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In B2B marketing, your newsletter signup page is an important lead generation tactic. But often this conversion opportunity goes to waste because it’s treated like an afterthought.
This matters even more if you’re a solo consultant, therapist, or service provider with a nuanced offer. Your signup page often has to do extra trust-building work because your audience may need more clarity, more reassurance, or more evidence before they hand over their email.
So what else can you put in your newsletter signup page besides the form and “sign up for resources and updates?”
A hell of a whole lot more, Darlin! In this post, we’ll explore copy, design, and strategic tweaks you can apply to your signup page to attract your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and start your nurturing process on the right foot.
Wait, you don’t have a page just for signing up for your newsletter? Fix that now.
When you only place your newsletter sing-up on your homepage, or in your footer of your website, you’re limiting your chances for signing up. This is because it’s harder to market your newsletter when people have to scroll on the page to find it. And usually you already have so much other content on those pages, you’re more likely to make the sing-up form too generic.
By having a page dedicated just for your newsletter, you can get far more creative and inciting in the content. You can also track how well promoting the newsletter is going because you can see the analytics for this specific page versus the post-signup page to figure out your conversion rate.
Anyhoo, here’s the secret to improve your B2b newsletter landing page:
… be so damn clear on the benefits of your newsletter that prospective clients would be SILLY not to sign up! You are trying to convey that being in their mailbox won’t be a waste of their time. Therefore, your page must clearly convey:
- Who the newsletter is for (essential!)
- What to expect (essential!)
- Past issues (ideal to have if possible)
- Proof it’s worth it (ideal to have if possible)
So let’s hop right in and make the following tweaks to your B2B newsletter signup page.
#1 State who the newsletter is for
Seems obvious, but I continue to have to point this out to solo consultants and therapists: state exactly who the newsletter is for. You only want to spend energy creating newsletter content for your ideal clients, so make it obvious who that is. If it comes across as ambiguous, folk will assume it isn’t for them (simply so they can move on with their day). So stop ’em in their tracks by using terms they use to describe themselves. In the B2B world, this usually means title and industry. You can also paint a picture that reflects their current status, so you end up with a formula like: descriptor + title + industry
- “overwhelmed principles at private schools”
- “nonprofits with small teams”
- “early-stage startup founders”
- “2SLGBTQIA+ leaders”
- “emerging Canadian apparel brands”
#2 Detail what they’ll get for subscribing to your newsletter
There’s also so many bland and useless newsletters out there, we want to make it clear yours is very much worth signing up for. There are three things I recommend consultants and therapists address on their newsletter signup page:
Connect readers’ goals to the benefits of signing up for your newsletter.
Something positive better happen from reading your newsletter, or else there isn’t much incentive to sign up. So ask yourself “What goals do my clients have that this newsletter can help them with?”
Common ones for consulting newsletters are saving time or money, make them smarter on a given topic, or advance their career or mission.
Common goals for therapy newsletters are to heal from specific traumas, learn more about a specific therapy and apply it, feel more connected spiritually, have a more fulfilling sex life, etc.
Clarify what sort of content the newsletter will contain.
What you put into a newsletter is limited only by your imagination. Should they expect a deep dive on industry trends, or a series of short tips grouped by a theme? Will you showcase the work of others in your ecosystem, or keep things strictly to insider information from your own firm’s or clinic’s insights?
Tell how often the newsletter goes out, and when.
Denoting this helps with frequency expectations. And also holds you accountable as the newsletter creator to get it out when you promised you would. If you say “Biweekly nuggets of inspiration drop every other Thursday” by golly, you better deliver!
Unsure what your frequency will be? Say something like “Expect occasional emails…” so it’s clear it’s an ongoing thing they signed up for (then update this blurb once you figure it out).
How often should you send a newsletter as a consultant or therapist? More often than you’d think.
It really does depend on your capacity as a soloist, but sending smaller newsletter more frequently is actually easier to maintain than one big one every quarter:
- A lot can happen in your industry or area of expertise in a month, so sending once or twice a month keeps content relevant. It also avoids packing newsletters full of different content to make up for the time missed.
- If the benefits of your newsletter align with your readers’ goals, they are more likely to enjoy frequent newsletters from you. We have to put aside our own ‘personal frequency preference’ and really think about what matters to readers. If you promise the latest in compliance or exciting developments in your industry, readers will be ok to get those as they happen. If you’re helping someone learn meditation tools, seeing you pop into their inbox every other Monday builds a sense of accountability and presence.
- It’s also good to remember that subscribers have agency over when they open and read content. Some will eagerly open yours the moment it lands in their inbox, while others may have a ritual of the perfect time to see what you’ve sent. You’re never a bother when you deliver value via email. When you’ve outstayed your welcome, readers will simply unsubscribe. Which is a neutral and respectful thing.
If you don’t know the benefits, or how often you will send the newsletter out, there’s a bigger issue with your email marketing strategy. It may be beneficial to review your marketing goals and how they align with your ideal audience’s desires that will make them want to sign up.
#3 Offer past issues so they can see what they’ll get
Unless your newsletter is highly time sensitive, there’s no reason not to allow people to read past issues without having to sign up. Imagine going to a bookstore and all the books are behind glass. No way to flip through a book and figure out if you want to buy it. This applies to newsletters, too: let folk read past issues to get a sense if this is worth signing up for. Often this is called an “archive page” and can be found in your email marketing platform settings. If your platform doesn’t offer that feature, you can usually find the direct URL at the top of each issue and can update your newsletter page each issue manually.
How to create a compelling headline for your newsletter signup page
A compelling headline for your newsletter signup page is where all this work comes together. Personally, I find it easier to come up with a headline once I’ve written the rest of the page. You could combine anything from #1, #2 and #3 to help create curiosity and interest to read the rest of the page.
In my case, I wanted to emphasize what you get out of my newsletter: marketing clarity (benefit) for nuanced thinkers (my audience). The fact I named it “Marketing Snacks” was intentional: I wanted a name that would instantly tell you the main topic, and set the stage that it would be short and snackable.
Extra B2B email marketing tip: don’t forget to segment who signs up
It’s common for consultants to work with different industries, while therapists may work with different age brackets, individuals and groups or couples, etc. When someone signs up to your newsletter, your email marketing system should help you to ‘bucket’ them appropriately.
Depending on your email marketing platform, segmentation is usually done by “tags” or “groups”. Consider what is important information for you to know in order to deliver the best content to prospect in your regular newsletter, or future sales sequences. And then label contacts appropriately when they sign up. I like to bucket my tags/groups based on function using square brackets [ ], followed by a label that will make sense. Some common examples are:
- Where they opted in, so you can track people who opted in from this special page verses or other signup forms on your website: “[Opt In] Newsletter Page”
- Which sort of client they are: “[Type] For-Profit”, “[Type] Non-Profit”, “[Type] Couples”, “[Type] Group”
Your newsletter signup page is a gateway to building trust with future clients.
Your newsletter is a low-risk way for prospective clients to get a sense of what you’re all about: your ethics, your approach, and what value you can provide before even booking a call with you. By clearly conveying value and managing expectations, you can significantly boost conversion when you’re promoting your newsletter.
Have your signup page done and ready for signups? Download my free guide, “20+ Ways to Grow Your Email List,” to send more people to your hard work. Of course, it’s always worth it, because having a newsletter is all about expand your reach and build meaningful relationships with future clients!