Encouraging subscriptions using profiles

A basic but highly successful method of growing an organization's e-mail lists is to provide prominent, easy-to-use options for newsletter signups on the organization's website. This can vary, depending on the site design and layout—smack bang in the middle of the front page is probably too strong a location for any information architecture. Usually, the home page or all pages have a simple signup form in a sidebar or header region, or a button that directs the user to a full-page signup form where additional details are collected.

Other effective places to request website visitors subscribe to a newsletter are when they are buying a paid membership and on "thank you" pages just after they have done something that indicates some level of commitment to the organization. Depending on your site information architecture and, more importantly, your organization's process for engaging website users, it may be a good idea to have options for newsletter signups...