Your subscriber list is one of your most valuable assets as a business. It is also the foundation to any successful SMS program. One of your top priorities as a business should be to focus on building your list and using it as much as possible.

Why it matters?

Besides the obvious rule of thumb - more subscribers = more revenue; in our ever-evolving data-conscious world, it is more important now than ever before to COLLECT YOUR OWN DATA. Your list is the only thing you actually own. That’s why you need to build a list of high-intent subscribers that want to hear from you.

Do you know your numbers? 

You should be aiming for an opt-in rate of 10%. Meaning for every 1000 unique monthly site visitors, you should collect 100 numbers.

Many businesses focus on how they can get more traffic to grow their list, but more traffic is not always the answer. A ton of traffic is great, but what are you doing to turn visitors into subscribers? That’s why a solid opt-in strategy is just as important as the amount of traffic you’re getting.

If you’re hitting a 10% opt-in rate and you aren’t constantly optimizing for list growth, use these strategies to maintain and even surpass your 10% opt-in rate.

If you’re not hitting a 10% opt-in rate, don’t freak out! We have seen brands triple their opt-in rate within days by implementing the following strategies.

Optimize your pop-up

  • Leverage full screen popups for a more integrated web feel

  • Ensure welcome popup fires on initial page load to capture the most subscribers

  • Combine email and SMS capture, don’t separate them

  • Use more than one popup

    • Welcome popup - first time site visitors triggered on initial page load

    • Exit popup - return site visitors who have not joined list or converted yet, triggered on page exit

    • Targeted page popup - all visitors who who have not joined list or converted yet, triggered when they view a specific landing page

There’s no need to try all of these at once. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you do. Test one or two at a time, but try them all at some point. Every visitor is different and responds differently. This is basic knowledge, but people still forget.

Customize your offer

  • Coupon campaign

    • For brands who would like to provide a first-time discount to new customers

    • Ex. ‘Get 10% off your first order’ ‘Get $10 off when you join our list’

  • Enter to win campaign

    • For brands who would like to limit discounts

    • Ex. ‘Enter to win our monthly giveaway’ ‘Join our list and get entered to win’

Test both of these to see which one will maximize your opt-ins. You can also rotate welcome offers throughout the year!

Leverage all of your channels

  • Checkout page

    • Encourage subscribers to add their phone number at checkout for order updates and tips for using your products. 

  • Social media

    • Add your opt-in phone number with a direct call-to-action on your social media profiles

    • Offer a discount in your Instagram stories. Use the swipe up feature to link to a landing page which captures their phone number in exchange for the discount. You can also run ads with this asset to maximize your social list growth efforts.

  • Email

    • It's possible that some of your email subscribers are not yet on your SMS list. Run monthly campaigns to encourage SMS signups. Pro tip: upload your SMS list into your ESP and exclude them from the sends to properly segment.

DO NOT set it and forget it

Continue to test and optimize your opt-in strategies, so you can maximize your list growth. We recommend you do this every quarter.

Also remember that marketing is not a one-size-fits-all effort. Don’t be afraid to tailor everything to fit your mission and your branding.

The Emotive Team is here with you every step of the way. Contact your Customer Success Manager to maximize your list growth today.