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BLOG SMARTER DASHBOARD<\/a> :: COMMUNITY<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/bizmavens.com\/academy\/blog-smarter-dashboard\/” button_text=”Back to Dashboard” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_button][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_sidebar area=”et_pb_widget_area_7″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Program Sidebar” module_class=”sidebar-menu” _builder_version=”4.11.4″ header_font=”|on|||” header_font_size=”20″ remove_border=”on” global_module=”1245″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_sidebar][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” admin_label=”Lesson Title” _builder_version=”4.16″ title_font_size=”42px” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” parallax_effect=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ inline_fonts=”Trebuchet,ABeeZee” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Because this lesson is more like a tutorial on which tools you can use to open more gateways, it’s in a written format. That way, you can easily refer back to any sections you need to later on as you implement changes on your own site.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n At this point in the program, you’ve had lots of practice with seeing the\u00a0<\/span>visuals\u00a0<\/span>and the\u00a0<\/span>words\u00a0<\/span>on your site through the\u00a0<\/span>perspective of your target market. When you put on your Target Market Goggles, you understand what your\u00a0<\/span>reader<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>needs to see in order to know, like, and trust you.<\/p>\n And that’s essential if you want to build a strong brand.<\/p>\n In the last lesson, you learned that the actual\u00a0<\/span>tool<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>you use to get your reader to subscribe\u2014whether you\u2019re using a slide-in, a pop-up, a landing page, or just a regular subscribe widget in your sidebar\u2014isn\u2019t anywhere as important as the\u00a0<\/span>messaging<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re using to tell your reader WHY they should subscribe.<\/p>\n That’s because your reader comes to your site\u00a0<\/span>with her guard up<\/em>.\u00a0Her level of suspicion is high. Your messaging must systematically\u00a0<\/span>remove the red flags\u00a0in her mind about subscribing so that she can\u00a0<\/span>connect<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>on an emotional level\u00a0<\/span>and<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>a logical level with you. Only then will she follow through and\u00a0subscribe.<\/p>\n To be clear, growing your email list could easily turn into an entire course itself, so let’s boil this topic down to the most important<\/strong> techniques you can use today<\/em> \u2013 the things that will give you the biggest, quickest wins. In this lesson, we’ll cover two topics:\u00a0<\/span>first<\/strong>, how many subscriber gateways you need, and\u00a0<\/span>second<\/strong>, which ones you should use on your site.<\/p>\n How many subscriber gateways do you actually need on your site?<\/p>\n Most bloggers have just one in their sidebar and leave it at that. But the truth is that those blogs typically aren\u2019t converting their traffic to subscribers at a high rate.<\/p>\n In fact, you’ll get the best results when you open a gateway in\u00a0<\/span>several locations on your site<\/em>.<\/p>\n Here’s why: Your website may<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>seem<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>like a small place, but as soon as your reader scrolls just a tiny bit down the page, what they\u2019re seeing is<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>completely different<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>from what they saw before they scrolled. In other words, the gateway they saw at first may have entirely disappeared, and they may not even understand how to get back to it.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, depending on\u00a0<\/span>where they are<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>in your site \u2013 whether they\u2019re at the very top because they just arrived, or whether they\u2019re\u00a0at the end\u00a0<\/span>of a super helpful piece of content they just finished reading,\u00a0<\/span>their state of mind\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 what\u2019s actually<\/strong> going through their head \u2013\u00a0<\/span>is completely different.<\/p>\n So in this lesson, we’ll walk through your site step-by-step (with your Target Market Goggles on!) to see what your reader is thinking. And that will reveal to us\u00a0<\/span>what we should show them<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 which type of subscriber gateway \u2013 in order to capture their attention, right where they are.<\/p>\n You don’t have to do everything<\/em> in this lesson. In other words, out of all the choices we’ll cover, you\u00a0certainly\u00a0<\/span>don\u2019t have to add every single tool we discuss to your site. You’ll need to use the information in this lesson to make a CEO decision<\/strong> for your<\/em> business. Because there is no “wrong” or “right” choice \u2014 only what you do and what you learn from it.<\/p>\n Just because one type of subscriber gateway is\u00a0<\/span>available, that doesn’t mean you absolutely have to use it. But keep in mind that the more gateways you can open, the more visitors you can convert into subscribers.\u00a0As a rule of thumb for the purposes of this program, try using at least three<\/strong> different types of gateways on your site.\u00a0Then later on after you see the impact on your conversion rate, you can always adjust the number of gateways.<\/p>\n But if that feels a little overwhelming, remember that you don’t have to implement everything all at once. Just\u00a0take it step by step.<\/span> And as a reminder from earlier in this module: If you\u2019re not yet comfortable with using your email marketing tool, you might want to consider hiring a tech person who can help you with implementing what we cover in this lesson.<\/p>\n Remember this from module 3? When the reader first lands on your site, their brain spends the\u00a0<\/span>first three seconds<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>trying to figure out the answer to these two questions:<\/p>\n If you want your reader to see you as an\u00a0<\/span>authority<\/strong> in those first three seconds and to view your website as a resource that can help her, then it helps to\u00a0<\/span>show her what you have to offer right from the start<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s why subscriber gateways in the header of your site are useful.<\/p>\n For example, take a look at the results of an eye tracking study done on the Biz Mavens site a few years ago.\u00a0This study tracked\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>where people\u2019s eyes go\u00a0<\/span>from the moment they land on the page. Each colored dot represents where readers’ eyes landed.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll see that their eyes start at the top left, where they encounter the logo<\/strong> and they probably think, \u201cOkay, I\u2019m on a site about blogging.”<\/span><\/p>\n Then they scan to the right and see what\u2019s in the\u00a0<\/span>navigation<\/strong>. \u201cBlogging Resources\u201d is an important clue to have there because it reinforces\u00a0<\/span>what the site is about.<\/em><\/p>\n Then even before they make it down to the content they came for in the first place, they scan down and see\u00a0\u201cFree Guide\u201d inside a box. That area is called a\u00a0Feature Box.<\/strong><\/p>\n The reader hasn’t even started reading the post itself, and yet their brain already has a clear picture<\/strong> of what this site is about, and whether it\u2019s a place they belong. What they’ve encountered at the top of the page doesn\u2019t leave anything to the reader\u2019s imagination. In those crucial first three seconds, all the signals communicate that if you’re a blogger, and if you want more subscribers, this is the place for you.<\/p>\n At the end of this lesson, you’ll find recommendations on specific software tools you can use to implement each subscriber gateway. For now, focus on the pros and cons of each gateway so you can make the best CEO decision for what to add to your site.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While the Feature Box is one of the most effective types of gateways, it can also be\u00a0<\/span>one of the hardest\u00a0<\/span>to actually implement on your site and do it well, depending on your site design or theme.<\/p>\n Another type of subscriber gateway that works well when your reader first arrives on your site is a\u00a0<\/span>Hello Bar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This is a little bar that appears at the top of the screen \u2014 or sometimes at the bottom of the screen. The Hello Bar is just tall enough for a short and simple message asking the reader to subscribe.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick example from a Blog Smarter grad.\u00a0<\/span>(Check out the strong brand messaging!)<\/p>\n In the header of a site, sometimes you’ll see a subscribe box, as shown in the following example.\u00a0This site has a lot<\/em> going on, but on the right side in red, you\u2019ll see a subscribe box.<\/p>\n After the top of the page, your reader scrolls down the page and engages with your\u00a0<\/span>content.<\/p>\n The first thing she reads is the headline. And then because\u00a0we read left-to-right, her eye naturally sweeps over to the right side of the page to discover your sidebar.<\/span><\/p>\n Your sidebar can be an effective place for a subscriber gateway, but\u00a0it has to do two things:<\/p>\n Continuing on with your reader\u2019s experience, at this point your reader is likely to start reading your blog post.<\/p>\n Let’s say she truly connects<\/em> with it.\u00a0She may even think, \u201cWow, this is awesome!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But in the middle of your content,\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re in a tough spot<\/strong>. Because the reader already\u00a0<\/span>left<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>the top area of the site, and she already scrolled down past the top of the sidebar. There\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>nothing to see here<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 no way for your reader to subscribe, even while she’s totally loving what she\u2019s reading. And this is where some more advanced kinds of subscriber gateways come into play.<\/p>\n Ah, the pop-up.\u00a0The thing people love to hate and hate to love!<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, pop-ups can be annoying.<\/p>\n Yes, they interrupt what your reader was doing.<\/p>\n But the fact is\u2026statistically, they really do<\/em> work.<\/p>\n A pop-up helps you make the most of that moment when your reader is\u00a0<\/span>completely in love with you<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>because your content is so helpful and makes her feel SEEN, HEARD, and UNDERSTOOD. The pop-up makes it possible for you to offer your reader something even more<\/em> amazing they’ll love too \u2013 your Tiny Taste lead magnet.<\/p>\n For pop-ups to be effective, you need to avoid a couple common pitfalls.<\/p>\n First, suppose you show the reader a pop-up the\u00a0<\/span>very second she arrives<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>on your site, and the pop-up hides the text right at the exact moment when her brain was trying to figure out where she is, and whether she’s in the right place. That’s annoying at best, and your reader may even\u00a0leave your site immediately because of it.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead of showing a pop-up right when the reader lands on your site,\u00a0set up\u00a0a\u00a0delay<\/strong>\u00a0before your pop-up appears. That gives your reader time to get a little further down the page and\u00a0fall in love with your content<\/em>, and then<\/em>\u00a0you can show her something that will be even more helpful. For example, you can:<\/p>\n Delaying the pop-up is a little like this: Suppose you’re in a store and having a great experience there, and as you approach the door, someone calls out to you, \u201cWait! I want to give you this special gift that will help you because we really value you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Second, many pop-ups have\u00a0<\/span>weak messaging. For example, check out the pop-up messaging shown below.<\/p>\n Every subscriber gateway must make it clear what’s in it for your reader<\/strong> to subscribe, and pop-ups are no exception.<\/p>\n Suppose your reader makes it all the way to the bottom of your content,\u00a0she finishes the very last word of your post, and\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Now what?<\/em><\/p>\n She can leave a comment, but what if she isn’t interested in that?<\/p>\n She\u2019ll probably just move her mouse back to the top of the page and leave your site\u2014unless<\/strong> you catch her eye in that moment<\/em> and invite her to subscribe.<\/p>\nModule 4: Convert & Conquer<\/em><\/h3>\n
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What’s the “Right” Number of Gateways?<\/h2>\n
But First, a Warning…<\/h2>\n
Area 1: Top of Page<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bizmavens.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/eye-tracking-study.png\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\nGateway Tool 1: Feature Box<\/h3>\n
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Feature Box: Pros<\/h4>\n
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Feature Box: Cons<\/h4>\n
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Gateway Tool 2: Hello Bar<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bizmavens.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/hellobar.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHello Bar: Pros<\/h4>\n
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Hello Bar: Cons<\/h4>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bizmavens.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/feastandfarm-1024x720.png\")
<\/em><\/p>\nGateway Tool 3: Header Subscribe Box<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bizmavens.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/fhd.png\")
<\/p>\nHeader Subscribe Box: Pros<\/h4>\n
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Header Subscribe Box: Cons<\/h4>\n
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Area 2: Content\/Middle of Site<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bizmavens.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sidebar-sweep.png\")
<\/p>\nGateway Tool 4: Sidebar Subscribe Box<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Sidebar Subscribe Box: Pros<\/h4>\n
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Sidebar Subscribe Box: Cons<\/h4>\n
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Gateway Tool 5: Pop-Ups, Slide-Ins, And More<\/h3>\n
How to Make Pop-Ups Work for You (And the Reader)<\/span><\/h4>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bizmavens.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Screen-Shot-2015-08-13-at-5.44.28-PM.png\")
<\/p>\nArea 3: Bottom of Site<\/h2>\n