Give Something (Or a Few Things Away)

Studies show that most people will only subscribe to about a dozen email lists at a time, and given number of lists out there, you've got to seriously compete for your customer's email address. Giving away free bonuses is a great way to push you over edge.

A few things you can give away are:

Free ebooks. This is a strategy many marketers use - and it's a little worn out. Not just any free ebook will do anymore. Still use it, but make sure your ebook is something your customers crave. Ebooks like "10 Easy Ways to Make Your Skin Look Younger" and "7 Ways Moms Can Make Money On Ebay Today" will get you a ton of email sign-ups.

Free courses. This is a lot like free ebook strategy, except you break up your course into a sequence using an autoresponder. This works well if you want to be in constant contact with your prospect for a few days or weeks.

Exclusive coupons. If you're in retail or service business, offer up a few exclusive coupons for list members. Make them little bonuses (like a free handbag with a clothing purchase of over $100 - or free facial with any cut and color). 10% off isn't likely to make your customer jump - but a free goodie will.

A birthday offer. This works especially well for restaurants, women's retail, and travel. Invite visitor's to join your birthday club - and in return give them a free meal, little gift, or night at your B&B on their birthday.

Write a Killer Headline

Having no headline for your ezine ad is a mistake many new marketers make - but bad headlines can be almost as damaging. "Join Our Email List" or "Get Site Updates" just doesn't cut it anymore. Your headline needs to have a strong call to action or benefit. Here's a few excellent examples:

Free 7 Day Course - How to Lose Weight Without Carb Restriction Win $10,000 and Your Dream Vacation Free Google Adwords Tip of Day, Plus Free Top Google Strategies Ebook

Have a Compelling Name for Your Email List or Ezine

Selling discount designer handbags? Call your list "Chic Yet Cheap Club." Advertising your day spa? Call your ezine "Ultra-Relax VIP Circle"

------------------------------------------------------------ copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin ------------------------------------------------------------

What every small business operator always lacks is time. Sometimes lack of time leads to inefficiency, what in its turn, leads to business failure even if you have plenty of financial resources.

That is why there are so many programs designed to automate every business step starting from sign up process and ending with processing online payments.

Autoresponders play a special part. At dawn of their usage they greatly assist in solving most time-consuming business task that is customer support. Nowadays there are other ways of how autoresponder can help with your everyday routine tasks. Below are most common tasks where autoresponder fully reveal its potential:

1. Customer support; 2. Singup/unsubscription procedures; 3. Timely delivered emails; 4. Electronic materials on request;

Response tracking. The usage of autoresponder as a customer support is based on topic your customer interests in. Whether it is problems with program installation, billing or general question, it will reply with pre-written answers same moment email was received from customer.

In very basic way autoresponder can simply notify customer/visitor that his/her inquiry was received and will be answered within 24 hours.

Subscription/unsubscription is also usually required instant notification. The majority of existed mailing scripts have an automatic notification feature, still in its basis it is same old autoresponder.

Ezine or newsletter subscription is not only process where autoresponder can give you a hand. They help in many cases with all sorts of email notifications of successful sale, accepted inquiry, thanking for completing survey and many other cases.

Next way of autoresponder usage proved to earn huge income to many online entrepreneurs. Timely delivered follow up emails that are based on autoresponder are widely recognized as a must-have marketing strategy. The theory behind claims that biggest customer response is gained at 8th contact only. That is why business owners setup a follow up autoresponder sequence that, when signup for, starts emailing pre-written messages on specified time basis - daily, every other day, weekly, biweekly etc, generating biggest possible response rate on complete autopilot, without any need of owner interference.