Having sign-up forms on your website for your email marketing lists is one of the cheapest ways of gaining subscribers, as they work 24/7 with little or no specific time requirements. What could be better? It seems that there is one particular way: more people using them.
For most of us, the number of subscribers who come via the website is remarkably low; in fact, so low as to ensure any numbers are all but useless as a base for statistical testing of improvements. This is an anathema to anyone in email marketing. The ability to test any change is regarded as essential to ensure that we are not wasting time and money. However, for those of us getting single figures for, say, a week, a 100% change could be a matter of chance.
What to do?
Firstly, any change is likely to be positive, so nothing is stopping us from giving it a go. All we need to do is raise the number of conversions to a figure that is statistically significant. This will give us a baseline. We work from there.
We can now test individual aspects, changing one factor at a time to see if it makes a difference; positive and negative are equally useful, as if the rate goes down, we can go the other way. There is no downside to testing.
One of the factors that would more or less ensure low conversion rates is a low view rate. If potential subscribers do not come to your site, then a 100% conversion rate is still a disaster. Upping your visitors has so many other benefits, some outside of email marketing, that it is the best option. It can be expensive and take a long time, so let’s concentrate on more immediate changes.
A simple route is to move your clickthrough. It might be that it arrives too early in a browser’s visit, so someone being presented with the offer of joining your email marketing list at the top of the page might be put off. But, of course, the opposite is also true. Leaving it too late might cost you.
The only answer is, as you have guessed, to test each position individually. It’s easy enough to do, and that lovely word, cheap as well. Other changes are more esoteric.
Do your subscribers react to bright, primary colours? This is something you should know about those on your email marketing list. If so, are your clickthroughs aligned to their preferences? After all, we’re after the same demographic. Targets and subscribers appreciate the same things. Remember, shades that are different to the norm can stand out just as much as a bright yellow. It will take testing, of course.
There is one thing that will have a universally positive effect on signup rates: offering your potential subscribers something of value, the best hook there is. Tell them signing up to your email marketing list will mean savings, access to whatever it is you are selling and, one of the most underrated of gifts, choice.
