Opt-In Lists for Events
Opt-in lists for events are similar to the signing up for a newsletter. You ask people if they want to be notified when a special event or sale is happening. Although some may look at this as a permission to send junk mail, you can let them know that you are not selling your list to anyone and you will use it only for the stated purpose. Then do not abuse the privilege of having them sign up. Do not overwhelm them with sales and event notices—make sure that you schedule the notices and let them know when to expect them. As with a newsletter, you can tell them whether it will be daily, weekly, monthly, or otherwise. You should also inform them of the day to expect it.
I know that you do not commonly see much scheduling happening on the Web in general, but you will find that your clients appreciate your scheduling. It gives them a heads up when to expect the information so they are more likely to read it. You want them to read it and take action from what you send. In order to make this happen, schedule your mailings and make them exciting and enticing.
If people opt in, they will also want to have the option of opting out. Let them know at any time they can do so and give them a link so they can follow through. I have opted out of some lists with ease and others only with great difficulty. As you can imagine, I feel respect for the companies that make it easy and lose all patience for those that do not. Consider, too, that people change addresses, and they must have an easy way to opt out of the old address and opt in with the new one!
Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprints for Success - Networking: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprints for Success Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2006. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 | 0 Comments
Name Squeeze Pages - What Are They and Why Do You Need Them?
There are many terms that are used in the Internet marketing world. Some are confusing, and some are simple. Some are simple but made to sound confusing. Name squeeze page how to information is a relatively new term, but it’s a technique that has been around for quite some time. Name squeeze page how to information is one of the first steps used by successful marketers for lead generation. Without leads, sales cannot be made – but getting good leads these days can be hard work – unless you know how to use a name squeeze page.
You’ve surely heard of opt-in lists. If you haven’t, an opt-in list is an email list of people who have agreed to receive information from you in their email inboxes. If you send them commercial email messages without that permission, you are spamming them – and that is against the law now. However, if you have their permission, you are not spamming them. They have the option of unsubscribing from your list anytime that they want to, and you must honor any remove requests that you receive.
An opt-in list is gold to an Internet marketer, and this is the end result of name squeeze pages. A name squeeze page is a webpage on your website that is intended to get the name and email address of visitors to the page. Now, there are many scripts that you can use to collect information about your visitors without them knowing about it, but this is not ethical, and in most cases, it violates the spam laws and privacy laws that are in effect.
To make an effective name squeeze page, you want to provide information that interests your readers and makes them want to be directed to more information, or to receive information via email. The visitor will be required to provide their name and email address for this information. This also works well when you have a freebie to give away, such as an ebook or free report. You can require the visitor to enter their email and name, and agree to receive information from you in the future in order to get the free download.
These names and email addresses that your name squeeze page collects can be added to your mailing list. You are now free to email them your newsletters and offers. But you should mail responsibly. Email good information or product reviews to your list, as opposed to spammy type advertisements. If you are mailing what appears to be spam to your list, you will lose a lot of subscribers in a very short time – and all of your efforts will be wasted.
Creating a name squeeze page is not hard. You just need some copy on the page that will make the visitor want to sign up. Of course the page needs to have a sign up form, and the HTML code for such a form can be obtained from your autoresponder service. Using an autoresponder service that requires double opt-in subscribing is highly recommended. The confirmation page that the person sees after confirming the subscription through email should redirect the visitor to the information that they are seeking, or to the free download that you are offering.
Name squeeze pages how to information is popping up all over the Internet. This is happening because this technique works. Internet marketers are using name squeeze pages on a regular basis to build massive opt-in lists. If lead generation is important to your business, you need to get your name squeeze pages up and working for you as soon as possible.
Jason is a successful Internet Marketer, and posts regularly on his Adventures In Internet Marketing blog (http://www.adventuresinim.com/). Take a minute right now to sign up for his newsletter (http://www.jasondevelvis.com/) for more great information!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 | 0 Comments
A Super Simple Method To Turn Your "Sleepy" Opt-In List Into A Heap Of Responsive Subscribers
Today you are going to learn to make your opt-in list SCREAM with subscribers who will eagerly await for every e-mail you send.
This method is kind of a "secret" that is kept from many opt-in list owners and I might very well cause some friction for giving this info out.
But that is what I do...give you the "no fluff and bull" approach to success.
Okay, lets get right to it...
In order to make your list "sing" you must interact with your subscribers.
You must make them "feel" like a part of your family.
To do this you can use the simple but powerful method of...Surveys!
Yep. Surveys.
This is your key to a proactive opt-in list.
In order to have a responsive list, you must know exactly what your subscribers want.
Here is how you can accomplish this...
Simply write an e-mail to your list and ask them very pertinent questions.
Ask them their "wants and needs".
Ask them what type of products/services they would like to see in your publication AND are willing to pay for.
Ask what type of articles help out the best.
Simply interact with your subscribers. Make them your friend.
You can also run a more elaborate survey that uses a program to gather and produce your results.
A good program for this is "Survey Monkey" and you can find it at http://www.surveymonkey.com
Its a free program by the way.
Survey Monkey tabulates the results to every question and is great for gauging the effectiveness of your survey.
So in a nutshell, here is how it works.
--Make your subscribers your friend.
--Ask your list their "wants and needs".
--Compile the results
--Give them what they ask for!
Follow this simple method and watch your opt-in list EXPLODE!
Gary will "pre-build" you a fresh opt-in list of 5,000 opportunity prospects and teach you his proven method to quickly and easily use your new list for maximum profits and results. To get your list click here: http://www.jempublishing.com/optin.htm
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 | 0 Comments
Developing a Successful Email List
Ask any top marketer on the internet what the key to success is and they will say – The List! Specifically, an opt-in list. This is the name and email address of all the people who have contacted you about your opportunity and given you permission to email them.
An opt-in list is critical to your success so make sure you focus on developing this from the very beginning. Incorporate it in everything you do – your ads, your website, your emails, EVERYTHING! Your goal is to get your prospects email address and develop a large subscriber base.
So, what’s the best way to accomplish this?
Offer Incentives
You can offer your prospects free incentives to join your list. Free reports, free ebooks, a free mini course on your product or service. Make sure that whatever you offer has true value and is something that will interest your prospect.
Run Contests
It’s extremely easy to get people to sign up when they have the chance of winning something. Make sure what you offer is highly geared toward your target market.
Use Pop Us Windows
Pop ups have proven highly effective in getting people to subscribe. Have your pop up display when the visitor first arrives at your website and give them a reason to sign up! Focus on the BENEFITS they will receive, what they will gain by doing so.
Make it Easy to Subscribe
People do not want to give a lot if info about themselves to strangers. They also don’t want a lengthy sign up process. Only ask for a few pieces of information - name, email address, country. You can find out more about them later when you have earned their trust.
The key to a successful opt-in list is finding subscribers and keeping them. Develop a relationship with your prospects by giving them quality information. By doing so, you'll ensure they stay subscribed long enough to see that you are a person worth doing business with.
By: Anne Ahira
Editor The BEST Affiliate Newsletter
http://www.thebestaffiliate.com
Monday, April 20, 2009 | 0 Comments
3 Simple Tips for Building Your Subscription List
Building your list online can be one of the most effective ways of promoting your business online. Once you implement your plan, it will continue to send new subscribers to your list forever.
There are a few obvious things you should do to make sure that you get more subscribers. Here are three of my best tips, and three of the easiest strategies for you to implement in getting
subscribers to your ezine.
1. Add your subscription information to all of your pages.
You may find this to be obvious. However, many sites I have visited seem to think of their ezines as an afterthought. You have to dig to find out that they have one at all.
By putting your ezine subscription box on all your pages, it won't matter what page your visitors uses to arrive at your site. He/she will always have an opportunity to subscribe to your newsletter. By not having to search to find the subscription information, you are more likely to get the person to subscribe to your ezine.
It certainly doesn't hurt to have a newsletter page with a longer description of your ezine.
Write a compelling description to go with it, offer a valuable premium for subscribing, and you will get more subscribers.
2. Submit to the Ezine Directories.
Once you have decided what the subject of your ezine is, and you have created a format, you need to create a sample issue. This should be in HTML.
Once you have your sample issue, you need to write a title and description of your ezine and submit it to the directories. Also, you will want to put a text version of your ezine on autoresponder, as well as have a subscription page link and a subscribe email address.
Once you have all of the elements you need to submit to the directories, put all of this information in a text file so that you can copy and paste as you submit.
The easiest way to find ezine directories to submit to is to search the search engines for the term "ezine directories".
Below is a 14 page tutorial on formatting your ezine, as well as a list of ezine directories you can submit to.
http://www.nowsell.com/ezine-promotion/ezine-directory-1.html
3. Exchange Links with Other Complementary Ezines.
There are several things you should know so that you get the most from this technique.
First, you can contact other ezine publishers with complimentary ezines and ask them to swap ads with you. Make sure that you look at the subscriber numbers for the publishers and give the publisher a fair deal in exchange.
You can find ezines to exchange ads with by searching this ezine directory: http://www.jogena.com. I have found this to be the best directory to help you find ezines that accept ads.
You will also want to ask the publisher for a top sponsor ad so that your ezine information will be seen. If you simply exchange ads with an ezine publisher without qualifying your request, you
may find your ad buried deep within the ezine, reducing your chances of being seen and getting new subscribers.
There are plenty of ways to promote your ezine. What's important is that you create a plan and stick to it. Get your ezine listed in as many directories as possible, exchange ads with other ezines, and always keep marketing. You'll have a large list of new subscribers before you know it.
Want even more high traffic sites to market on? Jinger Jarrett will show you how to market your business online to hundreds of high traffic sites for free. Grab a subscription to her premium ezine for just $5 per month. This is a limited time offer. http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/Special-Offers.html
Monday, April 20, 2009 | 0 Comments
Web Site Is Email Newsletter's Best Friend
Many people know about that famous song that says that diamonds are girl’s best friend. It is the same with web sites and email newsletters. You can’t have a great email newsletter without great web site. At least it is very difficult.
In our previous articles you can read about best practices in choosing your domain name and web hosting, which are one of the most important steps in having a successful site that will generate new email subscriptions.
In this article you will learn how you can design your web site and which techniques to deploy in order to increase subscription for your email newsletter.
Location, location, location
You should place a notice about your email newsletter on visible place on your web site. However, it is quite obvious if you visit many corporate web sites that you can have a hard time to locate their email newsletter. So how they can expect to have a good subscription rate and stay in touch with their visitors!?
Beside visible notice on your main page, you should put your email newsletter info on every page, preferably on side bar. Companies who know principles of successful Internet marketing make a special resource section in their main menu. This section is also great way for persuading your visitors to become your subscribers. There you can include value-added content for your visitors like best practices guide relevant to your business, tutorials for your products, white papers, newsletter archives and useful the page with useful links from your industry. It is very important that your visitors can read previous issues of your email newsletter in order to decide whether or not to subscribe to your email newsletter.
Subscription forms
Subscription rate is very much connected with subscription form. Many email publishers make mistake and require you to fill many fields that can turn your visitors away from subscribing. People are concerned with privacy, especially on the Internet so it is not wise to ask questions like “What is your salary?” If you still want to ask those kind of more private questions you can make them optional.
You have to focus on several most important questions like First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Gender, and Country. Of course it is recommended to offer your visitors to choose to receive your email newsletter in text or HTML format. For example, if you sell email marketing (or other any other) software or service you can place additional fields with question like “Do you plan buying or changing your current email marketing software?” If their answer is Yes and they chose to be contacted, you can contact them via email and ask for the best time to call them and to discuss possible arrangements regarding buying your email marketing software.
It is not recommended to ask only for email address because this way you won’t be able to do personalization and segmentation which is very important for creating successful email campaigns.
Some publishers use pop-ups to increase their email newsletter subscription. Although, this way you can get many new subscribers, you have to be aware that many people (especially more experienced Internet users) consider pop-ups annoying and unprofessional. However, if you still want to use pop-ups to place your subscription form make sure to include a standard “[x]” character for closing your pop-up window. The best technique if you use pop-up for getting more subscribers is to use cookies in order to track new visitors. This way you can display pop-ups only to your new visitors. It is not recommended that your visitors see your pop-up more than once.
Techniques
There are several great techniques that you can use on your web site to increase your newsletter membership base. White papers are great way to turn visitors into members and members into buyers. White papers are considered as more “valuable” than “common” articles. You can create white papers full of quality content and offer it free only if your visitors subscribe to your email newsletter. You can include download links in your Welcome message. Studies show that this way subscription rates increase several times.
Of course, there are other techniques like incentives. You can announce that you offer discount coupon for your subscribers only. In every issue you can include unique promotion code and offer discount on all of your products. For example, you can always offer to your email subscribers 10% discount, but on some special occasions you can raise that discount. This way, you can be quite sure that they will read your email newsletter very carefully. It is a win-win situation.
When we are talking about improving sales using email newsletters you can promote your newsletter in your shopping cart, too. For example, at the checkout when you summarize their orders you can write something similar like this:
_______________
Total price: $100
This price can be even lower. Click here to subscribe to our Messaging Times email newsletter and get 10% discount on all orders. You will find your discount coupon in our Welcome message. This is our way to say “Thank You!” for subscribing.
_______________
So you see that shopping cart is also a great way to get new email subscribers. Giving discounts exclusively to your email subscribers are proven way to have loyal customers and to grow your newsletter base.
Dejan Bizinger is a Contributing Editor for Infacta. Infacta is email messaging services company providing powerful, yet easy-to-use award-winning Group Mail, software for sending highly-personalized email messages and Group Metrics, software for email tracking. For more information visit: http://www.infacta.com
Monday, April 20, 2009 | 0 Comments
The Unlimited Power of Joint Ventures
We all love traffic, right? The more we have the better. Never can have enough of it.
And if we have free traffic, and an extra candy with it, such as the word "targeted" added to it, then we're in heaven (almost there anyway, because St. Paul technically has not provided us with a free pass to the Golden Gates, lol).
You can change St.Paul for Buddha and heaven for nirvana if you wish, or use another allegory which better suites your religion or belief. The fact remains the same - to succeed on the Internet, we need a truckload of targeted traffic, and it's much better if it's free or at least inexpensive.
So the real question is how we can achieve this internet marketing heaven. I'm familiar with several major "passwords" providing the pass to the Gates - Search Engines and Search Directories, Pay-Per-Click Search Engines, Joint Ventures, Auctions, Link Exchanges, Forums and Newsgroups, and of course Blogging, Pinging and other RSS-related technologies.
I love RSS, it's possibilities are endless. Old email system, sadly enough, is dying because of all the spam floating around. These days ISPs go nuts to stop anything that even smells like spam. Don't get me wrong. I am not encouraging spammers in any way, but legitimate marketing business suffers significant losses because of all these anti-spam filters. And RSS easily eliminates most of the problems... However, this time RSS is not our main theme of discussion. We sure will return to it later, again and again.
And I didn't mention List Building yet, did I? Well, actually, List Building, in my humble opinion, is not even a password to the pass - it's the only key to the Gate. No list - no game. Sorry.
All these techniques should serve one purpose - no, not to make a sale, but to help you build HIS HIGHNESS LIST.
Why? If you direct your traffic to a sales page, you may or may not close the deal. And even if you do close it, it will be one-time-only you-got-lucky-this-time event.
Even if you're selling high-ticket items, the life time value of your customer is much higher then the price of any particular sale.
You should treat your subscribers with respect, always giving them useful information, unique deals, discounts and freebies. Don't sell them crap only because you want to make a few extra dollars. List is your virtual "real estate", your most valuable internet marketing property.
Is there anybody else you should treat with even more respect than your subscribers? You probably think I would say "NO". But the answer is -"YES!". There is only one category of people to whom you should pay even more attention in your business practices. I'm talking about Your Joint Venture partners.
These are the people with whom you should communicate on one-on-one basis. No broadcasting, only personal e-mail, chat, forum, call, or whatever. They deserve to have each your new product free, they deserve the highest commission, and the opportunity to start market your product with a special pricing, the lowest you offer for this product. May be you even should allow them to market it a few days earlier, before you release it to the public, and even BEFORE YOU START MARKETING IT YOURSELF!
So who are those hand-picked people? These are recognized internet marketing experts who have the broad access to the niche market for your product, in most cases they already have lists of their own (or at least are building their lists).
Before starting your business relationship with them, you want to make sure that you're "on the same page" regarding ethical questions... I wouldn't go into much details here, we all know the ropes - are they trustworthy, team players or self-centered, focused on one time deals with you or on lasting relationships, and so on, and so forth.
Always be on a lookup for new partners, you never know when you can meet them. Efficient JV-marketing is one of the very effective ways to skyrocket your business.
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Oleg Ilin, the president of 1EzHost L.L.C. - custom website design, development and internet marketing company, invites you to visit http://www.1ezhost.biz and get 2 valuable internet marketing e-books:
Sunday, April 19, 2009 | 0 Comments
How To Build An Email List, Part Two of Two
Do you remember the word I made up last time?
Unjoin.
Today I'll let you know what the concept of unjoining means and how it will get you in trouble with your customers.
So, what does it mean to 'unjoin' a list before you join it?
Here are two real life examples I came across the other day from
two very large companies who should know better (I will leave the guilty parties unnamed).
Real life example one -
From a large multinational car company website:
I do not wish to receive
( ) ABC Company special events and promotions
( ) ABC Company Retailer promotions
( ) Marketing Surveys
Do you see where this company is requiring the customer to unjoin the list before they even joined?
If the customer did not check the boxes above they would be put on three email lists! I call this reverse permission email marketing and I think it stinks.
Real life example two -
From a large national telecommunications company website:
(x)Yes, I want to receive via e-mail, information and special
offers on products and services from XYZ Company and its affiliates.
Whoops, this company has already checked the box for the customer! This is a sneaky way to get more email addresses on your Email marketing list. Lots of people don't notice the pre-checked box and submit the form with the box checked.
The result?
Email marketing messages flooding an unsuspecting customer's inbox.
Did the customer ask to be added to the list?
No.
They were tricked into being put on the Email marketing list.
Now, I know all of readers of this article would never do this to your sacred customers. Why would you?
*****It just ticks people off and you are getting customers on your Email list who really don't want to be a part of it*****
So how do you really ask customers to be on your list?
You ask people to join and let them join if they want to.
Don't:
-trick people into joining by pre-checking boxes
-ask people to say which newsletters they DON'T want to receive
Here are some ethical ways to ask:
Offline businesses:
-use a blank check box on a paper form that you are using to gather information
-use a blank check box on a paper "customer profile" form
-use a blank checkbox on a paper contest entry form
-use a signup sheet at your cash register and get the customer to signup on the spot
Online businesses:
-use an email newsletter signup form on your website
-ask the question (with an unchecked check box) when your customer is paying for their order online
-ask the question (with an unchecked check box) when your customer is placing a customer service request
Here is my three-step Email list building recipe:
1. Always ask your customer's permission to add them to your Email marketing list.
2. Be thankful for the email addresses you get on your Email
marketing list.
3. Know that the customers on your Email marketing list really want to hear from you and will respond when you email them.
Joan Pasay is a dynamic e-marketing coach & the author of:
Email Marketing Made Easy: How To Get Your Customers To Give You More Of Their Money.
Check out Joan's one on one coaching here: http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/coaching
Check out the Email Marketing Club: The Only Place On The Internet Where Email Marketing Is FUN! Join now and receive a gift - guaranteed to increase your status with your friends, co-workers and boss. Click below: http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/email_marketing_club
Earn good karma for all the bad things you have done (including not building your email marketing list). Forward this article to everyone you know.
Copyright - Joan Pasay 2005
Sunday, April 19, 2009 | 0 Comments
How To Build An Email List, Part One of Two
So why do so many people cry and pull their hair out when it comes to building an email list? It's really simple - they don't know how to do it.
Before you start building an email list you need to know one thing.
What I'm about to tell you is so paramount you will want to stop reading this email and get a post-it note and pen ready so you can write it down.
What is this one thing that is so important?
If you have your post-it note and pen ready I will tell you!
Hmm, I sense someone is still looking for their post-it notes in their desk.
Ok, now we are ready...
The one thing you need to know before you start building an email list is:
****People like to be asked before you put them on a list****
I know it is not much of a novel concept but some people don't seem to understand why this is important. Here are a few reasons:
-People don't like getting emails unannounced (if a person does notask for something, then gets it, he/she won't expect it. The email will be a surprise. People don't like surprises unless it is a new car.)
-People will stay on an email list longer if they actually decided to go on the list in the first place.
So asking people to join is key. In the industry, it's called Permission Email Marketing or Opt-in Email Marketing.
Sounds pretty simple.
When you start building your email list you have to ask people to join (or rather, you would be wise to ask people to join). It's up to you.
Lots of companies don't ask people to join their email lists. I experience these types of emails everyday and always treat them the same - I delete them before I read them.
So let's talk about your email list.
-How will you ask people to join?
-Are you operating online? If so, what tools can you use on your
website?
-Are you operating offline? If so, what tools can you use at your place of business?
Here are some suggestions that will help point you in the right direction:
1. Ensure you are clear about the frequency of your e-newsletters.
For example: If your e-newsletter will be weekly, say so. If you intend to send five emails a day make sure your signups understand this.
2. Once the above is covered, clearly ask people to join your list.
and
3. Don't ask people to un-join your list if they don't want to join.
Un-join?
If you are wondering if un-join is a word, it isn't.
If you are wondering what the heck my last point means, you'll have to wait until Email Marketing Lesson: How To Build An Email List, Part Two of Two.
Joan Pasay is a dynamic e-marketing coach & the author of:
Email Marketing Made Easy: How To Get Your Customers To Give You More Of Their Money.
Check out Joan's one on one coaching here: http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/coaching
Check out the Email Marketing Club: The Only Place On The Internet Where Email Marketing Is FUN! Join now and receive a gift - guaranteed to increase your status with your friends, co-workers and boss. Click below: http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/email_marketing_club
Earn good karma for all the bad things you have done (including not building your email marketing list). Forward this article to everyone you know.
Copyright - Joan Pasay 2005
Sunday, April 19, 2009 | 0 Comments
3 Titanic List-Building Techniques
At times, attracting subscribers to your list can seem as challenging as finding a pool of water in the desert.
Having built several lists over the last year in different niche markets - all highly responsive, some in the high tens of thousands, its time to focus in on 3 of the most productive list building techniques.
Before I list them, the other factor in making money from your list though is relevance and responsiveness. You can have a list of 100,000 and it can still be worth less to you than a list of 10,000 based on relevance and responsiveness.
At the end of the day, its your revenue per subscriber that is critical to your business - not just the size of the list.
3 Titantic List Building Techniques
1. Writing articles. Trick here is to spend 90% of your time on the article title (effectively your headline) and toward writing compelling articles consistently. Send them out to publishers and directories - but always build a strong publisher base which you can go back to again and again. Some of my better articles have been picked up by hundreds of ezines, and have been seen by millions of eyeballs resulting in very strong traffic and list signups.
Case in point, my article titled "How To Make Pay-Per-Click Advertising Payoff!" over at: http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/articles/ppcpayoff.html has been run by hundreds of online and offline magazines with total subscriptions into the millions.
Another example in another niche - this very simple article on Low Carb foods has been picked up by hundreds of websites http://www.rapid-weight-loss.com/1201-low-carb-food-list.html
Learn to write articles that attract attention is the single best way to rapidly build your own responsive list.
2. Use a capture page, often called Namesqueeze for first-time traffic. Rather than sending traffic right to your sales page, send them to a capture page first and target the page well to your market. For example: http://www.infoproductcreator.com/ebook/ is such a page. Conversion is well over 40% on most days, so as you can see, any substantial traffic will result in very strong list building numbers.
3. Joint ventures: You should be seeking out at least 2 new joint ventures each month - some of these can instantly result in 100's - if not 1000's of signups. Long term joint ventures can also be repeated for months and months. Think in terms of joint mailings, interviews, viral ebooks, articles, special reports, etc... to use as tools to make joint ventures successful.
Finally - if I had to list a fourth, of course your own affiliate program would be the fourth. Takes a little longer to build momentum, but when you do - its like placing your list building on auto-pilot.
Join The Wealthy Elite Turning Their Ideas Into Dollars Online By Becoming Information Entrepreneurs. Find Out Exactly How To Package Information To Sell Online In This No-Charge, 7-Part Ecourse Available Here: http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/ebook/
Saturday, April 18, 2009 | 0 Comments
Increase Your Ezine Sign-up Rate By 500% or More Starting Today
If you’re satisfied with a newsletter subscription rate of five to ten percent, then you don’t need any of the information I’m about to share with you. If you’re serious about converting up to 50%, or more of your website visitors into newsletter subscribers, though, then read on. It’s time to leave your low sign-up rates behind by following these two easy steps.
1. Make signing up for your newsletter your visitor’s only option; otherwise they miss out on all of the free sign-up bonuses and your incredible website content. Give them something to lose. Let them know that they could be making a huge mistake by not subscribing, and back up your words with valuable free bonuses and information-rich content that makes them glad they did.
Do this by making your entry page your ezine sign-up page. If you have to write 1000-1500 words to convince them to subscribe, then do it. Treat this page like a sales page.
Tell them all of the features of subscribing, and more importantly, all of the benefits.
Don’t sell them on your product, sell them on your newsletter and the valuable bonuses they’ll get get by subscribing. Your home page and your newsletter signup page should be one and the same.
Here’s the logic behind this strategy. Imagine that your website converts one percent of your visitors into paying customers, and ten percent into ezine subscribers, ten percent of which buy your product as well. That means that only two percent of your website visitors end up purchasing your product.
While not bad by any stretch of the imagination, imagine converting one percent of initial visitors into sales, and 50% of the remaining visitors into newsletter subscribers. Simply follow step two and your previous sales attempts will pale in comparison.
2. Now all you have to do is pre-sell them with an autoresponder that comes in seven or more installments. Assuming you’re able to convert ten percent of your subscribers into paying customers, you’ve just converted six percent of your visitors into sales, a 200% increase!
If your product is related to the self-development field, for example, your autoresponder could be a seven-day self-help mini-course that whets their appetites and that, while helping them, leaves them wanting more.
Regardless of whether or not your ezines subscribers ever purchase the product that you are selling, you can still make back-end sales of other products, either products that you have created or that you can earn affiliate commission from.
Bear in mind that you can also use this strategy even if you’re not selling your own product. You can include a link to a product offering affiliate commission at the end of each installment of your autoresponder. Do whatever affords you the best opportunity to profit!
How good your sales page and your product is, is totally in your hands. But by combining a great product, a great sales page, and the above two-step formula, there are no limits on how much you can profit!
**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed below.
Feel free to substitute your referral link in place of ours in the resource box. Thanks!
Wanna learn how to generate thousands of highly targeted visitors, absolutely free? => http://www.iwantchoices.com
Saturday, April 18, 2009 | 0 Comments
How to Increase Your Opt In List by 322% in 28 Days
"The money's in your list" - how many times have you heard this statement? Plenty I'll bet... Ever wondered why it's been repeated so often it's like a mantra?
Simple, it's the truth. Anybody who owns a list containing the contact details of people interested in their products or services, has a high degree of control over sales.
Luckily, there are numerous low or no cost ways you can rapidly double, triple or even quadruple the size of your opt in subscriber list. Here are 3 of them:
1) Increase Your Opt In List Through Ezine Advertising.
Many ezine publishers incorporate advertisements into their emails. Most will charge for this, but there are ezine owners who publish ads for free.
Without getting too involved, here are the three basic types of ezine ads:
i) Solo Ads - separate emails dedicated to a single advert, and are the most effective. Unfortunately, nearly all ezine publishers will charge for a solo ad.
ii) Top Sponsor Ads - a short classified ad published at the top of an email. Not as effective as solo ads, but most ezine publishers will charge for these.
iii) Trailer Ads - these are short ads published in the middle or at the bottom of the email and are the least effective. They are often grouped with a number of other ads, and are the most likely type of free ezine advertising you'll find.
If you are prepared to search, you will find ezines which publish free ads, and many ezine publishers allow new subscribers a free solo or top sponsor ad.
2) Increase Your Opt In List By Posting to Forums.
If you think the only people to frequent online forums (or discussion groups or bulletin boards as they are also called) are spotty faced techno geeks, you are wrong...
Successful business people (and some of the wealthiest) use forums and they do so for 4 major reasons:
i) They are looking for advice - people like to ask for opinions about various products or services before purchasing. They also ask for help on using the multiplicity of ideas, tools and services available on the internet.
ii) They are on a search for new products - the replies to people looking for advice often contain links to new ideas, tips, tools and services, making forums a great place to search (and just as great a place for you to promote your list).
iii) They are searching for ideas for their own products - the types of questions asked, and the number of people asking similar questions often leads to the creation of a successful product.
iv) They want to make contact with others - quite often the owners of the tools and services recommended to those searching for advice will set up joint ventures with each other.
This is good news for you as a list owner if you frequent forums related to the topic of your list, because in no time at all you will be able to post numerous helpful replies to other forum user's questions. Most forums will allow you to use a "sig file" at the end of your post. This is where you place a brief advertisement and the link to your list.
3) Increase Your Opt In List Through Small Changes to Your Everyday Business Stationery.
A common misperception is to think list building is only an internet marketing "thing". The plain truth is offline businesses also benefit from building their own email lists.
If business is slow, you could send an email to your list containing a "discount coupon" for a particular product or service you sell. A boring morning idly watching people stroll past your shop window could quite easily turn into a mad rush, which leaves your cash register bulging to the point of busting.
To get people to join your list, you need to make maximum use of every piece of normal everyday business stationery.
On every invoice, statement, packing slip, delivery note, parts list, itinerary, you name it, you must have a brief advertisement and the link to your optin form.
You can build on these three tips and put together a formidable list building arsenal. Don't sell yourself short by using only one method, use as many as you possibly can and you could build an incredible list in a relatively short space of time.
Colin Evans is editor of the List Building Tips newsletter. Get a free detailed 7 step process to supercharge your opt in list, visit ... http://www.list-building-tips.com
Saturday, April 18, 2009 | 0 Comments
Uncover 8 Secrets To Gaining More Ezine Subscribers Now!
If you’ve just started publishing your own ezine then you’ll soon discover that getting visitors to subscribe to your ezine is not as easy as you might think. If you already publish your own ezine, it is likely you have already discovered this. Besides getting more traffic to your site, here are 8 tips that have been proven to boost ezine subscriber rates.
-- Give a free bonus away to anyone who subscribes to your ezine. This will give your visitors an initial reason to subscribe. With the amount of spam going around the internet today, people are becoming less forthcoming about giving their email address away and so make sure your bonus is a worthwhile one. I recommend using an ebook because they cost nothing to produce and are very easy to distribute.
-- Promote your ezine in a signature file at the end of every email you send. If you wish to be a successful webmaster, you should be sending at least 10 emails a day and so a large number of people who will be interested in what your ezine has to offer will see. Try to keep your e-signature short and sharp; giving information about how your ezine benefits its readers.
-- Submit your ezine to ezine directories. Ezine directories are free to submit to and attract people who are looking to sign up to ezines on a subject that interests them. When submitting your ezine, bear in mind that a lot of ezine directories list their ezines in alphabetical order so try to make the first letter of your ezine’s name begin with a letter at the lower end of the alphabet. This way your ezine will be the first people see.
-- Have a good subscription request to your ezine on every page of your website. This way, visitors are looking at your offer the whole time and if it looks appealing then they will subscribe. It also ensures that no matter which page of your site a visitor enters, they will always have the chance to see that you have an ezine.
-- Swap ads with other ezine publishers. Swap ads with ezines of the same subject as yours so you can guarantee that those who view your ezine offer will be interested. This method is completely free too. Don’t be afraid to ask other ezine publishers to swap ads because they will have very little to lose and everything to gain and so they are very likely to agree.
-- Write articles relevant to the subject of your ezine. In the resource box of your article, promote your ezine. If your article is well written then readers will look for more of your quality content and are likely to subscribe to your ezine. This is another great way to promote your ezine because you know that those looking at your ezine offer will be interested.
-- Make sample issues of your ezine available on your website or by autoresponder. Visitors won’t enter their email address unless they know exactly what they are signing up for. Your sample issues should be short and sharp, giving readers a taster of the top quality content that can be found in your ezine. You could also make previous issues of your ezine available.
-- Publish testimonials about your ezine. Visitors are unlikely to believe everything you say about the quality of your ezine but if you have good testimonials then this will lead visitors to trust you and sign up to your ezine. Do not be afraid to ask your current subscribers for testimonials. People will help you and will probably feel honoured that you consider their opinion.
For more information on this subject or about making money online go to http://www.info-ebooks.co.uk
100s of free ebooks and software products are also available at this address.
Thank you for reading
William Johnston (will@info-ebooks.co.uk)
Thursday, April 16, 2009 | 0 Comments
The Public Speaking List Machine
Do you do public speaking? Then you've got an automatic list machine!
Remember that in business, your fortune is in your follow-up. And publishing an ezine is the easiest, most automatic, and least expensive way to do this for you. The key is getting as many prospects on your list as possible -- ethically.
Whenever I'm the featured speaker at an event, I make sure to give the audience members an easy way to sign up for my ezine. There are generally three ways to do this:
1. The Signup Sheet
Mention your fabulous ezine and all the good stuff it will do for them. Then pass around a signup sheet to collect their names and e-mail addresses. At the top of the sheet, give an attention-getting headline, a 25-word ezine description, and your privacy policy.
It's amazing what peer pressure will do --- it's rare you'll see someone pass on your sheet without adding their name and e-mail! I even had someone who was already on my list sign up on the sheet at an event. She told me later she didn't want to look like she was the only one holding out. :)
2. The Presentation Notes
I've seen many speakers who use PowerPoint announce to the audience that they can get a free copy of the entire presentation if they simply hand in their business card. Then as an aside, they mention that you'll also get a free subscription to their ezine.
Sounds like a slam dunk, right?
However, when I've seen this in action, I notice that not everyone hands their card in, so this will ONLY work well if you give a dynamite presentation and the audience really wants a copy of it.
3. The Prize Drawing!
This one's my favorite.
It's amazing how grown adults go nuts when the speaker announces she/he is going to give away something for FREE. I swear you could raffle off toenail clippings, and people will climb all over each other to get their business card in the bowl.
When I speak, I'm usually selling my Boost Business With Your Own EZINE System, so what I do is first explain what that includes.
After I review all the benefits these programs bring, I pause, smile, and say, "Who here would like to get this all right now... for FREE?"
This is when people jump up and go "Ooo, ooo, me! Me me me!"
I say, "Great, because I'm going to give away one now! Please get out your business cards, and my assistant will come around and collect them. Make sure you have a chance to win! You'll also get a free subscription to my award-winning Highlights on Marketing & Success ezine, which will give you tips on marketing your business online and offline."
(NOTE: I want you to actually rehearse saying this so it's extremely smooth and confident. Remember, they'll see your offer as YOU see your offer. You want them clamoring to get on your list!)
If it makes you more comfortable, you can tell the audience that if they do NOT want to be subscribed to your ezine, they can put a "NO" on their card. I did this for over a year, but I found that during that entire time of speaking to thousands of people, only ONE person had ever written "no"! So I don't even bother anymore.
My rule now is if you want the chance to win, you get signed up. Hey, it's tough love, but it's good for them. My ezine could change their life! :)
Remember, people you meet in person will be your MOST valuable subscribers, because they've already met you. And we're all more likely to buy from others whom we know, like, and trust.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: These strategies are just a portion of what Ali will be helping her new Millionaire Protege Club members apply in their businesses. Watch your inbox for a special invitation come end of year - don't miss out on learning more!]
© 2008 Alexandria Brown International Inc.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown publishes the award-winning "Highlights on Marketing Success" weekly ezine with 36,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at AlexandriaBrown.com
Thursday, April 16, 2009 | 0 Comments
5 Tips To Create A Kick-Butt Mini-Course That Pulls In Thousands of Rabid Subscribers... in a Flash!
One of the fastest ways to develop, build, and grow your own list of subscribers is to develop a "mini" course with an incredibly compelling promise.
I have personally used "mini" courses to build lists of several thousand subscribers in as little as a week.
A "mini" course is simply a series of e-mail's where you teach people a specific skill, set of skills, or reveal other information they really want to know.
In the process of providing this focused, valuable information, you prove to your subscribers that you are THE expert in a particular area - and, you also encourage people to pay you to get even BETTER information from ebooks and information products you've either written or recommend.
An example of a "mini" course offer I've used with great success is the free mini course at www.7dayebook.com that appears in the exit pop up window when you leave the site. The promise of this "mini" course is strong and compelling. Here's what it says...
FREE eBook Mini-Course
"How to Write and Profit from your own eBook... while you're still young enough to enjoy it!"
All the registration page asks for is first name and email address... and this mini-course has generated thousands of subscribers!
So here's the basic formula in a nutshell: Strong promise+ low risk+ high perceived reward= Subscribers
Now, if you'd like to build your own list of rabid subscribers, here are 5 sure-fire tips for creating a mini- course that truly kicks butt!
Tip #1 - The Promise
If you want to launch a successful mini-course, target an audience with a specific need and then make them the biggest possible promise you can deliver on.
People are pressed for time and rarely see as much value in something they get for free as opposed to something they pay a lot of money for.
Add to this the fact that the Internet gets more and more crowded everyday and you can see that the best offers are the ones that grab people's attention by making a benefit- driven promise they can't resist.
Even though you offer your mini-course for free, you still must SELL people on WHY they should pay you with their time and attention.
Example: If you want to do a mini-course on real estate investing, look for the biggest and best promise you can make for people.
Let's look at these various promises for identical mini- course content:
Good: How to make a fortune in foreclosures.
Better: How to find and buy a profitable foreclosure within 2 weeks.
Best: How to find and buy a profitable foreclosure property in your area within 2 weeks - using none of your own money!
** The promise you make has everything to do with whether or not people sign up. IMPORTANT: After they sign up, make sure you deliver on the promise.
Tip #2 - Don't reinvent the wheel
Look for existing content - your own or other people's - you can adapt directly or indirectly into the mini-course.
Hey, I understand you're busy... I'm busy too!
Why would you want to spend 2 days coming up with all the content for your mini-course if you already have past information you can adapt!?
If you don't have any existing material, then find someone else who has written an article and use that for part of your mini-course - with their permission of course.
You'd be surprised at all the pieces of the puzzle that are out there independently which you could combine into a great mini-course without nearly the mountain of effort you might expect.
Tip #3 - Give yourself lots of chances to make money
One way to build more value into your mini-course and make sure people hang onto your messages instead of deleting them is to put lots of quality links into your mini-course.
This allows people to get additional information on specific aspects of the mini-course.
Some of those links can be to free resources, others to resources where you earn an affiliate commission, and still others to your own products and services.
The more links you have that actually contribute to your students learning the subject of your mini-course and fulfilling the promise you made to get them to sign up, the better your chances of them clicking those links.
If you create lessons people save for future reference because they have great links in them, you'll make more money!
For an example look no further than your "in-box"! Almost everybody has email messages they've saved from other people because they contain links to sites you want to use now or access in the future.
Tip #4 - Build anticipation for the next message
If you're going to take the time to put together the mini- course, wouldn't it be great of the majority of people who subscribed actually read your messages!?
If you want to launch a successful mini-course, you've got to rise ABOVE the noise of all the other email messages people receive every single day.
One way to do this is to always end each lesson with a small "ad" or excitement builder for the next message. You do this by really playing up a big benefit they'll receive as a result of reading the next message you promise to send them.
Here's an example:
"The next and final installment in this mini-course will give you five tips for how to get 10,000 visitors to your website without spending a dime on pay-per-click traffic! So stay tuned for the next lesson in 2 days..."
It's a simple, yet very powerful way to build anticipation for the next message into EVERY message you send.
This simple step helps make them look forward to the next message so it gets read... not trashed!
Tip #5 - Tell them what they don't know!
If you're using the mini-course to promote a product that covers a much "bigger picture" of the topic as a whole, constantly remind people that the mini-course is just a "tiny piece" of the whole product.
Remind them of what else they need to know and tell them if they buy the product then they'll get this benefit, and that benefit, and even more specific information.
Remember, you didn't publish this mini-course to practice your typing skills! You are in this to make money, to get subscribers, and to make sales!
Once you deliver quality content that gives people a real taste of what's in store when they actually purchase, then it's time to close the sale... you deserve it!
© Jim Edwards - All Rights Reserved
About the Author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com/
Thursday, April 16, 2009 | 0 Comments
How Avoiding This Mistake Will Save You Thousands of Dollars in Profits!
If you're reading this article right now then I'm sure you are interested in making money on the net. I decided to write this to save you the pains I suffered sometime ago.
Yes, I made a silly mistake at the start of my online marketing career and I paid dearly for it. Now as I said I'll want you to avoid it. So if you're really interested in making your living from the net, spare some time and read this through.
Here is my story.
When I started, being the newbie I was, (I think I'm still - frankly) and wanting to make some quick buck in affiliate programs, I picked on some well paying ones and with every ounce of zeal I could muster, I steadily promoted them. My expectations were high. I knew I was doing fine with my promotions. And why wouldn't I deserve the rewards?
But how disappointed I was when the stats came in.
"Something must be wrong," I cried; for that was all I could really say at the time.
And of course something was wrong. But it was not with the program. It was something I was doing. This, I was to learn was my #1 silly mistake, which has cost me a whole lot of bucks.
Now if you're promoting some affiliate program, you may be making this mistake also.
Don't believe me? Okay think about this.
While promoting the affiliate program do you have access to the list of prospects? Let's assume while promoting your assigned link, your efforts yielded 600 visitors to the affiliate website. Out of these 42 made a purchase. That is just 7%! So you receive your commission checks for those 42 persons who purchased. But what about the 558 who did not buy at first contact? Is there any way you can bring them again to make that purchase?
Is it possible for you to promote other profitable programs or products to them?
Remember that is 93% of your effort. Is that wasted effort?
Now that was the #1 Silly mistake that cost me thousands of dollars in profit. In almost, if not every case, by promoting my assigned affiliate link, I LOSE MY LEAD. And may I inform you that by doing the same you're losing yours.
You must understand that, "WEALTH BUILDING is equal to LIST BUILDING!"
So what is the solution; build your list - now!. With a list you're able to promote not just one but as many programs as you deem fit.
I'm sure the scales have fallen from your eyes. :)
So let's take some steps of creating a list of your own.
Step 1: Give away some free content - This could be anything from free reports, to free ebooks. When you provide valuable information you would soon turn browsers to buyers.
Step 2: Pull for traffic - Now ensure that there is a continuous flow of traffic to your free content. Whether this is to be gotten in your website or an email address, go for traffic and plenty of it.
Step 3: Capture the email address of those who receive your free content - of course this is done automatically by your auto responder.
Step 4: Promote your affiliate link - You now have a database to which you can promote again and again. Put before them your affiliate programs. You may have done this in your free content. You can do it continuously until they buy.
Step 5: Your back-end product(s) - take your program to the next level. Have you created your own product? You have all the right to promote this to your list. You can do this as much as you can.
That is it.
If you don't want to lose your hard earned bucks the way I did go and implement my suggestions.
Here for your success,
Copyright by Chadrack Irobogo 2006. All rights reserved.
Chadrack Irobogo's site http://www.themarketingmouse.com mission is to reveal proven and tested tactics and strategies to help you build and run a successful home based online business even when you are on a shoestring budget.
* You have free reprint rights to this article. Feel free to post it to your website, in your email promotions etc as long as the resource box is not altered.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | 0 Comments
How to Get More Sign-Ups to Your Newsletter
It never seems to amaze me how often I still see to this very day where people have gone to the effort of creating a hum dinger newsletter and paid for a good emailing responder but haven’t made their offer juicy enough on their website to get mass amounts of people to sign up.
Now think to yourself, if your visiting a website would you truly sign up if it all reads is “Sign Up Here for My Newsletter” or would you be more enticed to sign up to something that reads more like “Sign Up for my Newsletter and go in the Competition to Receive a Free T-shirt” (or whatever it is you got to offer).
Personally I know which one jumps out at me with leaps and bounds. The truth is when people see the word “free” it grabs their attention. And I’m no different, even knowing that; as soon as I see “free” on the page I want to know what is being given away… maybe it’s something I’d really like.
What you offer for free doesn’t have to cost you a sent. It could be a free report on the product or service you are providing, a free e-book or downloadable audio file. The good thing with offering something like this for free is it gives you yet another chance to advertise to your potential customers plus build more credibility to your company or product by showing your customer “you really do know all about this stuff”.
© Joanne King - http://www.joesy.com
Get your Internet Marketing Ebook and sign up for our free Internet Marketing Newsletter here at: http://www.joesy.com
You are welcome to reprint this article on your website or send to your mailing list however all links must stay active. Cheers =)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | 0 Comments
How Your Advice Column Can Build Loyal Readers
Last year while researching a book on memorable speeches and essays, I stumbled across an ageless writing technique that continues to captivate readers.
Advice articles first appeared several hundred years ago. Some were submitted to papers and magazines anonymously. The question-and-answer format probably appeared a little bit later.
While opinion articles have been around for years, few develop the loyalty and following of advice columns.
Test this for yourself by gathering newspapers and magazines from the last several decades. My guess is: you’ll find the old question/answer columns still ageless and vibrant.
Advice features generate return readers. Why? Maybe it’s because people love to share problems and possible solutions.
Want to start your own “advice” column? Here are three simple ways to begin:
1. Survey your readership for the two or three industry issues perpetually discussed.
2. Find out all you can about those issues.
3. Prompt questions from readers about those issues, and answer them regularly in a column.
Current popular syndicated features, for instance, offer advice on personal relationships, do-it-yourself projects, and travel.
In a professional or trade magazine, your question/answer feature might cover the history of your profession, provide an open forum where readers share information, or follow a how-to format. That’s your decision.
Personal note: Lots of times I get questions whose answers I don’t know. That’s when I ask the advice of an expert in that field, and ask for his/her permission to include their response and name in the answer. If I don’t know the answer, I tell the questioner I simply don’t know.
Bottom line: If you want to connect better your readers, you must also give them the opportunity to reach you.
Rix Quinn wrote the new book Words That Stick, which offers lots of writing tips for professionals who hate to write. The book’s available at your local bookstore, or http://www.tenspeed.com/catalog/all/item.php3?id=1661
Rix can be contacted directly at 817-920-7999.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | 0 Comments
5 Ways to Use Your Software to Build Your Optin List and Get Traffic
With all of the software creation products available these days, many of us Internet Marketers have an abundance of products that we can use to drive traffic to our websites.
If this sounds like you, I suggest you try the following five ideas to boost your traffic, sales, and opt-in list:
1. Give away PLR software to ezine subscribers. It gives
people an incentive to want your ezine when they have so many to choose from.
You can get tons of quality PLR software from the giveaway programs circling the net.
I offer them myself on my site.
2. Ask for contact information such as a name and email before they are allowed to download your software. Make it easy on yourself. Use an autoresponder to automate this process.
3. Put free target-marketed software download offers on your website. Be sure to require contact information to build your list.
4. Offer your software to limited-time give-away sites. This will build your optin list and possibly gain valuable testimonials for your product.
These are becoming more and more common. Cody Moya is offering just such a give-away at the time of this writing. I've offered my speech creator software as an incentive to join my newsletter. I expect to receive loads of subscribers! I always do.
5. Offer to let people download your software free if they agree to link to your site. You can gain worldwide exposure for your products and services that will far outweigh the loss of revenue.
As a software creator and newsletter publisher myself, I use each one of these ideas quite successfully!
Kristi Sayles, internet marketing coach, offers free business-building software, videos, advice, websites, and tools for visitors at http://ICanMakeCash.com Go get yours now-and don't forget to sign up for the free giveaways!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | 0 Comments
Newsletters - How To Build Your Subscriber List
If a visitor comes to your web site looking for information and doesn't sign up to receive your e-mails, you have missed an opportunity to turn that browser into a customer. This month we will be concentrating on how to build your subscriber list using the tips and techniques below. Increasing your newsletter subscription list with new subscribers will therefore increase your potential new customer database.
More detailed information about how to establish yourself and your business as an expert in your field, including how to set up and maintain an electronic newsletter, can be found in our downloadable guide “Building Online Relationships” which can be found here: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_4.html
If you would like help with how to write content for your newsletter, why not read last months article on “Newsletters – Keeping Your Customers Informed” which can be found in our newsletter archives here: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/internet_marketing_newsletter_.html
For more detailed information on how to write an effective sales proposition you need a copy of our guide “Writing Text That Sells” available for download here: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_3.html
1. Streamline subscriber registration. Streamline the sign up process by asking for as little information upfront as possible. You can always give customers an incentive to provide more information after they have experienced your newsletter. A simple sign up box that requests only an email address works best as it’s quick and not off putting to potential subscribers who often have the perception that companies are just trying to extract personal information from them.
For a simple sign up process, I would recommend Vertical Response whom we have used for several years to manage our lists. They can be found here: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=EavljUFQjXk&offerid=52409.10000007&type=1&subid=0
2. Giveaways. Put together a genuinely useful giveaway item that you know your audience wants and needs. For instance, you could give away discount vouchers for your products or services or you could offer a free downloadable report or guide related to the products or services you offer. Downloadable information products like these work very well for most businesses, as once written, delivery costs are minimal. The practical freebie really works for your potential customers too, provided that it is relevant and useful to them.
3. Put a subscribe box on every page of the site. If possible add a simple sign up box in the top left hand corner of every page of your web site, as that's where the eye naturally travels first. Don't bury the registration form on a page deep within your site and make it is as obvious and easy as possible for your potential customers to see it and sign up. Don’t forget to mention the giveaway you are offering here too.
4. Advert swaps. Exchange adverts for your newsletter with other newsletter writers and web site owners and run them in each other’s newsletters and on your web sites. Don’t forget to mention those free giveaways! Doing this on a regular basis with a wide selection of web partners will keep your subscription page busy.
5. Cross-registration. Subscribers can also be found by having an advert for my newsletter on the thank you page of a comparable (but not directly competitive) website. This offer is made to subscribers who have just signed up for another newsletter and are therefore deemed 'in the mood for more.' Offer a swap with an advert on your sites thank you page, but try not to list no more than one or two other newsletters and make sure they are quality, reliable publications that interest your target market.
Keep the copy brief and simple, i.e.: "If you like our newsletter, you may be interested in one on a similar topic provided by our partner...."
6. Create a bonus product for other web sites to use. Similar to the giveaway point above, why not put together a selection of your previous newsletter articles and package them as a free ebook. Let other web sites give this ebook away as a bonus with sales of their products or services. Make sure you include sensational descriptive copy about your newsletter, and a subscribe link at the end of your ebook.
7. Allow reprints. Allow any newsletter that wants to reprint your articles do so. You can end each article with the line: You may reprint this article in your own magazine or website provided that it is reproduced in its entirety and all links are left intact. You may want to keep track of who is reproducing your newsletter so that you can email them future issues for publication. In this case, simply ask them to email you for permission. Alternatively, you can submit your newsletters to syndication agents and let anyone who wants to use it pick it up from there.
8. Add a registration button or link to all e-mail correspondence. Make sure you add an advert for your newsletter to your email signature. Don’t forget to include it on all responses to enquiries, customer service correspondence, confirmations, and invoices, etc. More broadly, request e-mail addresses at every customer touch point. The aim is to broaden customers' view of your firm. Integrating e-mail addresses acquired offline may be a manual process, but research shows customer purchases increase with the number of channels used.
9. Include a "forward to a friend" button. Put a forward option on every newsletter. This way your current subscribers, often trusted sources that wouldn't steer friends wrong, act as your spokespeople.
10. Add a registration box or link to all e-newsletters. Add the box or link to the top and bottom of the newsletter. Although this may sound redundant as the recipient is already receiving your e-mail, consider the pass-along effect.
Building an e-mail list is an ongoing process and the possibilities for expansion are endless. Always try new initiatives to improve results, and if you try even half of these techniques on a regular basis you should find your subscriber rates improve dramatically.
Don’t forget, as your list grows you will find it easier to outsource the management of it. I would recommend Vertical Response whom we have used for several years to manage our lists. Using your browser you can build your opt-in mailing lists, publish your online newsletters and manage your direct email advertising campaigns.
Click the link for a free trail: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=EavljUFQjXk&offerid=52409.10000007&type=1&subid=0
For a complete guide to marketing on the Internet, including:
· The General Principles of Internet Marketing
· Start at the Beginning
· Writing Text that Sells
· Building Online Relationships
· Maximising Your Pay Per Click Campaign
· Measuring Success
Why not purchase the whole series of downloadable guides for the discounted price of £64.95. Click for more information:
http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/promo_ebooks.html
To catch up with previous issues of this newsletter, visit: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/internet_marketing_newsletter_.html
Coming up next month, “How to Write Your Newsletter”.
If you have any questions about any of the topics raised or any other Internet Marketing issues, feel free to email me at Justine@enable-uk.co.uk. I do my best to answer all emails or to cover the issues in future editions of this newsletter.
Justine Curtis
Enable UK
Internet Marketing Information and Resources
Make your web site work smarter!
Web: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk
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Internet Marketing Tips Newsletter is a monthly publication of Enable-UK
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | 0 Comments