I’m sitting here writing this post to you right now because I was inspired…but not in a good way.
When clicking over to a blog to read it’s content, I noticed that literally every single post had a newsletter subscribe form in it. This is pretty common, most bloggers have a newsletter subscribe form in all their posts (I do as well).
But it wasn’t just one….or two…or even three within the content of ONE post.
Plastered all over this blogger’s site, is a very LARGE newsletter subscribe box asking me to subscribe.
Now, I can completely understand how we all want to grow our newsletter lists fast, but this was way overkill.
And when it’s multiple times and way overkill like that, you know, you just KNOW, it’s about the money. It’s not about helping people. It’s about selling to you. They want your money, plain and simple.
There’s something the blogger doesn’t realize….the #1 mental trick to get more email subscribers is NOT blasting it in our faces.
So what is it? Keep reading to find out how to get more email subscribers!
#1 Mental Trick To Get More Email Subscribers
When I was in network marketing (still am, just not actively selling products like I used to), I learned a key mental trick to get more people to listen to you INSTANTLY!
It’s NOT:
- Shoving your product or wares in their faces
- Bombarding them with ads or email subscribe opt-in forms
- Working so hard to get them to sign up
It’s simply this:
You have to realize that people DON’T WANT to be SOLD TO, but they DO like to buy.
There it is, that one statement right there is worth diamonds if you truly get the real value of it. It’s one of the reasons I’m so successful in ANYTHING I do, whether network marketing, blogging, building an email list, making sales, whatever. I can rock whatever I do knowing that #1 mental trick.
Let’s unpack this gem….
People don’t want to be sold to.
When I visited that blog, I started getting completely nervous inside. The opt-in forms 2-3 times on the page, so big and bold and in my face. It’s like the blogger was SCREAMING at me. I clicked through to around 10 posts and they were all the same, subscribe boxes manually put in everywhere. I got so flustered inside, that I left and I don’t plan to return. While I bet it does grow their email list quite considerably, I happen to know what they earn on their subscribe list and it’s not near what I get.
Please don’t get me wrong…I am NOT saying that to boast in the least bit. I’m saying that because people are smart. They know when it’s about money. They know when it’s being fake. When you’re trying to sell them something. We just know. And if someone gets the slightest HINT of being SOLD TO, they run away.
We are bombarded all day LONG, “Buy me, buy me, buy me,” from our world system. We know what it looks like. And we all run.
Because we don’t want to be sold to.
They have no interest in us. It’s just a quick little thing to hook us in to get our email address in order to sell us something. It’s a methodical plan and while it may see some results, it won’t see near the results of JUST BEING HONEST!
On my blog, it’s pretty rare you’ll see a sign up to my newsletter. You may come across one or two here or there, but it’s not slammed all over the place. So, how is it that I’m able to get more than TEN THOUSAND email subscribers a month?!
Simple…God, first and foremost, and because I care.
I actually care about my audience. It’s not a scam. It’s not a trick. It’s just me wanting to get to know you more, to talk to you more in depth than I can on my blog. SOOOOO many readers email me each week and tell me, “You’re the ONLY email list I’m on. I love it so much.”
How did I get there? By being honest. By being completely transparent. By nurturing and caring. Not trying to sell something every 5 seconds.
Listen, it’s okay to sell someone something. But not if you’re going about it in the wrong way. People DON’T want to be sold to.
We know who is in it for the buck. We know when we’re being sold to.
The other half of that is that we DO like to buy.
How many times have you seen something somewhere and you just bought it instantly. You knew it was perfect for you and you bought it.
Maybe it’s a course. Maybe it’s a binder (here’s my super helpful Blogging Binder). Maybe it’s a pair of shoes in the window at your favorite store. We like to buy the things that are helpful to us, the things that are relevant.
If you want to get a massive amount of newsletter subscribers, you have to change your mentality.
You have to stop TRYING to sell people stuff. You have to just be honest. Help them. Teach them. Show them and GIVE THEM AN OPTION. Don’t force that opt-in box down their throats so you can sell them something later on.
Give them choices. Help them decide what’s right for THEM, not your own pocket-book.
Remember, it’s okay to sell. It’s okay to mention your product. It’s fine, just be real about it. Don’t bombard people. Focus rather, on helping them.
People don’t want to be sold to, but they do like to buy.
People WANT to sign up for your newsletter if it’ll help them.
They won’t mind giving you their email address if you’re sincere and genuine and it’s something that will truly help them. But the second they smell they are being sold to, whether an email list, a product, or anything else, BAM, YOU…ARE…TOAST!
They won’t come back, you won’t get their email address, and you can say good-bye to ever helping them again. It’s just how it is. There’s too much competition out there for them to second guess their split second decision.
If you want a lot of email subscribers, just be honest and transparent. Don’t try to sell them on something every 5 seconds. Invest in them. Nurture them. Love on them. Give them so much love, attention, and free stuff after they join, they will learn that you’re different. That you’re not all about the money but just truly wanting to help them find the information that best suits them, whether free or paid.
On one of my newsletter subscription sequences I have with ConvertKit (huge shout out to them because I just absolutely LOVE their service and my newsletter has honestly blown UP since I switched to them from my previous company), I give out 14 free things and the sequence has 15 emails to it. That’s a LOT of free stuff I’m giving out.
Some may say I’m going overboard. After all, that is just ONE list and I have several, but it doesn’t matter, because I truly care about my subscribers and they know it. While some unsubscribe, my unsubscribe rate is very low because of this. In fact, this entire month, I’ve only lost 287 subscribers. Out of all those new subscribers and my current massive list, only less than 300 got off the list. They are signing up, engaged, and staying on.
It’s not about selling them something, people don’t want to be sold to.
Say it over and over in your mind. But they do like to buy. It’s not that you WON’T get any sales, you will, but that’s not the focus of what you do. Helping people is.
The money will come far more and easier if you focus on serving others rather than your pocket book. We all gotta eat, I get it…I’m a single mom here! No one gets that more than me, but do it out of love for others. Don’t sell them, just love on them. The world desperately wants to be loved.
Here’s a free printable to hang on your wall and really get this sentence in your head and remember it. It really makes all the difference in EVERYTHING you do!
Download the “People don’t want to be sold to, but they do like to buy” free printable here.
