5 Ways to Double Your Email Sign Ups & Grow Your List

There’s a lot of hype around list building these days and for good reason, once someone leaves your site there’s a high chance that they will forget about you and never come back. If they visit your site and sign up for your email list though, then you're able to continue the conversation! There's a marketing theory called the rule of seven, which says that a person must come in contact with you seven times before they're willing to purchase from you. If you have an email list with a strong welcome sequence and you send emails on a regular basis, you can hit those seven encounters in no time.

Another thing to consider is that while it’s great to have a following on social media, you don't have any control over your followers there and what they see. Essentially it’s rented space and the landlord can change the algorithm at any time, meaning that your followers might never see what you're posting.

But with an email list, you're the owner and have control over exactly what and when your audience hears from you. 

Ready to increase newsletter sign-ups today? If so, join me by following the steps below that will utilize your Squarespace website to grow your list in the most effective way.

Give Them a Reason to Opt-In

Lead Magnets

Let’s be honest, no one really needs another email in their inbox unless it serves a valuable purpose. So be sure to give people a reason to sign-up!

A lead magnet is a freebie that a subscriber receives for opting-in to your list and is used as an incentive to do so.

There are many different possibilities for lead magnets. The most important thing is that it attracts your ideal audience and shows your expertise. Keep it short and simple, since you’re giving it away for free, but make sure that it provides real value.

Below are some ideas for lead magnets. Use these to help you brainstorm something specific that fits within your industry and serves your ideal client.

  • Free shipping

  • A discount on products or services

  • A DIY or step-by-step guide

  • A free phone consultation

  • Free recipes or workouts

  • A printable planner or calendar

  • Access to a free video

  • An online course

  • Free templates

  • Access to a library of freebies

If you need a hand making some lead magnets of your own, check out our Lead Magnet Toolkit - it's got all the design templates you need to make your own downloadable freebies and promote them too!

Optimize Your Site for Sign-ups

Once you have your lead magnet figured out it’s time to start offering it to your website visitors. To get the most sign-ups, we suggest sharing it in these 5 crucial places on your site to get noticed. You'll instantly see a huge difference in the amount of people joining your list!

Announcement Bar

Advertising your lead magnet is one of the best uses of the announcement bar feature in Squarespace. Make sure that it clicks through to a cover page that shows an image of and gives a brief description of your lead magnet. Then include a form for them to signup. Since cover pages are simple and do not have any navigation, this ensures that people will not be distracted or led away from the page without signing up for your list (you can learn more about working with cover pages in our post here).

Homepage

The homepage is one of the most viewed pages of a website, making it a prime location for optimizing sign-ups! Putting your opt-in above the fold ensures that visitors see the offer as soon as they land on your site without having to scroll.

Blog's Sidebar

If your blog has a sidebar, this is another prime location. Depending on where your visitors come from, it’s possible that they may land on a blog post before seeing your homepage. By including an opt-in form in your sidebar you won’t miss out on capturing potential leads that are reading your blog!

Blog Posts

If website visitors are reading your blog posts they clearly like your content. This provides the perfect opportunity to invite them to opt-in to your list. You can do this by offering a content upgrade within the post itself or at the end. A content upgrade is like a lead magnet, in that it’s a freebie they will receive for signing up. However it differs from your lead magnet, which is a general offer, and is specifically related to the content in your blog post. It provides supplemental material to that article in exchange for their email.

Footer

The footer is another great place to include your email opt-in. Much like a blog post, if someone has made it to the end of a page then they are interested in your content! Once again it’s the perfect time to ask them to opt-in. Another benefit is that by including the opt-in in your footer it will appear on every page of your site. This ensures that no matter where someone ends up they have the option to sign up.

How to Add a Signup Form to Mailchimp

Let's go ahead and start capturing those email addresses and building our list! We're going to be using Mailchimp for this example since Squarespace comes with Mailchimp integration built in. If you are using another newsletter service provider like ConvertKit, you'll want to follow their documentation on embedding signup forms.

If you haven’t already created a MailChimp account, now is the time to do so. After signing up, you will want to create at least one list that you add subscribers too.

Add an Opt-in Box in Squarespace

To add a newsletter opt-in, edit the area where you would like to put it. Insert a new block. Scroll down and select newsletter. Be sure to customize the title and description with something that reflects the lead magnet subscribers will receive.

Bonus: Add an image of your opt-in! You can take a photo or mockup something in Photoshop then add it as an image next to your email opt-in so people get a sneak peek of what they will receive. Even though you may be giving away something intangible (i.e., can't touch or feel it), creating a visual is a great way to entice your audience and increase sign-ups.

Connect to Mailchimp

Next, you need to connect your website to MailChimp. While you’re still editing the newsletter block you added, select storage in the upper right corner. You will see the option to connect to MailChimp. Once you click it, a window will open that will prompt you to login into MailChimp. Once you’re logged in go back to Squarespace and select the list you would like your subscribers added to.

Once you've made your changes, click "Apply" to save. Your form is now ready to collect signups.

Well, there you have it! Are you ready to start growing your email list? If you’ve already started your list, what are the best ways you’ve found to grow it? Be sure to share your tips in the comments below!

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