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Turning Content into Sales: 5 Ways to Increase Blog Opt-ins and Leads

Content Marketing

Trends come and go in digital marketing, but the most effective ways to reach your audience and sell your product or service rarely change. One highly effective digital marketing strategy that’s been around for decades is email marketing.

Email marketers in all industries will agree that for an email campaign to be worth pursuing, it’s essential to have a large and diverse email list. The bigger your reach, the greater the promotional effects of a carefully timed sales email.

In this blog post, we’ll look at the interesting synergy that exists between content and your in-house email list. We’ll also share five strategies that you can use to get more email opt-ins to your email list using your blog content.

Add an overlay pop-up email capture form

Have you ever read a blog post, scrolled down the page and then noticed a modal box pop onto your screen asking for your email address? Overlay pop-ups aren’t subtle, but they’re highly effective at increasing your opt-in rate.

The key to success with modal pop-ups is avoiding being annoying. Don’t let your overlay email capture form get in the way of your content; if it does, readers aren’t likely to opt in and may get a negative view of your business.

One of the most effective ways to generate email opt-ins with an overlay without annoying readers is by triggering it to appear after a certain time limit. You could also use JavaScript to trigger the modal pop-up when users finish a blog post.

Invite users to opt in at the end of a blog post

Instead of adding a modal dialog box that asks users to opt in, you can be far more subtle and simply request their email address at the end of a blog post. This can be as easy as adding an email capture form below the byline of your company blog.

Opt-in boxes at the bottom of a blog post tend to have lower opt-in rates than their more invasive pop-up counterparts, but with a higher lead quality. Since users have read your content before opting in, they’re more likely to respond to your emails.

Offer an informational eBook or white paper

One of the best ways to encourage users to opt in to your email list is by offering an eBook or white paper with more information. The more related the eBook is to your product or service, the more targeted and valuable your subscribers will be.

In order for an eBook to be an effective email capture incentive, it needs to address a problem your target audience is facing. Check your ideal customer profile and think of a common question within your industry that you could answer in detail.

The logistics of offering an eBook as an opt-in incentive are simple. Almost all email marketing platforms, including popular tools such as AWeber and MailChimp, allow you to redirect users to a download page after confirming their email address.

Make users opt in to view your free content

Does your blog post feature an instructional video or free download? If so, you can increase your opt-in rate from your blog posts by requiring users to provide their email address before they can view your dynamic content.

This list building strategy can be annoying for visitors, particularly if you use it in a wide range of blog posts. However, many readers will happily opt in to your list if a high quality resource or detailed, helpful video becomes available.

As with any incentive-based opt-in method, there’s a decline in lead quality with a method like this. Generally speaking, incentivized opt-in leads like these are least likely to convert into customers or clients further down the line.

Offer an exclusive discount or free giveaway

Discount offers are fantastic tools for encouraging your website’s visitors to opt in to your email list. If you offer a product or service, give email subscribers a special discount that’s only available via email to prompt them to opt in.

You can combine the discount strategy with other opt-in methods to maximize your email opt-in rate. For example, your blog’s modal pop-up box could mention pricing benefits and special offers that are only available to email subscribers.

As with the content locking method above, there’s a tradeoff in lead quality when a discount offer is part of your marketing strategy. Be aware that a tactic such as this could attract subscribers and customers who are only interested in discounts.

richard
Richard Fong is a highly experienced and successful internet marketer, known for founding Bliss Drive. With over 20 years of online experience, he has earned a prestigious black belt in internet marketing. Richard leads a dedicated team of professionals and prioritizes personalized service, delivering on his promises and providing efficient and affordable solutions to his clients.
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