Want to grow and promote your newsletter, but aren’t sure which strategies to use?
Many people hit the publish button without promoting it, then wonder why they don’t get new subscribers.
In this article, I’ll share 10 tips that’ll help you reach new subscribers and grow your email list.
Why promote your newsletter?
There are many benefits of a newsletter that make it necessary to promote it.
Some of the benefits are:
- Effective channel. 90% of internet users use email which means it’s an effective way to reach people and maintain a constant connection.
- Sent straight to inboxes. Instead of passively waiting for someone to visit, emails are sent straight to subscriber inboxes, making it more likely they’ll see it.
- You own everything. Unlike social media, where the app owns everything, you own the content and subscribers data in email marketing.
This makes email marketing one of the best channels for lead generation and communication.
Now that we know about its benefits, let’s look at ways to promote it.
10 tips to promote a newsletter and grow your email list
1. Include an email opt-in form in your blog posts
People come to your blog to read the content you post. It’s a great place for you to promote your newsletter and connect with readers who enjoy reading the content you publish.
When you write and publish a new article, you need to make sure that it includes an email opt-in form at the sidebar, the bottom, or anywhere on the page. This should be an easy form for readers to fill out and submit — you don’t want them struggling when all they are trying to do is subscribe!
You can use Newsletter Glue to create a simple email newsletter signup form and connect it to an ESP of your choice. If your theme supports custom hooks, you can add one at the bottom of the single post, and the opt-in form will automatically appear for all articles on the website.
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If you want to increase conversions, give something away for free or offer something valuable in exchange for an email address.
Tips to get started with opt-in forms:
- Create a simple form with only the necessary fields such as the email field.
- Make your button copy actionable so that visitors know what to do.
- Add short copy above the opt-in form explaining what the newsletter is about.
2. Have a dedicated landing page to convert visitors into subscribers
If you’re running a newsletter, it’s important to have a dedicated page on your site where people can easily sign up for your newsletter.
This landing page should be easy for visitors to find and should contain all the essential elements that’ll help them subscribe.
It should tell visitors what the newsletter is about and what they can expect from it if they subscribe.
The landing page should include a mockup of the newsletter or illustrated graphics to catch the attention of the visitors. It should also display some kind of social proof such as a testimonial or subscriber count to show visitors you’re an authority in your niche.
You can also read our comprehensive guide on how to create a newsletter landing page that works.
Tips to get started with a newsletter landing page:
- Make the above-the-fold area stand out by including a sign-up form, social proof, and catchy headline copy.
- Show a preview of the newsletter by including a mockup to give visitors an idea of what it looks like.
- Make it easy for visitors to navigate to your newsletter landing page by including a link to it in your website’s header or footer.
3. Have a newsletter archive on the website
One of the best ways to promote your newsletter is by getting visitors from search engines like Google.
How do you do that? You can include a newsletter archive on your website and let visitors read the previous issues of your newsletter. This will show visitors how valuable your newsletter is and they’ll be more likely to sign up.
How do you include a newsletter archive on your website? It’s easy! You just need to install the Newsletter Glue plugin and it’ll automatically create an archive of newsletters sent using it.
There are other ways too, and you can learn more from our article on how to create an SEO-friendly newsletter archive.
Tips to get started with a newsletter archive:
- Use Newsletter Glue which lets you write your newsletters in WordPress. This automatically creates an archive.
- Include your newsletter archive in the sitemap so that Google and other search engine bots can easily find it.
4. Share it on social media
Social media can be a great source to gain new subscribers. If you already have an audience on social media, you can let them know about your newsletter and ask them to signup.
You can share the link to your newsletter landing page or archive from time to time, so that followers know about it and the value they’ll get from subscribing.
The WP Weekly, a WordPress weekly newsletter does this very well by sharing the link to the archive page each week when a new issue is published.
You can also add your newsletter landing page link to your social profiles so that new followers can easily subscribe.
You can also promote your newsletter by joining relevant Facebook groups and subreddits and becoming an active member of them.
Tips to get started with newsletter social media sharing:
- Start by following at least a 100 people in your niche so that your social feed is full of potential subscribers you can start building a relationship with.
- Don’t just share newsletter links on social media, engage with your audience and build connections first.
- When promoting it in groups, make yourself a familiar face before sharing links.
5. Become a guest writer for other newsletters
Another way to promote your newsletter is to become a guest writer for other newsletters. Guest writing will get exposure for your newsletter, which will attract more subscribers and build your brand.
Guest writing can put you in front of an already established audience, and if they like what you write, many will sign up for your newsletter to receive more of your amazing content.
You can also use this opportunity to drive traffic to your website by promoting it in the newsletter, provided the other party doesn’t have an issue.
Becoming a guest writer can help you grow both your newsletter and website simultaneously, which is why it’s such a good idea.
Tips to get started with guest writing:
- Find 10 newsletters in your niche that have more subscribers than yours using directories and approach them for guest writing.
- Brainstorm topic ideas together with those who respond and submit the draft copy later.
6. Do newsletter cross-promotion
Newsletter cross-promotion and guest writing are two different concepts.
Cross-promotion is when you promote another person’s newsletter in yours, in exchange for them promoting your newsletter in theirs.
Vidya from The Curious Bunch used this technique to grow her email list from 0 to 1000+ subscribers in 9 months.
To get started with cross-promotion, DM or cold email other writers with similar audiences and niche interests by sharing your stats like list size, open rate and click rate.
Once the other person agrees, you can then share a personalized promotion copy to send it to respective audiences.
You can learn more about this by reading Vidya’s guide on cross-promotions.
Tips to get started with newsletter cross-promotion:
- Join groups or communities to find writers in your niche with similar audience and size.
- Cold DM them with the necessary details.
- Discuss the type of cross-promotion, such as a shout-out or a guest post.
- Exchange personalized promotion copy and send it to your respective audiences.
7. Submit it to newsletter directories
Newsletter directories provide a great way to grow your email list. You can add your newsletter once and get passive subscriber growth forever.
Just as we have directories for businesses, food, and local city information, there are dedicated online directories to help people discover interesting newsletters.
In addition to this, a newsletter directory can also help you with SEO by giving a backlink and authority.
You may ask where can I find such directories.
Well, there are a lot of newsletter directories out there, but these are some of the best ones:
Besides building your email list, newsletter directories can also help you find niche newsletters to advertise and cross-promote with.
8. Buy ads in other newsletters
If you have the budget, buying ads in other newsletters can be an effective way to reach potential subscribers.
Kim Doyal advertised in Josh Spector’s newsletter and gained 46 new subscribers from a single ad.
You can buy ads in other relevant newsletters to draw a large targeted audience to your own newsletter. As the target audience are already newsletter readers, convincing them to read one more newsletter isn’t difficult compared to a different audience.
Before you book an ad slot, consider looking at metrics such as open rates, click rates, and performance of previous ad campaigns. This will help you decide whether to invest or not, and if you do, how many conversions you can expect.
You can use the newsletter directories that we mentioned in the previous section to find other newsletters that fit your niche and can bring new subscribers.
Tips to buy ads in other newsletters:
- Look for related or complementary niches and don’t worry about the audience size.
- Create a brand guide with logos, images, and value propositions. Make it easy for the sponsored newsletter to write an ad for you and get it right.
- Find newsletters to sponsor in newsletter ad marketplaces like Swapstack, SponsorGap, and Paved.
9. Get on a podcast
A podcast is an easy way to reach a large audience, promote your newsletter and gain exposure.
If you have topics that you can freely talk about, contact some of the podcasters in your niche and offer yourself as a guest. Podcasters are always looking for new people to interview, so they should be happy with your offer.
You can easily find podcasts in your niche simply by searching on Google or iTunes with keywords like “podcast” + “niche.” You don’t need to contact every single one of them, but just pick a few and see if they are interested in interviewing someone like you.
When you get an interview on a podcast, make sure to mention your newsletter during the conversation (if it makes sense). This way their audience will know about your newsletter and might sign up if they find it interesting.
Tips to promote your newsletter on a podcast:
- Look for podcasts that are related to your industry, or have been mentioned by people you trust.
- When on the podcast, mention about your newsletter while introducing yourself.
- Request the host to include a link to your newsletter landing page in the episode description and on the website.
10. Run a giveaway
Giveaways are one of the best way to grow your list in a short period of time. You can run a giveaway on other channels such as social media where people are already interested in your work.
You can offer something unique or exclusive to attract users to your giveaway. The prize doesn’t have to be expensive; as long as it’s something that people want, they’ll take part in your giveaway.
For running the giveaway, you can use a tool like RafflePress that allows you to have different entry points. So besides email list signup, people can increase their chances of winning by completing other tasks such as tweeting about it or following on social media.
Tips to run a viral giveaway campaign:
- Make sure the prize is something that people want and can’t get anywhere else.
- Clearly state how many people will be able to win the prize.
- Provide different ways for users to better their chances of winning while keeping the newsletter as the mandatory one.
Conclusion
Publishing a newsletter is only half the battle. You also need to promote it in order to reach the right audience and grow your email list. The tips listed below will assist you in accomplishing this goal.
- Include an email opt-in form in your blog posts.
- Have a dedicated landing page to convert visitors into subscribers.
- Have a newsletter archive on the website
- Share it on social media
- Become a guest writer for other newsletters
- Do newsletter cross-promotion
- Submit it to newsletter directories
- Buy ads in other newsletters
- Get on the podcast
- Run a giveaway
These tips are straightforward and easy to implement. If you’re having trouble growing your list, give a few of these ideas a try. It might surprise you how helpful they can be.
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