15 tested and proven ways to help you build your subscriber list

Offer quality content. Nobody gives up their email address for free. If you want to build a valuable relationship and engage your audience, you need to provide content that is worthwhile and interesting.
Put sign-up forms on every web page. Your sign-up form should be everywhere your potential subscribers are. Make sure it’s visible and easy to fill out.
Use social media to collect email addresses. Integrate your sign-up forms with social media platforms. Driving traffic from multiple sources allows you to build a strong email marketing list much faster.
Design your sign-up form carefully. Ask only for information you plan to use. A good rule of thumb is that less is more — the shorter the sign-up form, the higher the conversion rate.
Show your privacy policy. Inform your readers that you will not share their personal information with third parties. A clear privacy policy helps you build trust and convince visitors that it’s safe to subscribe.
Show samples of your content. Let your subscribers know what they are signing up for. Use your older content samples to “sell” the email sign-up.
Include a call to action. Put a call to action in your submit button, e.g. Sign me up! This makes the sign-up process more engaging and improves the conversion ratio.
Give away freebies. Think of a relevant incentive for your audience (e-book, infographic, white paper) and provide it for free.
Ask subscribers to share. Take the time to prepare valuable, shareable content. Remember that putting the social share buttons is not enough; you still need to ask your subscribers to use them.
Build a content distribution strategy. Producing great content is only half the battle. Make sure it’s visible to the right audience. Define who your ideal audience is and find out where they like to congregate online. Then choose communication channels accordingly.
Publish landing pages. Create a squeeze page where visitors can download premium content in exchange for their email address. A dedicated web page helps users focus on the call to action and increases conversions.
Include testimonials on your landing page. Social proof helps build trust toward a brand and its products. Use testimonials from satisfied customers to help visitors make a decision.
Blog regularly. Great content brings more traffic. Develop a realistic content publishing schedule and stick to it.
Guest post on popular blogs. Publishing your content on other blogs is a great way to build relationships with other bloggers in your industry and introduce yourself to new people. Include a backlink to your blog, and your blog’s search rankings will go up.
Collect email addresses at offline events. Be ready to collect email addresses at trade shows and conferences. Ask for business cards or use the Forms on the Go app to instantly add people to your list.

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John Mulindi

John writes on a variety of topics. He blogs on topics ranging from social media marketing (SMM), search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), email marketing, business, personal finance tech, entrepreneurship to personal development. In free time he likes watching football, reading, listening to music and taking nature walks.

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View Comments

Alexandra Cook says:

March 8, 2019 at 11:23 am

Thank you for sharing this. As I read your blog everyday there so much things that I ahve learned. And ctually it is a perfect timing since every topic you share is actually what I needed.
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 8, 2019 at 12:31 pm
  
  Thanks for the positive feedback!
Catherine Santiago Jose says:

March 8, 2019 at 11:06 am

Very informative and useful tips. I am sure it will help others to increase their subscriber list, thanks for sharing this with us.
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 8, 2019 at 12:31 pm
  
  Welcome!
Lyosha Varezhkina says:

March 8, 2019 at 8:41 am

Awesome tips and so many! I will totally try harder and will make it work on my blog too
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 8, 2019 at 12:31 pm
  
  Thanks for visiting!
keisha1989 says:

March 8, 2019 at 7:50 am

Such a great post. I think these are all effective ways to build a subscriber list.
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 8, 2019 at 12:32 pm
  
  Hey Keisha, I appreciate your visit.
Sara Welch says:

March 8, 2019 at 6:16 am

These are all great tips! I need to make sure I'm sharing my privacy policy! Thank for the reminder!
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 8, 2019 at 12:32 pm
  
  Appreciated.
bethpierce2013 says:

March 8, 2019 at 6:15 am

Collecting email addresses is a great tip; I'll have to make sure I'm doing that in the future!
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 8, 2019 at 12:33 pm
  
  Thanks Beth!
Catherine says:

March 8, 2019 at 4:23 am

Just what I needed! Thank you so much for sharing...as always, great and informative post!
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 8, 2019 at 12:34 pm
  
  Thanks Catherine.
TheSuperMomLife says:

March 7, 2019 at 11:16 pm

This is actually something I've been working on recently so I appreciate the tips!
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 7, 2019 at 11:20 pm
  
  Welcome.
Melissa M Sanchez says:

March 7, 2019 at 7:39 pm

I need so much help with my subscriptions, I know that I have a list, I am not really sure how many people are on it and I am definitely not using it to market my blog. I know it is a missed opportunity so these tips are really helpful to me. thanks for sharing
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 7, 2019 at 9:30 pm
  
  Hi Melissa, you are welcomed.
simplyvegetarian777 says:

March 7, 2019 at 6:24 pm

Great tips to share. A blogger can definitely benefit from it.
- John Mulindi says:
  
  March 7, 2019 at 9:30 pm
  
  Thanks.