, the keyword “online marketing” can be linked to other articles on social media marketing, website marketing or email marketing within the blog post.

A simple and clear way to do this is with a titled area “Related Content” and then have a bulleted list with keyword titles linking to other articles on your blog or website.

Increase Chances of the Post Being Shared on Social Media

There are over 2 billion active social media users in the world today. Use social media to market your products and services. Because posting links to your blog posts on social media isn’t enough, you’ll need go a step further. Include social sharing buttons on your posts as your CTA at the end of all blog posts. Readers will be able to share the posts easily by just clicking on these buttons.

Add More Readers to your Email List

Email marketing is a powerful strategy to generate sales. Use a CTA to get your website readers to subscribe to your email newsletter. One of the best ways to tempt people to subscribe is by giving discounts or access to premium content in exchange for them signing up. For example, if your blog post focuses on photography, you could offer a free eBook with tips about photography to readers who provide their email address.

Finally, the CTA should be action-oriented, brief, clear, and easy to locate. Readers should be able to see it from a distance, but it shouldn’t be so large that it diverts attention from the main content. More importantly, it should be in an easy-to-find spot on the blog.   Try different ones including sidebar CTA’s, in-page CTA’s, and pop-up CTA’s.

 

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How to Effectively Use Free Opt-in Offers

How to Effectively Use Free Opt-in Offers

Your small business may have an excellent website. Yet it might not be enough!

A site with great design and well-written descriptions may not get you the clients or followers you need to have a successful business.  Why?  Lead Capture is missing.

You need to market your website to get the maximum number of visitors and make sure you keep in contact, so they end up as customers, not just one time visitors on your site.

They don’t often buy the first time!

Most site visitors don’t commit to buy your product or use your services on their first visit.

Thus, it’s critical you make sure you have a way to capture their contact information when they DO visit!  With consistent interaction after the capture you may convert your visitor to a customer over time.  A well-designed opt-in offer to capture the email address and open two-way communication is an excellent way to engage your visitor. Their first visit is the best chance you’ll have to make that connection, so you need to choose your offer wisely and deploy it well.

The Offer Must have Value!

Research shows that free offers in exchange for an email address are effective.
Your visitors have a chance to try something without cost or obligation. They get to know you better and learn that you have something beneficial to offer. You’ll need to provide something of real value related to your products/services in exchange for their email address. It might be an eBook, a webinar, a product sample, a coupon or a highly informative video or newsletter. If you have a service, you can offer a free trial to “try before you buy.” It must be of enough value and compelling to motivate a sign-up.

Even if your business is not selling products or services, you need to grow your email list. Why?  It’s the simplest path forward to stay in touch with your clients and potential clients. Successful opt-in offers follow these guidelines:

  • Have an opt-in offer form which matches your site branding. Make sure the form is easy to complete (Not too many fields; best is name and email). Make it easy for a visitor to quickly opt-in.
  • Make sure the opt-in form is a prominent item on your site. Be sure it’s easy to locate. Use color, motion, or eye-catching graphics to call attention to it.
  • The offer should be really helpful. Make it nearly impossible for visitors to consider leaving without taking your offer. Your audience must see the value in the offer.
  • A well-received form might include a picture of you to make the offer more personal and humanize the business.
  • Make a strong case for the benefits your prospect will gain by accepting your offer.
  • Include success stories and testimonials to help encourage acceptance.

Conversion rates vary for opt-in offers. The more time you cultivate the contact, making sure they get the full value of the offer and keep in touch, the better the conversion rate. According to Totango research, trial offer conversions could run from under 8% up to 20% with follow-up. The key to better conversion is communication with the lead on a regular basis, and using their first name. This is part of your email nurture follow-up strategy.  Deployment of emails should be on a scheduled basis or based on the lead’s use or lack of use of the trial product. You can offer coaching or help by phone or email.

If you make a good impression, you’ll be rewarded!

These are essential keys to success on your site.  Any questions?