The 4 best places to add your newsletter opt-in
Growing your newsletter list is so important when you run an online business. It can help you keep in touch with your dream clients, build trust with your audience and promote new offerings. But the question my web clients always ask is: Where is the best place to add my newsletter opt-in or sign up form?
There are 4 places I ALWAYS add the newsletter opt-in forms on any website.
Blog
Adding the newsletter opt-in to your blog allows you to capture people who are already interested in what you have to say. They are on your blog reading all of your juicy content, so why not try to get them onto your newsletter list where you have even juicier content! I like to make sure this opt-in is specific, and maybe different from other sign up forms elsewhere on the site. For example, it should incentivize them to sign up with the promise of sharing your expertise for free with a worksheet, guide, etc. Adding this opt-in to the sidebar of your blog is one of my favorite places to engage newsletter subscribers on your site.
Footer
It's the one place people will see no matter what page of your website they land on (or click to!). So make it work for you by adding a newsletter sign up form. Repetition of views will also increase the chance that people will sign up. I like to keep this one more generic with a description of what you typically send out vs. a specific freebie or promo.
Homepage
You probably guessed this one, right? But do you know where on the homepage you should add your opt-in? The rule of thumb is above the fold
(aka: the amount of the webpage a user sees before needing to scroll down).
Ideally, you will still be able to communicate your mission statement (who you are, what you do, and who you do it for) before the newsletter. No one is going to sign up for a newsletter if they don't know who the heck you are yet! But grabbing their attention before they scroll down the page is a great way to ensure they get on your list.
404 Page
Have you given much thought to your 404 page? It's a handy little page that pops up when someone clicks a broken link or types a URL wrong. It has so much potential to be interesting and engaging, which is important for keeping your audience on your site! Besides giving them a link back to your homepage, you can also sneak in a newsletter opt-in here! It's an unexpected place to get that person to sign up.