Im sure you have heard many online marketers touting the benefits of having a newsletter. I have used newsletters in the past for many sites. Ive used them as a source of revenue by having advertisements embedded within the newsletter content. They are also effective as a means to keep a site sticky - to anchor clients and bring them back to the site. Newsletters can also be a great selling tool to provide free information, samples of your expertise or services, and as a taste of your full product/service. The lure of free content from newsletters can help you to turn casual surfers to potential customers and then finally paying customers.
I find the biggest problem for me personally is to consistently provide new content (which is strange since I have no problems writing a daily blog, go figure!). Consequently I have looked for methods to get around this problem.
Many of the sites I control I enjoy for the business management side of things and dont actually provide the core services myself. For example at BetterEdit.com I dont do any of the editing. I have professionals on staff that handle that aspect of the business. Consequently I have found it difficult to write newsletters that appeal to my target audience. Other times Ive just grown bored of the subject matter and it becomes a chore to write a newsletter. If you dont have enthusiasm your output is not going to be very good.
Over the years Ive developed ways to make money from newsletters without writing them myself.
1. Hire Writers
The first and most obvious way is to hire people to do it for you. I did it this way for a community site I built with over 1000 members. In this case it was quite easy to find people that had experience and enthusiasm for the subject matter; I posted a news announcement looking for newsletter writers. I hired two people and paid cash on a per newsletter basis though at one point my writers were happy to write for free, they just enjoyed contributing to the community (though I made sure to pay them whenever there was advertiser revenue). To make a profit I just made sure I had more revenue from advertisers than I had to pay my writers. A simple equation but one that takes time to balance since you need an audience, advertisers and writers. If you have a popular site (the audience) the other two variables should come easily. Alternatively you could try searching for a freelancer to write for you.
2. Other Peoples Content
Another method that Ive utilised is to put together a summary style newsletter that simply links to content online. You take the time to find the quality articles and links for your members but you dont have to actually do any writing yourself. IncWire is a good example of a newsletter like this. It provides links to great entrepreneurship articles that have been drawn from all over the net. The newsletter is free and sponsored by advertisers. Of course you can also make use of article repositories such as EzineArticles.com and simply use other peoples articles in your newsletter. This is a reliable and easy option since there is no shortage of great articles available for free publication everyday.
3. E-Course
You can also try an e-course style newsletter. This is a bit different to a traditional newsletter. Your visitors sign up and then over a period of time intervals they get sent the course via email. You can use plain text emails (this is the best method in my opinion - keep it simple stupid - kiss!), or HTML email or Adobe PDFs. You can send them out once a day for the next seven days or once a month for a year. Its up to you but generally the sooner the better because you want to continually build up interest over a short period of time. Will Swayne at Marketing-Results.com.au recommends a consecutive seven day e-course.
While initially you do have to write the content yourself once its written your done. You dont have to constantly provide new content and your course can be sent out to unlimited subscribers. The benefit of an e-course is that you can really focus on what your speciality is. Your course acts as a showpiece for your core competency, your skills, and allows people to try before they buy. You can monetise the course by inserting affiliate links, advertisements or selling your own services/products (or all three!).
Newsletter Software
You might be thinking this is all well and good, but how do I manage my newsletter. How do I handle an e-course being sent out every day for seven days to hundreds of different people without being blocked by SPAM blockers. What technology is available and what do I recommend.
Personally I use Marketers Choice to handle all email communications but if you just want a newsletter service its definitely way too expensive - its more of an all-in-one marketing tool.
Ive tried a few different newsletter software packages. Some you install on to your own server and then manage online, others that are externally hosted subscriber based services and one that functioned a lot like an email client that sits on your desktop and sends out emails through your mail server. All of these have pros and cons. Of course it depends on your budget, but as I have stated you often get what you pay for so be wary of the free packages out there.
I recommend you try my favourite script source, The PHP Resource Index (http://php.resourceindex.com), in particular the Mailing List category should be your first port of call. You can try good old Google search as well.
Anti-SPAM
Before you commit to any newsletter software make sure you check how they deal with SPAM. Do they have an official policy and description of how your newsletters will be received Are they just mass broadcast Your newsletter software should provide double-opt in protection which means your subscribers have to opt-in and confirm their subscription via email before they receive anything. This helps to keep you from being accused of spamming.
One of the main reasons I chose Marketers Choice was because they have a very good system to make sure your mail is delivered to your subscribers. They have an in-built SPAM checker which reviews email you send out and tells you the likelihood your mail will be blocked by anti-SPAM software. It has the capability to personalise every email that is sent out so it appears with Dear clientname rather than just a generic hello. This is an important feature both as a sales tool (people tend to read emails that start with their name) and its more likely that your mail wont be classed as SPAM by anti-SPAM software, which flag non-personalised email as potential SPAM. Its the extra benefits that professional services provide that make them worth the cost, but you do have to go out there and test to find what suits your needs.
Newsletters Are Ace!
Really I cant think of many reasons not to have some form of newsletter or e-course on your site. Yes it does take time to set things up but its worth the effort. I suggest you write it in your to-do list now if you dont have a newsletter already!
By Yaro Starak
Do you want to profit from your own successful home based Internet business
Learn from Yaro Starak, a young entrepreneur from Australia. He works part time from home on several web based business that generate between $2,000 and $8,000 per month. Get your free articles and audio now - visit his .
You joined an online marketing program, placed some ads, and then thought, now what The majority of new marketers pause at this point, and many never come back.
Some years ago, I attended a bump school ski lesson in Breckenridge, Colorado. My instructor emphasized keeping the weight down hill on the skis, leaning forward. He said if you fall, better to fall forward, not backward or sideways, but FORWARD. The forward weight, and even the forward fall, indicates advancement. With the earnest determination needed to ski bump runs, stay forward, stay alive in your marketing efforts! Will your business stagnate at this critical time No! Now commit to sustained focus in your marketing education. Commit to sustained action that becomes second nature. Lock your ON switch in place! Often finding myself in this dynamic, my web business excites me, seeming more like play.
What simple, powerful tools can you use to maintain the forward dynamic
Start a newsletter. When you first hear that statement, you might think, Well thats fine for experienced marketing professionals. I would not know where to begin to create a newsletter or get a list of people to send it to. I understand. But do not let these thoughts deter you. You CAN start or obtain a newsletter! With a little searching and reading, learn how. An ongoing email series that you offer as a marketing tips newsletter, for example, attracts interested subscribers. Clich by now, the fortune in the follow up rings true. Your prospects need inspirational, repetitive exposure. Time and time again I see responses from prospects after several contacts.
Get your own website. Most affiliate marketing programs provide referral pages to receive responses from advertising. Your own website enables you to compete with successful internet business owners. It gives you the ability to develop a mailing list, the core of your marketing success. Developing link popularity, many website owners use link exchange or partner directories, linking to similar websites. This not only increases traffic through the added links, but also improves search engine ranking.
Add content to your website. Content consists of useful information that people want to find on your website, often in the form of articles. Web marketers constantly publish informative articles they would love placed on your website. This provides a win-win situation because their articles attract visitors to your website, and bring more people back to the authors websites as the articles include their links. Ideally, publish your own articles and develop credibility and popularity in your service.
You now have a complete package. These tools provide the basics to manifest your marketing goals. A website with valuable content attracts visitors interested in your offers, and brings newsletter subscribers. Increased sales give you more time and money to enhance your website content. Improving website content and popularity again feeds back to more sales and a larger subscriber base. This way, successful internet marketers grow their businesses! With patient focus, implement and build with these tools. Maintain persistence and attain your goals!
John Magruder is a successful SFI Team Leader and a Member of the Wealth Online Website system.
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