As Marketers, we’re constantly trying to increase our impact by connecting with new audiences and individuals. But underlying this growth is of course, the question: How can we do that?
The number of people we reach is certainly important. But, even more valuable are our subscribers. These are the people who have gone out of their way to let you know that they’re interested enough in what you have to say that they’d like to receive your communications on a regular basis. So, you ask, how do we effectively increase this following? Here are three pointers to start.
1. Tailor your content to the interests of a specific group.
The first, and most effective, way to increase your subscribers is through word of mouth. If you have several different audiences, make sure to separate them and send each group only content that pertains to their interests. For example, if you have a list of contacts that are perspective home buyers, sending them emails about recently sold properties may not be an effective way to capture their attention. However, if you send them Open House emails with lots of options, they’re more likely to share with people whom they know are in a similar boat. If those people like what they hear, they’ll probably do a quick Google search for your website and hopefully sign themselves up for similar communications. Once you garner their interest, they’re more likely to spread the word, which is a great way to easily and effectively convert more followers.
2. Make it easy for them to subscribe.
Let’s say that the new potential contact from the example above does land on your website. He checks it out for a couple minutes and decides that he’s interested. What next? It should be very easy for your website visitors to subscribe to your content. You should have a form on your website (and other websites that drive a lot of new traffic, such as your business Facebook) where new visitors can easily add their contact info and subscribe to your communications. This should be easy to find, fill out, and should be visible as soon as the visitor lands on your page. This is essentially no work on your part and all your visitors have to do is enter their contact info.
3. Look outside the screen (and then back at the screen).
Any networking you do and positive interactions you have should never be left at just that. When you connect with people who show interest in your business, you should always obtain their contact information. This seems like a given, but it’s what you do with this information that really matters. Ask them if it’s ok for you to add them to your email list so they can receive updates, newsletters or whatever it is you send out to keep in touch. Make a note on their business card so you know exactly what they’re interested (or not interested) in and you can tailor what you send to them. A little follow up goes a long way.
