E-Mail Newsletter Marketing Essentials

Written by Lee Traupel


If Gutenberg were alive today he would be in publishing heaven! Forgetrepparttar printing press,repparttar 124323 web has fast-forwarded self-publishing in ways that are evolving so rapidly it's becoming difficult to integrate technology and process to leveragerepparttar 124324 opportunities. Any company, regardless of their size and marketing resources should be publishing an opt-in e-mail newsletter - it's a very low cost way to build community with customers, keep suppliers/partners/other informed and generate new business.

How do you get started? You must decide up front if you haverepparttar 124325 marketing expertise to develop your "newsletter creative" in-house and how you want to managerepparttar 124326 distribution of your newsletters. Many companies turn to agencies/marketing services firms to help them developrepparttar 124327 actual newsletter creative and also outsource part ofrepparttar 124328 process to ASP (Application Service Providers), who handle all facets ofrepparttar 124329 list distribution, signup and ongoing management.

Content format can be critical torepparttar 124330 effectiveness of your newsletter - we typically don't recommend HTML (text with images/graphics embedded) format unless our client's product or service is very consumer-focused Plain old text is not as glamorous as HTML but it's a lot more effective in most cases - people want information, not fancy eye candy that's appealing to marketing geeks - keep your message, simple, torepparttar 124331 point and with customer success stories or references when/where you can to drive credibility.

It's relatively simple to use a Word processor with a mail merge program to integraterepparttar 124332 addresses (depending onrepparttar 124333 volume) with your message and then send out via your ISP. But, doing it in house can be very time consuming - you have to deal with inbound requests for people who want to be added to your list, "unsubscribes" (people who want to be deleted) and integrate your web site intorepparttar 124334 process, so people can automatically sign up with a back end auto-responder (automatic message) that confirms their sign up.

Most companies utilize an Application Service Provider ("ASP") to outsourcerepparttar 124335 list hosting, signup and unsubscribe management processes and web site integration - typical costs are under $50. per month based upon your number of subscribers (on average up to 10- 30K), frequency of your newsletter mailing (rule of thumb would be 2- 4 times per month) and other specialized features, such as bounce back deletions (deleting any e-mails that have a "bad address") and makingrepparttar 124336 HTML code available with a graphic to sign up people directly from your web site. Be forewarned, most list hosting providers tell you up front they reserverepparttar 124337 right to delete your account if they catch you spamming thousands of people whose e-mail addresses were not "opted in" (given to you with permission to market to them).

Websites and Newsletters

Written by Michael LaRocca


If you are selling anything, you should have a website. If you are selling ebooks, you should consider it mandatory. How many people do you know who read ebooks but don't accessrepparttar Internet? None come to my mind.

The best thing about having a website is that you can quite probably do it free. Later, once you know what you're doing, you can choose to buy a domain name and pay a hosting service if you want.

You can pay someone to design a gorgeous site for you, loaded with graphics, complete with a secure server andrepparttar 124322 option to buy right there, but I didn't. My publisher doesrepparttar 124323 selling. Writing a site yourself, loaded with information and a place to click to send someone to your publisher, is simple.

Forrepparttar 124324 actual mechanics of web site construction, send a blank email to website@sendfree.com.

So let's talk strategy.

"Hi, I'm Michael LaRocca and these are my books." This approach will guarantee that anyone looking for Michael LaRocca will find my site. But when we consider that no one's heard of Michael LaRocca, how many people will seek out my site?

Here's a possible solution.

Let's say you've written a book where most ofrepparttar 124325 action happens on a snowmobile. Put togetherrepparttar 124326 best damn snowmobile page in history. Everything that anyone wants to know about snowmobiles should be on your site. Make itrepparttar 124327 kind of resource that any snowmobiler will go visit again and again. Then slip a little note in there mentioning your fiction book. People will find your site, and during one of those repeat visits they'll buy that book.

Basically, fill a need. Give folks a reason to keep coming back even if they think they'll never buy your book. And please, put more on there than just your book. In my case, I kept a high- traffic site running for almost a year without a single product to sell. My site is a reference source for readers and writers. More writers than readers, probably, but writers read too. Maybe notrepparttar 124328 most original approach, but I write in so many genres that I haven't come up with anything better yet. I might later on.

Being helpful is my "sales gimmick," but I just so happen to enjoy it. People don't log ontorepparttar 124329 Internet withrepparttar 124330 purpose of spending money. They log on for information or entertainment, then maybe make an impulse buy while they're at it. Give them information and/or entertainment and they'll keep coming back.

If you throw in just a little soft sell, and do it right, they'll eventually make that impulse buy as a favor to you. Hopefully after they read one of your books, you'll hook them and they'll come back specifically to buyrepparttar 124331 rest.

Search Engines

The single most important and effective way to bring traffic to your website is to place it inrepparttar 124332 search engines, inrepparttar 124333 appropriate categories. You want to place it inrepparttar 124334 top ten or twenty slots.

The best way to learn how to do this is to send a blank email to tamswriteangles@sitesell.net. You'll receive a free five-day course by email, over 200 pages long in all, that will tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

Also, visit Search Engine Watch and subscribe torepparttar 124335 free newsletter. http://www.searchenginewatch.com. Useful advice on a monthly basis.

Newsletter

Why do I have a newsletter? To tell you when my books are for sale, of course. To announce each new book as it becomes available. It also comes in handy whenever I changerepparttar 124336 address of my website, as a way to tell folks I've moved.

But of course, almost nobody will subscribe to a newsletter just for that info alone. Just groupies. I've got over 600 subscribers, and certainly they're not all groupies. Nope, I'm actually providing useful info and filling a need again. And slipping in occassionalrepparttar 124337 "read my book" message while I'm at it.

If you don't feel you can write a newsletter, you can userepparttar 124338 "free content" sites to get someone else to dorepparttar 124339 writing. Instead of paying contributors, you simply allow them to include their URL. They'll appreciaterepparttar 124340 free advertising, and you won't have to write for your newsletter unless you feel like it.

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