How to Increase my Conversions/Subscribers on WP Blog

Here's my observations...

Your current sidebar opt-in doesn't stand out and looks
bland. Consider using a background color or image so
that the opt-in box leaps off the page.

The current opt-in box 'headline' sucks:

"Every Chess Master was Once a Beginner"

Make them an enticing bloody offer, e.g. a report that
teaches them something useful to improve their chess
game. Include a graphic of the report to draw the
visitor's eye to the opt-in box.

You've got 3 fields for your opt-in form: e-mail address,
name and rating.

For starters, people are used to filling-in the name first
and then the e-mail. Besides, if you want to increase
opt-in rates, then consider just asking for the e-mail.

And what the bloody hell does the field 'rating' mean?
Is this something chess players know how to complete?
The rating field may be causing confusion and making
people hesitant to fill in the form in case the get it
wrong.

And your button has the word 'subscribe' on it. Not
exactly motivational is it? Use action words that tell
people what to do and/or what they'll get instead of
bland words like 'subscribe'.

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

You might consider offering something that entices them to subscribe. Most people offer a freebie as a giveaway in order to build their lists.

Offer your visitors a freebie for subscribing, build trust and get established. This should help increase your conversion rate.