Most people are aware that a blog is a good tool for increasing traffic to a website. But did you know that it can also help you grow your list? Here are three suggestions on how to do this:

Put an opt-in box in your sidebar.
You want your opt-in box to show up on the main blog page, as well as each individual post page. Put it on the right side and make it attractive … meaning noticeable and enticing. This will increase the likelihood that when someone reads a post and likes it, they’ll subscribe to your list to get more information.

Put an invitation to opt-in at the bottom of your best blog posts.
Write compelling content that is related to what you provide in your newsletter. Then, at the end of the post put a soft-sell invitation to opt-in to your list. You can do this in one of two ways:

Point them to the opt-in box:
If you liked what you just read, you might want to subscribe to my newsletter. Just enter your name and email address in the opt-in box at the top of this page. In return, I’ll give you a special report about ….

Embed an opt-in form:
If you liked what you just read, you’ll want to subscribe to my newsletter. Just enter your name and email address in form below. In return, I’ll give you a special report about ….

 
Make your blog’s home page a squeeze page.
When someone first arrives at your blog, what do they see? Is it the page with the most recent blog posts? This is very common, but it doesn’t help you grow your list.

So, make your blog’s landing page a squeeze page. There are two ways to do this:

The Squeeze Page Entry
This is a dedicated squeeze page that won’t let people gain access to your blog until they opt in. Some people who use this strategy are sticklers … there are no other links. The person arriving at the page either opts in or leaves. Others are a little more lenient and will put a “Or skip to the blog” link at the bottom of the page. I favor the softer approach because it makes it easier on people who have already opted in but can’t remember the blog’s sub-URL.

The Main Page Opt-In
At least with WordPress, you have an option to have the landing page be the main blog page or a regular page. If you choose the latter, you can make this page’s sole purpose be to request that opt-in.