Why Your Subscriber Base Isn’t Growing: Let’s Find Out What’s Wrong

Collecting contacts through a subscription form is a common way to attract an audience. Forms are placed on websites, in apps, promoted via email and messengers. It would seem that everything is set up: there’s reach, useful content, entry points — yet the base still barely grows.

Often, the issue isn’t with the channels or the audience, but with the form itself: where it’s placed, how it’s designed, what it says, and how easy it is to fill out. These small details are often what hinder growth.

In this article, we’ll go over common mistakes in subscription forms and explain how to fix them to increase the number of subscribers in your base.

Mistakes in Building a Customer Base

To find out why your customer base isn’t growing, it’s important to conduct an audit. First, check whether your target audience and marketing goals are clearly defined.

• What your ad campaigns are focused on.
• Who your ideal customer is — the one who should subscribe to your newsletter.
• What kind of content you plan to send and for what purpose.

After that, move on to identifying specific reasons.

1. The form is not visible

If the subscription form is hidden in just one place — for example, only in the website footer or deep inside the app — users are unlikely to find it. No one will go out of their way to look for where to enter an email, phone number, or agree to push notifications. Especially if they don’t even know such an option exists.

Here, the call to subscribe and get a bonus is placed at the top of the page — hard to miss.

And here, you need to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the subscription form.

Not everyone will scroll down to the site footer where the form is located. And if it’s only available on one page, that makes the process much harder: a person will quickly forget about the option and is unlikely to return to it later.

How to Fix It

Study how users navigate your site and other channels, and place the subscription form where it will definitely be noticed: on promotional pages, in the blog, during checkout, or at other high-attention points. Use analytics data to find the best option.

Set up a pop-up that appears after a certain amount of time or when the user is about to leave the site — at the moment when they’ve already decided whether the information is relevant to them or not. For in-app or messenger subscriptions, focus on the benefits: speed of receiving information, convenient format, the ability to catch the best offers, or be the first to learn about updates.

2. Registration Is Too Complicated

Too many fields to fill out, specific data requirements, and multiple authorization steps with confirmations — such a subscription form is more likely to scare users away. Especially if it has to be filled out in a very specific way that takes extra time. For example, if the form doesn’t accept a phone number without a country code and it has to be entered manually.

Collecting additional data beyond the basics for a simple subscription also creates distrust among users. For instance, it’s unclear why an email address is needed if the goal is to send push notifications.

How to Fix It

Simplify the customer journey as much as possible and reduce the time it takes to subscribe. Ideally, the process should take just a few seconds. Request only one contact detail — either an email address or a phone number. If necessary, you can also ask for a name.

To collect a push notification base, a one-click form without any additional data fields is sufficient. The key is to make the offer timely and well-formulated: explain the value clearly. Another good option is to invite the user to subscribe after they leave positive feedback. This means they’re loyal and more likely to want to continue engaging with your brand.

A well-designed subscription page directly affects base growth and audience retention. It should be part of your overall design system and not look outdated or dull.

3. No Clear Reason to Subscribe

In today’s information overload, people are constantly “attacked” with subscription offers. With so much competition for attention, they choose only what is truly interesting and valuable to them. That’s why calls like “subscribe to our news” or “stay with us” don’t make you stand out and don’t motivate users to leave their contact information. People simply don’t understand why they need yet another newsletter — and as a result, the customer base doesn’t grow.

How to Fix It

It’s important to clearly define the benefit the client will get from subscribing — and communicate it within seconds, as the decision is made quickly. Explain who the newsletter is for, how it’s useful, and what problem it helps solve. Show specific value: bonuses (discounts, checklists, points, free materials), fast access to information, personalized offers, and helpful content.

To collect subscribers more effectively, it’s also important to consider the interests of your audience and segment them into user groups. This allows you to create more relevant content, set up personalized newsletters, and offer custom deals right within the subscription form.

On the subscription page, you can specify mailing preferences so that the subscriber can choose what they’re interested in. And with targeted advertising, it’s easy to attract the exact audience you’re looking for.

4. Weak CTA (Call to Action)

The subscription call to action should be noticeable and relevant. A simple button like “Subscribe” or “Send” often gets lost among other content and doesn’t grab attention. Another common mistake is placing the CTA where the user doesn’t expect to see it — for example, in a random spot on the website, in the app, or in an email.

It makes more sense to offer a subscription right after useful or interesting content — at the end of an article, in a Telegram channel, or after completing an action in the app. If the CTA is out of context, offers no benefit, and is poorly designed, it simply won’t work.

How to Fix It

Create a list of benefits for the user and turn them into clear — and if possible, creative — CTAs. That’s the only way to stand out in the information flow and grow your subscriber base.

5. No Trust

The information space is so overloaded that excessive messages can irritate people. So deciding whether or not to subscribe is a big deal. What if there are too many notifications? What if my data is shared with third parties? Additional concern arises when unsubscribing is difficult or impossible.

How to Fix It

Explain the subscription terms and what will happen next. It’s enough to add a short note near the CTA and also provide a link to the full data usage policy.

Key points to clarify to build trust:

To build even more trust in your subscription, you can also add:

• Subscriber testimonials;
• Sample emails (demo materials);
• A subscriber counter: “Join 12,000+ readers.”

6. Technical Issues

Users often don’t complete the subscription process due to basic glitches: non-working buttons, slow-loading forms, or no confirmation after submitting their data. This can happen on the website — for example, a pop-up doesn’t trigger or doesn’t appear at all — as well as in other channels, such as push notifications being blocked.

Another common issue is that users don’t receive a confirmation email or code, or it arrives with a significant delay. In such cases, few people are willing to spend time figuring it out — it’s easier to just leave.

How to Fix It

Check the entire user journey — from clicking the “Subscribe” button to their contact being added to the database and receiving the first email. It’s important to test the process on different devices and in various browsers — pop-ups, for example, may be blocked due to security settings. All buttons and links, including those in emails, should function without any errors.

Display customer support contact info in a visible place — if users run into issues, they should be able to get help quickly. It’s essential to respond promptly to such requests to avoid losing potential subscribers.

7. Subscription Is Not Promoted

Many ad campaigns promote products, services, or content, but forget about newsletter subscriptions. As a result, the form exists, but no one sees it — and the base doesn’t grow. Users won’t go looking for a way to subscribe to email, push, or SMS. If the subscription isn’t promoted, people simply won’t know about it, and new contacts will come in slowly — if at all.

How to Fix It

Mention the subscription in your email signature, and place pop-ups and banners on your website. The key is to offer users a choice: let them decide where it’s most convenient to receive messages — via messengers, email, push, or SMS. This flexible, omnichannel marketing approach helps you reach more people and increase engagement.

Summary

Building a subscriber base for email, push, and messengers is an effective strategy. To make it work, place subscription forms in visible areas, use pop-ups, and clearly highlight the benefit for the user.

Promote the subscription not only on your website, but also on social media, in messengers, and after a purchase.

Regularly check the entire subscription journey to eliminate technical issues. Explain how often you’ll be sending messages and how user data is handled.

Make the subscription process simple, fast, and valuable — and your base will grow.