Tip: Add a hello bar to get subscribers that you otherwise might have missed

Making email opt-ins noticeable and easy without being pushy and annoying is a delicate balance. Find that balance by adding a full-width, dismissable bar with opt-in at the top of each page.

Adding a hello bar helped Derek Halpern of DIYthemes get 1,180 subscribers in 30 days. Hello bars are narrow strips at the top of a page that draw attention but don't get in the visitor's way. In Derek's case, the hello bar offered a free ebook and linked to a landing page with more info and a signup form. While the offer and landing page certainly helped Derek, they aren't strictly necessary. You can just include a signup form in the bar so that users can sign up then and there. Just make sure to state what it's for and how often they'll hear from you. Tools like ConvertFlow and optinmonster can help.