Seven months ago I reported my top pages that led to subscribers. I talked about how I got the most subscribers on my homepage by far (60).
Today I’m not talking about pages. I’m talking about opt-in locations.
I have three opt-ins: which one is most popular?
- I have an opt-in form in my sidebar.
- I have an opt-in form below each post.
- I have an opt-in form on my about page.
I’ve been collecting data for months now and I’m excited to share it with you! We’re going to look at which of those three opt-in forms is used most often.
The statistics! Gimme, gimme!
This isn’t all time data—it’s just from the last few months.
| Form Location | Number of Subscribers |
|---|---|
| Sidebar | 169 |
| Below Posts | 207 |
| About Page | 34 |
Below posts is the winner!! I guess it’s a good thing I added that one in, huh? 😉
But I do want to say that the sidebar location actually held the lead for a long time. Then, suddenly, below posts zoomed ahead. So I think they’re both excellent spots.
It’s natural that the about page has a lot less, since it’s just one page, whereas the others appear on multiple (or almost all) pages. But I think it’s clear that it’s well worth it to add an opt-in on the about page. People are using it! That’s 34 people who otherwise may not have subscribed.
The about page is where your reader gets to know more about you and connect with you on a more personal level. That’s probably going to make them want to subscribe (or not, I guess, haha).
Well, I did something right! I have my opt-in forms in my sidebar and below each post. 🙂 Thanks for all your tips.
@dino0726 from
FictionZeal – Impartial, Straighforward Fiction Book Reviews
Nice job Diane! 🙂
Good to know. 🙂
Yeah I think collecting these stats is super interesting!
I like every position of your opt-ins. All are really on right place, I am working on a website i have opt-ins on footer of every page of website, is it right position?
I think the footer is an okay place, but I’d recommend having a more prominent spot. The footer will be easy for people to miss/skip over. You’ll want at least one more that’s higher up on the page!
Ok mam, thank you so much next time in any other project i will surely try this. thanks again.
I will have to use this, I haven’t yet, but I soon will. I think its good to have it below posts.
Yeah it’s proven to be very popular! 🙂
I’m always amazed at how newsletters are still so popular! With the social media, news aggregator and tools like StumbleUpon of Pineterest, you’d think newsletter are a thing of the past, but it’s still widely used.
… and it’s really something I don’t put enough efforts on.
Well mine isn’t really a newsletter. It’s just an email of each post. But yes, I think email is still super popular because:
1. It’s the most reliable. It’s really the only one that guarantees your reader is going to see it.
2. It’s something YOU control. I wouldn’t want to put my followers into the hands of a site that might just shut down one day *cough* Google Reader *cough*
I only have an opt-in form on my sidebar, but I can definitely see why the bottom of the post has jumped in your rankings. I suppose I could try adding it in, though it’s been a while since I messed with the Blogger HTML, but I guess I feel like my posts are never long enough to warrant an extra box. You’re never too far down from the one in the sidebar. But people do like convenience…
I think it’s less about how far down you are and more about where people are looking. Research has shown that so many people don’t even look at sidebars. But if they’re reading the post, their eyes are already in that column so the subscription box right below that is more likely to catch their eye and prompt them to take action!
I wouldn’t have thought hat was the most popular sign up spot. Like Angelique I really thought no one would bother with email subscriptions any more. It’s interesting to see they are still popular!
They’re definitely the best method to invest in. Anything else (like social media) can change or go out of style at any time. But email is fully within your control. 🙂 It’s not just going to disappear!
I’ve been wanting to add these. I have one in the sidebar, but only have 8 subscribers over two months, and one of those is me. Ugh. Will this be something that is a part of your email plugin you’ve been working on? I’d love to have them at the end of every post and on my About Me page. I tried to add the Hello Bar, but don’t have a Google+ account associated with my pen name email address, and don’t plan to, and that’s the only way to get a Hello Bar account. *shrug* There must be a way for me, but I’m still searching.
Yeah I’ll see about adding an opt-in form option below posts! 🙂
Good to know!
I have opt-in on my sidebar as well as below my posts. No idea which one gets more use though. I have noticed I’ve been getting more RSS subscribers lately, and that’s only on my sidebar. So that might be the answer to which one gets more use for me. *grins*
Thanks for sharing your results Silvara! 🙂
Ashley, I need your email plugin like yesterday. These stats sound great, and I don’t know if I can get that from Mailchimp at all. And even though I’m using it, I don’t completely love it. *sighs*
I’ve been working on it a lot lately! It won’t be much longer now. 🙂 But I originally wasn’t going to add any import methods, but now I’m thinking of adding Feedburner and/or MailChimp so that might hold me up a while.
I have my opt-in form in my sidebar. I guess I need to add one after my blog posts. Thanks for sharing your findings!
My pleasure Rosa!
I can’t believe I just found this! Love talking about opt-ins. My highest converting opt-in is the HelloBar at the top of my site. By far the most signups – almost twice as many as all the other forms combined.
Nice one! I’ll be adding an opt-in higher up on my page in the next few weeks. 🙂 Because I MIGHT be working on another blog design.. AGAIN! I’m crazy.
Your about page is BAD-ASS. After I read it, i wanted to be your BFF and hang with you in your PJs. So naturally, I opted in 🙂
Thank you Reese, that’s so sweet of you! 🙂 I saw on your website that your full name is Reese Evans? Evans is totally my maiden name! We must be soul sisters.
Uhm hey sista soul sister! We must be long lost cousins who <3 blogging! I love your blog. It's bookmarked as one of my new faves.