Do you struggle to get people to sign up to your email list? We keep hearing about how “the money is in the list”, yet getting people to sign up to your newsletter opt in can often feel like an exercise in herding cats.

If you open your wallet right now, how many loyalty cards do you see in there? And how many of them exist because someone offered you a great discount, freebie or value to get your details in order to give you that card?

I’m looking in my wallet right now and I see:

• Supermarket
• Shoe store
• Skin care
• Coffee club
• Clothing retailer
• and maybe a few moths…!

None of them required me to pay for these cards and all of them were about more than simply “loyalty”, but also the opportunity to grab my email address to ensure they could continue marketing to me. And when I handed over my details, I was perfectly OK with this.

Being invited into someone’s inbox is a big deal these days, as we’re becoming increasingly protective of our email addresses. What you provide once they’ve signed up is another topic for another day!

You need to think of building an email list in the same way you build a client list. While there’s no money involved, it’s still an exchange – an email address in exchange for valuable content to solve a problem or reach an aspiration.

So if it’s becoming so difficult, why bother?

Well, email is still regarded as the best way to stay connected with your most aligned clients, is inexpensive in comparison to many other marketing avenues AND is more effective than social media for client acquisition.

Here are 5 reasons you may be struggling to generate newsletter opt ins or email subscribers (same thing, just different terminology) and how you can overcome them.

1. Asking Them to Opt In To Your Newsletter

You’re asking them to join your “newsletter”, which offers no real incentive for someone to give up their email address

But we’re not just talking about any ol’ piece of content. Whether you want to call it a

• free gift
• lead magnet
• opt-in bribe
• freebie offer
• ethical bribe

…it’s all the same thing. But it must be high value.

I have one rule when it comes to lead magnets- one problem, one result.

Don’t try and solve all their problems in one go. It’s not possible and you likely won’t get them a result. Instead, look at a smaller piece of the bigger problem that you can give them a quick solution for and have them RAVING about you.

Here are a few questions to ask as you’re coming up with a free gift:

1. What problem or need does he or she have on a daily basis that your product, program or service can solve? Often, we were our most aligned client 5 years ago, so it’s a matter of dipping back into that time in your life. What was having that problem like? If you have a friend who’s your ideal client, ask them.
2. How do they feel about the problem? How do they WANT to feel? This is your BEFORE and AFTER – this is the transformation that you’re providing. As one of my biz coaches explains it – you’re taking them from pain island to pleasure island and you’re the canoe.
3. What is standing in the way of them creating that solution for themselves? If they’re seeking you out, it means they’re stuck with something – they can’t solve this problem by themselves. What are they stuck with and how do you fit into that picture?

Take your time on these questions. The deeper you go, the better the lead magnet you’ll create. And remember, don’t try and solve everything. One small problem.

2. Your newsletter opt in isn’t what they’re after

You have a free value-based offer, but it’s not what your most aligned client wants.

Be careful about WHO you’re targeting with your lead magnet and that your lead magnet matches their wants and needs.

Here’s an example:

This PDF opt-in is of tools, resources, checklists, cheat sheets, ebooks on photography. In my opinion, it’s too much and will just overwhelm people and they’ll never take action.

However, that’s not my point of sharing this.

What I most want to highlight is that this is perfectly aligned with it’s ideal client – fellow photographers.

If it was instead designed to attract clients to take photos of, then it would have missed the mark and attracted the wrong people.

Instead, a better option to attract clients YOU can take photos of would be:

• Top 10 questions every bride must ask her wedding photographer
• How to make sure your cafe menu is as mouth-watering as the food you serve
• 3 simple ways to rock your family portrait session

Suddenly you’re attracting a really niche audience to your opt-in. Check out these 7 lead magnet ideas.

A great example is a client of mine who is a divorce coach. She’s been talking about divorce for a long time and her traction has only been OK. We shifted to now talking about narcissists, based on her life experiences, and her business has suddenly taken off with guest post opportunities, clients and media.

She niched down with not only her offer, but also her opt-in. Get specific.

Also, ensure it’s part of your complete client pathway that centres around a value ladder.
If you haven’t done this step yet, ensure you download the Soulful Sales Funnel Map:

DOWNLOAD THE FREE SALES FUNNEL MAP

3. You don’t have a dedicated landing page

It’s so difficult to actually get people to sign up if you’re not sending them to a dedicated landing page.

I’ve spoken previously about fast email list growth and the different options you have to attract subscribers – from Hello Bars to opt-ins within a blog post. However, in the end it’s important to have a dedicated landing page for when you want to drive targeted traffic as part of a campaign. This will ensure it’s easier to track.

That doesn’t mean you still can’t have your lead magnet on your home page, inserted into blog posts as I’ve done above or embed it in your sidebar. Every little bit helps.

Just ensure any targeted traffic are going to a specific landing page that has just one action for them to take – input their name and email address.

To ensure you have a successful page, jump to the next step…

4. Your landing page is deterring people

So maybe that last point doesn’t apply to you, because you actually do have a landing page.

Well, next is to ensure your landing page is converting at a high enough rate. And, if it’s not, then you know there are some areas for improvement on your landing page. (See here for the tools I use for setting some of this up).

What’s a good conversion rate?

That will depend on your niche, of course and is something I look at in depth with clients.

Here are a couple of things to consider with your landing page. Do you have a:

• Benefit-driven headline that acknowledges “what’s in it for me?”
• Offer your ideal client can identify is something they both want and it’s specifically for them.
• Copy that is clear, concise, convincing and converting. 
• Image on the page which reflects the outcome they most want
• Sign up form that is easy to use no matter what device they’re on, you’re not asking for too much information (in most cases, name and email addresses is sufficient) and the Call To Action button is visible
• Page that is clean and easy to navigate. It’s easy to start with a beautiful and simple template, but end up playing around with it so much it ends up a hideous mess.
• Level of trust built either from the previous step before arriving on your landing page OR on the page itself. This can range from relevant titles (maybe you’ve accrued accolades through training), experience (do you have either extensive experience from years of working in this field or you’ve worked with high profile brands) or icons (will you protect their privacy, do you have accreditation from a peak body etc)

5. You’re not getting enough visitors (or traffic)

In the majority of cases when working with women in service-based businesses or coaching, their main area they’re falling down is not that they don’t have their system set up (although sometimes there are a few little pieces missing) or that their system isn’t converting at an OK rate, but rather that there’s not enough people hearing about the offer in the first place.

This is where it becomes crucial to generate a marketing plan to ensure you’re getting enough people to your newsletter opt in and taking action to grow your email list. If you need help completing this step, be sure to book a call to see if we can get this sorted.

Otherwise, go ahead and map out a plan for how you’re going to promote your lead magnet and where are the best places, based on your ideal client’s average day.

NEXT STEP: I’d love for you to set aside time to work on one of the 5 opt in newsletter steps you most need to focus on in the next 30 days to ensure you can start growing your email list with a dedicated newsletter opt in.

Then ensure you set up your value ladder to move them from this lead magnet all the way through your customer journey.

If you’re struggling to define exactly what your lead magnet is, download the Lead Magnet Strategy Guide.

ACCESS THE GUIDE

If you’re unsure WHAT your newsletter opt in should be, stay tuned as I’m putting together 6 proven lead magnets ideas to grow your email list. Or reach out if you want your marketing funnel or newsletter built for you.