Email addresses can work wonders! In our experience, it is really easy for publishers to attract members if they are able to contact their communities directly via email (usually by sending email newsletters).
But first, you need to collect those email addresses. Then you will be able to contact your "leads", i.e. people who are interested in your publication. Above everything else, it’s important to send newsletters multiple times. This is also something that our experience has taught us:
It pays to be persistent. You need to ask more than once. Most potential members will only sign up once you’ve asked them a second, third or fourth time!
Generate leads with the floating button
You can use the floating button to collect potential members’ email addresses. With the help of the button, you ask website visitors to provide their email addresses in exchange for a small gift, like access to an exclusive article. It’s also possible to use this feature without offering anything in return, if you prefer.
A gift in exchange for an email address
You can offer access to an exclusive benefit, like an article or a podcast episode, in exchange for the visitor’s email address:
- Write a post on your Steady page
- Publish the post, but make it visible to members only
- Activate the floating button in your settings
- Check the box "Collect email addresses"
- Select "Access to a members-only post”
- Select the post you want to offer from the drop-down menu
- Click “Save”
Collect email addresses without a gift
You can also use the floating button to ask for visitors’ email addresses without offering anything in return. This will also allow you to use the leads feature even before you have a public Steady page.
- Write a post on your Steady page
- Publish the post, but make it visible for members only
- Activate the floating button in your settings
- Check the box "Collect email addresses"
- Select "No reward”
- Click “Save”
Finished
As soon as a visitor enters their email address, they will appear in your member area under "Leads". There you can also export the list with your leads as a CSV file.
Automatic reminder email
In your settings, you can set up and write an automated email to be sent to your leads after seven days. You can also select one of your plans from the drop-down menu to offer to your leads in this email. And you can send a test email to yourself to check how it looks, too.
Once the automatic reminder email is set up, you can simply forget about it. We’ll make sure your reminder email is sent out seven days after a website visitor enters their email address.