5 Ways to Attract Your Ideal Subscribers

Karla had a nice site getting very little traffic or attention.

She had posted regularly and done a lot of things right.

And then one day, one of the posts she submitted as a guest post landed on a huge site. Her post was so good, within a week she was being shared by hundreds of people on Facebook and Twitter.

How Building A Web Business is a Lot Like Dating

In the biz, we call this “going viral,” and Karla was thrilled.

And for several weeks, her site was flooded with thousands of potential new readers and subscribers.

But Karla’s site just wasn’t ready.

And because Karla’s site wasn’t ready, most of those potential new friends disappeared as quickly as they arrived, very much like a huge wave hitting the beach and retreating within moments – leaving very little in its wake.

A Different Kind of Attraction

Thinking about Karla’s plight reminded me of Jennifer, a woman I’d coached in the mid 90’s on how to put up a website.

Jennifer wanted to sell a program teaching people how to “be ready for the love of their lives.”

I don’t recall all the details of her program, but it involved stuff like candles and fresh sheets — and I blush a little just writing about it.

In her materials she created scenarios like this:

Let’s say you run to the supermarket one morning wearing dirty sweats with greasy, unkempt hair and you unexpectedly run into the man/woman of your dreams in the frozen food section.

In that moment, won’t you wish you had made a bit of an effort to look presentable?

She had a point. It didn’t stop me from wearing sweats to the grocery store, which may explain a lot about my lack of a social life at the time, but I digress.

Her point was obvious: If your goal is meeting your future mate, be ready. Be in the right frame of mind. Make space in your life for that other person.

Turns out Jennifer’s advice is also appropriate when it comes to building an online business.

It seems attracting readers to your site is a lot like dating.

Here’s what you can do to make sure you and your site are ready for your future web suitors.

1. Get Back in the Game

Let’s face it, most people are as wary about giving their contact information to an unfamiliar site as they are about going on a blind date.

Who wouldn’t much rather meet someone new in a safe group setting than on a blind date?

Use social media, blog commenting, guest posting, audio interviews, Facebook, Twitter, and video to ‘be seen’ and to network. When others see people they know talking with you or talking about you, you’ll have a much better chance of encouraging them to come visit your site or blog.

The web is increasingly becoming a “recommendation web,” where the sites and products that thrive online will be those recommended by others.

People like to do what others are doing. It’s human nature.

2. Leave Something to the Imagination

Don’t get in the way of the story another person has told themselves about what they are looking for or who they need you to be.  You may be perfectly respectable despite your hobby of hoarding paperclips under your bed – but the truth is that most people have preconceived notions about these kinds of things.

You should still be you. Your site should be really clear about what it is and what problem it solves. But to be attractive to your audience, you need to be sure that you are presenting your solution in a way that they can readily recognize and see as a good fit for them.

There’s just no need to get into your special hobbies on the first date.

3. Be Interesting

People don’t want to give you their contact information – or even stick around – unless they see a site that looks “sticky,” that appears to have lots of deep content. A few stick around and read a few posts, but most take one look, see there’s stuff they want to see in the future that may be helpful, and subscribe, knowing that your emails will “remind them” to return to your site.

• Create easy-to-find and quickly understood visual “blocks” of categories and navigation.
• List your top posts and articles (pillar content) in these categories.

4. Get The Digits

How many websites have you bookmarked intending to go back when you had more time – only to completely forget about them?

What good is a great first impression if there is never a second?  At some point you are going to have to ask for a “name and number,” or in this case, an email address.

• Is your subscription box easily found on every page of your site?
• Do you include an option to subscribe at the bottom of each post?

5. Know How to Carry a Conversation

Once you do get a date – when someone visits your site and gives you their contact information, or signs up for your blog updates, be ready to carry the conversation.  Online, this means blogging and emailing to the group at large, and then engaging individual commenters on your blog.

If someone arrives at your site and sees lots of activity, they know something good’s going on.

So, how’s your online “dating” life? If you have any tips or strategies for being more attractive online, share them in the comments.