RYAN: I wish I could say that I received a 20+% click-through rate and an over 10% sales rate every time I sent out a mailing, but that simply wouldn't be true. Average for me is around 5-10% click through and 3-4% sales rate.

KARON: How do you account for difference?

RYAN: There are so many elements that go into a successful email marketing campaign, and when everything lines up (like it did during my last campaign) results are beautiful, but even when a few elements don't work out like they should it's still possible to have a successful campaign. KARON: Now let me ask you this all-important question. Do you feel your readers are responding to YOU, to offer or both?

RYAN: Definitely both... It doesn't matter how great your relationship with your subscribers is, if you pitch them junk they're not going to buy, and you're going to lose their trust. That's why I only send out offers for products that I've personally used and can recommend. As far as I'm concerned it's only way to go.

KARON: I completely agree, Ryan. If you shove every affiliate offer you come across down your reader’s throats just to make a buck, your success will be short lived. You have to be honest.

RYAN: That’s right… but once you've picked a great product or service to plug to your subscribers, having a rapport built with them certainly doesn't hurt. I've had subscribers email me time and time again telling me how they look forward to my emails because I always provide something useful. That's exactly kind of things I love to hear, because it means that when I send an offer to that person, they don't even have to think about whether or not they're going to read it. They see that it's from me and they're already conditioned to open email. As a newsletter publisher, my primary goal is to get all of my subscribers conditioned in this manner. KARON: I agree, again! So give us your own personal list, Ryan. What is #1 Do and #1 Don't when building a responsive list?

RYAN: DO provide valuable content outside of offers so that your readers look forward to receiving your emails. DON'T send out an offer every single day. I'm subscribed to some ezines that do this, and all I do is delete them every time they pop-up in my inbox.

KARON: Me, too!

RYAN: Well, I'm not going to name ezine, but in one case I'm so conditioned to deleting this person's emails that I've accidentally deleted ezine itself when it was delivered. It just got lost in sea of worthless offers and "opportunity" announcements.

KARON: Excellent information, Ryan. Thanks so very much.

If you’d like to subscribe to Ryan’s ezine “Site Sightings,” be sure to visit http://www.SiteSightings.com.

Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be, too!

2. Writers who have already been published in specific magazines have an established relationship with its editors—editors are more receptive to people they already know, have used before, and trust. Writers who know what specific magazine editors are looking for keep an eye out for stories that can be turned into cash for them. With this kind of motivation for writer, your less-than-perfect introductory letter won’t be dismissed as quickly as it would by an editor.

3. It’s obvious, but needs to be said: writers are writers. It’s their business to take information you give them and turn it into a story proposal that an editor will want to use. You don’t have to worry about writing perfect headline. That’s writer’s job. It is worth money to writer to find and enhance aspects of your business that will be interesting to readers of any specific magazine.

4. Published writers know exactly what publications they write for want from a story. This often shortens submission and acceptance cycle so that your story gets printed sooner.

Types of Stories You Can Participate In

1.Professional profile.

Exceptional leadership qualities, or a business owner who uses a very unique management style, are of interest to many business publications. While you may prefer to seek publicity for your company, a professional profile puts a favorable spotlight on your company, too. 2.Company profile.

An aspect of company’s operation is of interest to a specific type of publication. For instance, Human Resource magazine might be interested in you if you have a unique employee benefits or incentive plan.

3.Multiple source feature story.

Feature stories often use interviews from several companies regarding one topic. For instance, Human Resource magazine may prefer to present several incentive plans used by different companies. You become one of those companies as a small part of a larger article.

4.Expert resource.

A magazine may cite you as an expert in a certain industry to lend credibility to its article’s main point. For instance, if you are a financial analyst, a magazine covering a story about investing may want to back a statement made about how roller-coaster stock market will affect today’s Baby Boomers’ financial portfolios. You would have industry knowledge and access to research to offer an educated (and credible) opinion.

Any of above ideas (and many more) can result in valuable publicity – and useable marketing materials – for you. All without extensive research or learning how to craft a perfect headline.

How much easier (or cheaper!) can quest-for-publicity get?