5 Simple Strategies to Triple Your Email Conversions in 7 Days

When individuals aim to enhance their opt-in rates, they typically begin by seeking to increase their website traffic.

However, while traffic is necessary for list growth, it's more practical to start with more achievable goals.

Concentrating on conversion rates will more rapidly expand your opt-in rates and email list.

Directing traffic to a website with poor conversion is analogous to attempting to fill a bucket with holes.

In this article, I'll demonstrate how to triple your email conversion rates in a mere seven days.
 

Any seasoned marketer will attest to the importance of building an email list for online business growth.

For instance, data collated by Litmus highlights the superior efficacy of email over other marketing channels.

The initial inclination of people is to drive traffic to their site. While traffic is essential, prioritizing conversion optimization can accelerate the growth of your email list.

Consider this: You're spending $0.10 per click for PPC traffic to your site. Would it be preferable to have 2,000 visitors with a 1% conversion rate or 1,000 visitors with a 2% conversion rate?By concentrating on conversions rather than additional traffic, you can maintain your visitor numbers at half the expense.Acquiring clients is among the costliest aspects of business. This article will reveal several methods to enhance your conversions and maximize your existing traffic.
 

1. Heat maps

Have you ever pondered why visitors exit your site without converting, abandon filled shopping carts, or linger on specific pages?

Heatmaps can elucidate the behaviors of your site visitors. A heatmap is a graphical representation of data through color variations.

Below is a heatmap from Clicktale.com, showcasing user mouse activity on their registration form.

Heatmaps provide insights into click patterns, eye movements, scrolling behavior, and mouse trajectories.

If visitors linger longer in a specific area, the map's color intensifies, typically transitioning from blue (cooler) to red (hotter).

A heatmap can guide you in determining what to eliminate, introduce, or reposition to boost your page's conversion rate.

Understanding where users spend time on your page is crucial.

Users primarily focus on the upper portion of the page.

In 2010, researcher Jakob Nielsen conducted an eye-tracking study to observe website visitors' eye movements across various sites.

Nielsen recorded 57,453 eye fixations (brief glances at page elements).

The ensuing graph displays the distribution of these fixations over bars exceeding 100 pixels in height.

The bars indicate the total duration of gaze fixations in milliseconds, rather than the fixation count.

Nielsen discovered that users devoted 80.3% of their viewing time to the area above the fold and only 19.7% below it.

The term 'above the fold' refers to all content visible before needing to scroll.

It's logical that placing a call to action (CTA) above the fold would yield a higher conversion rate than positioning it lower.

Users typically overlook banners.

Nielsen also researched the impact of ads on websites and found that users seldom engage with or view the ads.

This phenomenon, known as banner blindness, arises when site visitors disregard page sections resembling ads.

Due to the inundation of web ads over the years, we've become conditioned to ignore them.

The image below illustrates which sections of a site attract the most user attention. The green boxes highlight the ads on the page.

Utilizing Heat Maps

Softmedia, a penny auction software provider, employed CrazyEgg, a heat map tool, to boost their conversions by 51%.

Within approximately 12 days of using CrazyEgg, Softmedia created a heat map report from data collected from over 10,000 page views.

They discovered that a “don't click here” button and a demo video button were distracting users from requesting a quote. The following image displays the heat map results.

Subsequently, Softmedia generated an overlay report to pinpoint which fields were being ignored by users.

Below is a summary of that report:

Recognizing that not all fields were mandatory, they eliminated the ones seldom filled out, enhancing their conversion rates.

Outcomes

After applying Crazy Egg's suggestions in just 10 minutes, Softmedia's development team witnessed an immediate increase in conversion rates, exceeding 51%!

A prevalent online marketing strategy involves offering a gift in return for an email address.

This incentive, also known as a lead magnet, can vary from eBooks, reports, video series, MP3s, plugins, to any web-deliverable content.

Given the myriad of choices available online, competition is fiercer than ever.

To differentiate and encourage conversions, your lead magnet must present an irresistible offer.

Many lead magnets are too generic and lack specific benefits for the user. To craft an irresistible offer, your lead magnet should address a particular need of your audience.

An effective offer tackles a precise problem. Generally, subscription offers are too broad.

Consider this scenario: you own a bakery and aim to increase profits. Which lead magnet appeals more?

A. "7 Tips to Improve your Small Business"
B. "How to make $1,000 profit for your bakery in less than 30 days"

Undoubtedly, option B is more appealing due to its specificity and problem-solving nature.

Consider Michael Hyatt’s “Get Published” course free webinar as an example.

Your lead magnet should address a specific issue for a targeted audience, making clear the benefits, the time frame for achieving them, and how it helps minimize related problems.

Creating a Lead Magnet

Identify a specific problem your audience wants to solve
The most effective way to uncover your readers' issues is through direct communication with your customers and prospects. What questions do they frequently ask?

What are common challenges they face? Alternatively, explore online forums and platforms like Reddit to understand the problems and queries of your potential customers.
Develop Your Lead Magnet
Choose the ideal format for your lead magnet by considering your audience's preferred content consumption methods.

Do they prefer videos, audio, or e-books?

A good strategy is to observe what your competitors are doing and adapt their methods.

Investigate the top five entities in your niche to see how they present their lead magnets, and let this inform your approach.

Craft Your Headline
Here's a straightforward method to craft a compelling headline:

How to [Achieve Benefit] in [Timeframe] Without [Facing Issue]

For instance:

How to Shed 10 Kilos in 2 Months Without Following a Rigorous Diet
How to Increase Your Jump Height by 5 Centimeters in 30 Days Without Intense Workouts
Conduct research to understand what appeals to your audience and what drives them. Then, apply these insights to the formula.
 

The more targeted a lead magnet is, the more effective it becomes. One of the most successful types of lead magnets is content updates.

Ensure your lead magnet addresses a specific, challenging issue for a particular audience.

But what's the key to boosting conversions even further? The answer lies in content updates.

A content upgrade is an additional piece of content offered in exchange for an email address.

Unlike a standard lead magnet that's available to most site visitors, a content upgrade is tailored to visitors engaged with specific content on your site.

Content updates enhance your existing content, allowing users to immediately apply what they've learned.

These may include extra content or tools related to the original material.

Brian Dean from Backlinko managed to increase his conversion rate by 785% with a content upgrade.

Brian updated his article titled “The 200 Google Positioning Factors: The Complete List”.

Initially, the page had a 0.54% conversion rate.

Brian then created a checklist with instructions on how to leverage the top 10 Google ranking factors and incorporated two CTAs on the page.

The second:

A month later, the page's conversion rate rose to 4.82%, a 785% increase after attracting 4,700 unique visitors.

This update alone accounted for 30% of all his new subscribers at the time of his case study, surpassing the combined subscriber count from his 16 other subscription forms. This underscores the effectiveness of content upgrading.

Audit
To initiate your first content upgrade, identify content on your site that can be enhanced.

For many marketers, this will be a blog post. For your content update to succeed, start with what you have.

Access your Google Analytics and pinpoint your most popular blog posts, those with the highest traffic and user engagement.

Select Your Content and Format
After choosing the post to update, decide on the delivery method for your update.

Common formats include e-books, reports, and case studies. However, checklists are the simplest to create.

Checklists are particularly beneficial for long-form blog posts. While these posts drive traffic and offer value, not everyone enjoys lengthy reads.

Checklists provide the same value in a more concise format.

Consider using tools like Beacon.by for a quick, 10-minute checklist creation, using your post's headlines, subheadings, and key points.

Incorporate Call-to-Action Buttons
Once your checklist is ready, integrate CTAs into your existing blog post.

Place your CTAs at strategic points - ideally at the beginning, middle, and end of the post.

A common error in email list building is the failure to optimize websites for mobile devices.

Statistics from StatCounter in October 2016 show that mobile and tablet usage constituted 51.3% of total internet usage globally, surpassing desktop usage at 48.7%.

Mobile devices are increasingly becoming the preferred means of internet access.

To boost conversions, it's crucial to make your landing pages mobile-friendly. Responsive design, which adapts web design to the user’s device, is the best approach for this.
For example, online retailer Offspring achieved a 15.19% increase in mobile and tablet conversion rates and a 102.58% increase in revenue from these devices year-over-year.

Similarly, Walmart.ca saw a 98% rise in mobile orders and a 20% increase in conversions after adopting responsive design.

Baines & Ernst, a debt solutions provider, experienced a 51% increase in mobile conversions with their mobile-optimized site.

The difference is evident when comparing the Baines & Ernst responsive website on desktop and mobile:

Making Your Website Responsive

If your website uses WordPress, there are several plugins available to make it mobile-friendly.

For instance, the WPtouch Mobile Plugin comes with its own theme and a caching system for faster mobile loading.

Another option is Touchy, which provides a seamless mobile header and menu.

Jetpack is another lightweight plugin, ideal for those with a tight budget or just starting with mobile optimization.

Hubspot reports that 64% of internet users employ ad blockers due to the intrusive nature of ads.

It's also found that 63% of users report a negative online experience due to pop-up ads.

Despite the general dislike for ads, particularly pop-ups, they are surprisingly effective when used correctly.

To balance conversion rate increase and user satisfaction, consider using pop-ups strategically.

Rather than immediate pop-up ads upon site arrival, it’s more effective to delay them by 20 to 30 seconds.

Exit intent popups have shown great success. These appear when a visitor is about to leave the site, triggered by mouse movement towards browser navigation buttons.

Properly executed, exit intent popups can significantly boost conversions.

WPBeginner, for example, saw a 600% increase in conversions, jumping from 70-80 to 445-470 subscribers daily.

Digital Marketer gained 2,689 leads in 14 days by combining onsite retargeting with exit-intent popups.

Setting Up an Exit Intent Popup
Creating a popup from scratch can be challenging, but there are software options that simplify the process.

These tools allow quick and easy popup setup.

Optimonk utilizes on-site retargeting to engage visitors intending to leave your site.

It monitors user behavior, detects exit intentions, and presents a tailored offer via a popup.

Optimonk’s targeted approach enhances conversion rates.

Leadpages may be more comprehensive than needed solely for exit intent popups.

However, it’s an all-in-one solution, offering an easy-to-use landing page builder, conversion tracking, and both timed and exit-intent popups.

Optinmonster supports creation of both regular opt-in forms and exit intent popups.

It also enables targeted messaging, A/B testing, and analytics to assess form performance.

While this list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a solid starting point for those new to exit-intent popup software.

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Several valuable resources are available to assist you in enhancing your conversion rate.

ConversionXL

ConversionXL, established by Peep Laja, ranks among the most widely-recognized conversion optimization blogs on the internet.

ConversionXL leverages expertise in user experience, analytics, and optimization to educate its audience on advanced conversion optimization techniques within the marketing sector.

KISSmetrics

KISSmetrics operates as an analytics platform that employs person-based analytics to elevate conversion rates.

Through behavioral analytics and customer engagement automation, KISSmetrics aids businesses in achieving their conversion objectives.

The blog offers a wealth of insights on conversion optimization, with a focus on converting website visitors into subscribers.

Conversion Rate Experts stands as a premium conversion rate optimization agency, boasting collaborations with globally recognized brands such as Amazon, Google, Dropbox, Facebook, and Apple.

With over 55 video and written testimonials, the company has a distinguished history of enhancing client conversions.

Their website provides a treasure trove of educational materials, including reports, articles, and even a podcast.
 

A responsive email list is the cornerstone of any thriving online business.

Prioritizing the growth of your list and attracting higher-quality leads should always be at the forefront of your agenda.

It's essential to avoid investing time in ineffective list-building strategies.

As previously mentioned, there's no sense in attempting to fill a leaky bucket.

Focusing on improving your conversion rates, rather than solely pursuing increased traffic, can result in accelerated list expansion with a more qualified subscriber base.

Numerous invaluable resources are at your disposal to aid in the pursuit of enhancing your conversion rate.