7 Tricks & Tips to encourage newsletter signups post-GDPR.

Since the notorious GDPR purge of 2018, email newsletter subscriber lists have been depleted across Europe. Hundreds of thousands, potentially even millions, of subscribers have opted out of mailing lists and as a result, have not been receiving the innovative, unique and enjoyable content and information that your business has been producing. Very stressful.

Whether your ex-subscribers chose to leave or if they just happened to miss your reminder emails leading up to the purge, here are 7 tips and tricks to use to get those subscriber lists looking as healthy as they once were:

1. Run a competition, giveaway, or raffle. 

There are many avenues to take for this tip. Give potential subscribers the opportunity to enter into a competition or raffle for their chance to win a prize of your choice. The beauty of it is that you can choose the prize whether that be a discount, a product, cash etc. However, the more impressive the prize the more likely the signup. Alternatively, offer something with each signup, e.g. a small gift such as a discount or piece of merchandise. No need to break the bank for this tip.

2. Remind visitors of the exclusive benefits available to subscribers. 

On your site, remind visitors that newsletter subscribers get exclusive benefits, like your latest information, exclusive access to new products and offers, regular discounts or free download kits. Make the value of the subscription clear to them, web users aren’t usually willing to take the risk when theres a potential for a spam filled inbox.

3. Offer an instant discount for first-time subscribers.

A personal favourite of mine is the “Sign up for 20% off”. Try offering an instant incentive for becoming a newsletter subscriber if this is applicable to your product or service. Sites such as Topshop & other E-commerce websites offer a 20% off discount voucher that is redeemable as soon as you’ve signed up to the newsletter. This could even be positioned at checkout before someone makes a purchase.

4. Position your newsletter signup at the bottom of your blog posts. 

Not necessarily every single one, but the good ones at least. You never know who may be inspired to learn more and keep up-to-date.

5. Take full advantage of your email signature and add a link. 

Link to your newsletter signup page in your email signature (and have co-workers do the same) to encourage newsletter signup via any emails that may be going out to customers and clients. However, style and design is very important here. You don’t want to shout it and you don’t want it to be so small and insignificant that it’s lost, try to find a subtle middle ground that doesn’t make your email signature look like a mess.

Here is an example of our email signatures:

6. Emphasise the word “free”, implying “free value” to the subscriber.

While it’s often expected that an email newsletter will not cost the subscriber anything, the word itself can be quite persuasive. Try adding the word “free” to your copy and see for yourself whether or not it improves your signup numbers.

7. Be upfront about the frequency that you’ll be sending out emails.

Users get strongly deterred at even the thought of having their inbox flooded with spam and unwanted sales emails. Having full transparency regarding how often you’ll be emailing them will help alleviate those concerns. Consider using the words weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or if you can, give the exact dates and times so that subscribers know what to expect.

That concludes our tricks and tips, give them a go and see your subscriber list grow to the list it once was and potentially even beyond. If you need something a bit more than newsletter subscribers to develop your business, book yourself a place at one of our FREE one-to-one ‘Grow Your Business’ sessions, where we can provide more detailed tricks and tips for how to increase your online leads.