People have been asking me for a while now to add an email subscribe box so that they will know via email when the site has new content, which is every single day anyway but it’s always nice to have an email reminder to actually give you a sneak peak into what has been published that day. I eventually got round to it 6 days ago at the time of writing on the 20th of March.
Now the great thing about all this is it’s an addition to the mailing list, some people would rather they get an email letting them know when their is fresh content on your site and are not really that worried about missing out on anything else your mailing list may produce and that’s completely fine because adding a site subscribe function is a really good tool to offer both services to cater for both types of people.
Now you can see from the subscriber screen grab from my Feedburner account show 200 subscribers in 4 days, that figure is actually now at 215 with a reach of 80 bringing in 63 unique visits for Thursday 25th alone. Now all of this isn’t massive traffic but when you add it to the rest of the daily traffic streams it all adds up and that’s the point of this post.
- Little Bits
Having 63 clicks from the feed emails doesn’t seem big numbers, but like I said look at it as little bits of traffic from a lot of different streams all flowing into a huge ocean of traffic, let me explain it in terms of figures from all the different sources;
- Feedburner 63 Unique click through
-Mailing List; 56 Unique click through
-553 Unique Visitors from direct, search engine and social media referrals.
You will see that having feedburner and a mailing list no matter how small (mine is just over 300) they are all add up to giving you traffic. Little bits here and there all add up, especially on your quiet traffic days like Wednesday and Thursday are on this site, so by adding more little streams to the pot you combat low traffic days to bring them up to your good days and push your good days into fantastic days.
- Hooks
So how do you actually get people to subscribe in the first place? Well you actually have to offer them something, now I don’t hammer my mailing list with affiliates and other ”offers” The broadcast goes out on average twice a week, but the subscribe feedburner is the one that I want to focus on here as it’s fairy common knowledge how to build a mailing list by offering a free product etc.
Creating excitement and intrigue around a post of your site in general is a great way to actually get people wanting to be kept up to date. There are a few different ways to do this;
-Story
So some of you will have read the first part of Contact Right, Contact Right by now and the response has been great, a lot of great comments on the first part of the story and a few emails asking when I am going to release the follow up posts. By creating a story that is a little , or in my case totally different, to the sites usual content you can create a buzz around the site which people will want to stay updated with.
-Debate
A good debate is always good for bringing people back again and subscribing to a quick email reminder is an easy way to stay updated making sure you don’t miss anything. Is $2,000 Too Expensive is a great example of a discussion in which it encouraged people to get involved and watch the debate unfold hence maybe singing up to be reminded by email that future posts may well be of interest too.
-Reply
I still stand by this sites reply response rate, replying to people in your comments creates a community and encourages others to help each other out and they know their comment will be read and answered, having this community feel to a site encourages people to want to stay informed to upcoming posts.
While we are on the subject if you would like to be informed by email when there is new content on this site just fire in your email and you will know once a day when the site has new content.
What this helpful?
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Wow I didn’t know that you could get this many subscribers so fast. And I agree you have to create hooks. I will have to do that on my blog as well. I am just thinking about how.
.-= Julius Kuhn-Regnier´s last blog ..How to Enable Google Analytics Site Search for WordPress =-.
Hey man, could you create mini debates in your comments section maybe? Or run a series of how to’s?
James, this is a good point. It’s difficult to keep track of how many eyeballs your site gets because of all the different ways to see the content.
But you’re absolutely right, you need to work on all the different ways to fill your ocean of traffic.
Keep it up!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to make a difference to your finances in 2010 =-.
Anytime brother
I’ve just gone to have a look at my own stats. I tend not to use Google Anaytics so much now as I installed a stats pack plugin on my site.
Anyway, looking at the last month of traffic which interestingly enough has been pretty similar every day because nearly a 1/5th of all traffic has come from feedburner. Which I found quite surprising! (I’ve seen new feedburner subscribers increase almost 50% in last month)
At number 6 of site traffic generators is theinfopreneur.net – how awesome is that?!!!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to make a difference to your finances in 2010 =-.
6 god damn it I need to work harder to make sure I’m your number 1 source of traffic!
Hi James,
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because I use RSS, then that’s what the majority of my readers use, too. But, there are a lot of people who don’t use RSS readers and want to receive artices by email or other means. Have a variety of methods whereby people can find and read your articles is only serving them what they want.
I hope you are providing the full articles in your email offer? If people have gone to the trouble of signing up through email you should be giving them the full article and not just an excert of the article.
200 new subscribers in 5 day is awesome!
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Are You A Pushover? Boost Your Power of Assertiveness Today =-.
Actually the email via feedburner isn’t full read, reasons behind it?… It’s the standard set up and haven’t actually thought about changing it since it’s only 5 days old or so. I will look into thought Karen
When creating a debate, I think we can even do a poll out of it. This usually captures the attention of many subscribers and visitors and would encourage them to join the discussion.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..Learning About Web Accessibility Through Everyday Tasks =-.
That’s a really good idea not actually thought of that
I don’t use RSS. If I have the time throughout the day I’ll check out some blogs. There’s about 10 that I check daily (this one is high on the list). I like to keep things simple and my email simpler.
My site, of course, is not a real blog. People can’t sign up, leave comments or even get a newsletter. It’s an information site that provides help and teaches people awareness. The only way that I can track visitors is through Google Analytics. At the moment it shows I get over 90% of my traffic through search. I kind of like that, because these people are coming to my site looking for help or specific products that I can provide. My “Ask the Jeweler” section works like a charm!
I have been thinking all year that I want to get more interaction. Add a comment section and the such, but I’m still debating the issue in my mind. It’s a major overhaul. I guess it all depends on your subject and niche.
Is your site running off wordpress?
No. Straight html. I code everything.
wow I’m always impressed by coders, you could seriously benefit from reader interaction though
Thanks for sharing, James,
I like the point about your personal story and the debate. Intense fire always attracts people ! But I have a question: When having a debate, don’t people just subscribe to the followup comments rather than to your blog ?
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..Why YOU Should Consider Yourself a Kick-Ass ” I-Empire” Brand ! =-.
I find most subscribe to the comments, but some want to see what else you will come up with so your kind of giving them more fuel for thought and making an email subscribe more appealing
I get enough email with getting one from James every time he updates TIP.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..Saturday Bonus =-.
Do you find that annoying Ralph? It’s an automated system, not sure if you can configure it for your own requirements
No. I was just thinking that emails are unnecessary when you update so frequently. If you were Allyn, the email i usefull with you no so much.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..Saturday Bonus =-.
Ah got you, well yeah I see your point. I suppose the emails give the option of checking the headlines before they visit maybe?
Great post James, I am really happy for you.
This serves as a reminder to me. I got to get cracking on increasing my subscriber base. Amongst all the other things I have to do.
But isn’t it just encouraging when you see how people subscribe to your posts, and the numbers increase slowly.
I agree with you, its not in the big numbers, but the total of all the small streams that make it all worth it. A little here and a little there. All add up to some great traffic.
.-= Robert Bravery´s last blog ..Uncapped ADSL – No Saviour – What they are not telling us. =-.
yeah exactly brother, exactly it all adds up, in fact a post idea !
good thoughts but what should we give our readers to intice them? I don’t have an email subscription on my site, but its a thought
You can give them something for free like a tutorial ebook of something completely whacky like a prayer!
James!
As a new blogger, your tips and insights have been invaluable, thank you! I have learned so much not only from your posts, but from your community as well – thank ALL you guys too!
This time around Karen and Julius really got me. Off to add a new email subscriber box and poll…
.-= Yvette´s last blog ..When Breastfeeding Gets Tough – How to Get the Help You Need =-.
Hey Yvette I love this, I love it when people thank everyone. There is such a strong community here and polls will really help on your site no end because of your market
I personally just check out your site every day as I know you have content waiting for me. I never check my email for new updates on blogs when I can go to Google Reader when I like and catch up on things that way.
For those who do catch up by email, good ideas here.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Lets Help Each Other: Monthly Experience (February – March) =-.
That’s an awesome achievement in very short time
keep it up bro ;P
.-= Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..30+ Inspirational Social Bookmarking Sites =-.
Thanks Dev man
James,
I think that email is great, but completely agree that RSS feeds is really a great want to keep a loyal readership. I try to drive people to the RSS feed as much as possible. I also have this site on my personal RSS feed.
Thanks,
Ryan H.
Do you have a mailing list option too?
Hi James,
I’m still getting my head around all the ways to tracks stats and build email subscribers. The tool I use to track site traffic is ChickinCount. Any recommendations on other plugins that I should be using that are better than this?
Thanks,
Adrian
.-= Adrian Swinscoe´s last blog ..Leadership and Your Team: Open book or closed book? =-.
I used chikuncount too, I now use StatPress look for it in your WP plugin, it’s the one with chinese writiing in the description. I love it as it does track a lot, no system is 100% though, but I do like it a lot. In terms of tracking my email signups thats all done in aweber and feedburner
Hi James,
Brilliant! Thanks for the pointers. I’ll check them out.
Adrian
.-= Adrian Swinscoe´s last blog ..Leadership: What’s engagement costing your business? =-.
Great post, I also experienced and increase in subscriber rate when i started using the subscribe by email option.
I just retweeted the post.
Thanks.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..The 7 principles of success =-.
Thanks brother, how you doing?
You’ve made some really great points here. The one I like the most is creating a blog post that is debateable in order to draw traffic to the site and also in order to get a community of comments going. I will have to remember, once I get my site finished, to create a blog post specifically like this in order to get a great discussion going.
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the sharing James,
Story and debate are very important when it comes to building a mailing list. It gives visitors a reason to join the list.
I will consider writing debate topics on my blog.
You inspire me.
innocriss
.-= harvestwages´s last blog ..5 traps that seduces great minds =-.
hey man cool, debates are really good man especially if you learn something out of it
I’m getting really close to a new design and new outlooks about my blog.
One of my most successful posts was a complete gear guide for DJ’s which get’s a ton of visits every day. It had me thinking, why not just expand upon it and use it as an eBook?
It’s already nearly 5 pages in length even after I omitted about 2-3 pages from the original writing.
I think I could add additional info and bring in some other ideas from posts since then, really make it something amazing.
I’m debating on Aweber or MailChimp as my primary email list because I’d like to do follow up emails and possibly an email course eventually.
.-= The Beginner DJ´s last blog ..5 More Tips For Ultra Music Festival =-.
Hi James,
Just signed up for your mail list and got my free report. Really enjoyed reading it. Spot on. I’ve recently launched http://www.major-business.net and I’ve been applying quite a few of your suggestions anyway, but I’ve also learned quite a lot more too!
One thing that I would say, is that the WordPress Post Schedule Feature is excellent for those that can’t physically write every day. It means that you can write to your hearts content when you have the time, and schedule each post to be published at a specific date and time. So essentially you could go on your hols and not worry about your site, yet still post two, three and four times a day! Double up by using the same features on hootsuite.com and you can automate all your promo work too!!!!
Thanks again for the ebook though mate, well worth the read!
Agreed Phil good tip, glad you liked it, if you need anything please just give me a shout