The Role Of Newsletter Promotion For Internet Marketing
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 access the 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 and the option to buy right there, but I didn't. My publisher does the selling. Writing a site yourself, loaded with information and a place to click to send someone to your publisher, is simple.
For the 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 of the action happens on a snowmobile. Put together the best damn snowmobile page in history. Everything that anyone wants to know about snowmobiles should be on your site. Make it the 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 not the 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 onto the Internet with the 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 buy the rest.
Search Engines
The single most important and effective way to bring traffic to your website is to place it in the search engines, in the appropriate categories. You want to place it in the 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 to the 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 change the 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 occassional the "read my book" message while I'm at it.
If you don't feel you can write a newsletter, you can use the "free content" sites to get someone else to do the writing. Instead of paying contributors, you simply allow them to include their URL. They'll appreciate the free advertising, and you won't have to write for your newsletter unless you feel like it.
But really, why have a newsletter? There are ways to promote web sites (search engines) and there are ways to promote newsletters (announcement lists). Each generates a different type of traffic.
Your newsletter can mention your website, your website can mention your newsletter, and you will gain more users in both areas.
Newsletter Promotion
One quick and easy trick for promoting your newsletter or discussion group is to take advantage of the free announcement lists. It'll take you about two minutes a week.
What is an announcement list? Put simply, the Internet has users who enjoy receiving newsletters, and receiving regular announcements of what newsletters are out there. These are people with some time on their hands, probably the same people who will be the most receptive to buying your books.
The way I've set things up on my computer is, I've written an ad for my newsletter. I send the same ad to the announcement lists as often as they'll allow it. In the same file with my announcement, I have a "monthly list" and a "weekly list" of email addresses that I send this ad to. Also in the file, I record when I last sent my announcement to them.
Once a week, with a two-minute copy-and-paste job, I'm advertising. Every time I do this, more subscribers arrive. Apparently different people are always joining these announcement lists, and some of them are joining my newsletter subscriber list.
You have to join any announcement list before you can announce on it, but you don't have to receive the announcements yourself. All the major newsletter/discussion group hosts will allow you to set your options to "No Mail/Read On The Website."
Visit (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michaellarocca/files/) and pick up a copy of the file I use. It's called NewsletterAd.rtf. All typed in and ready to go, except for the "signing up" bit. (If you're not receiving my free newsletter, you might want to join while you're there. *grin*)
Once you join each group -- that might take you an hour or two -- you'll be ready to send out those weekly emails.
To join the SmartGroups lists, log onto (http://www.smartgroups.com). Each group address is (http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/{listname})
{listname} refers to the part of the email address before the @
To join the Topica lists, log onto (http://www.topica.com) Each group address is (http://www.topica.com/lists/{listname} )
To join the YahooGroups lists, log onto (http://groups.yahoo.com) Each group address is (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/{listname})
Free Content
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PublishInYours) is a good starting place. Also in Yahoo Groups are articles_announce, articles_archives, Free-Content, and publisher_archives.
You can also look in any search engine for "free content" and find some more.
I recommend Media Peak (http://www.mediapeak.com) and Nerdworld (http://www.nerdworld.com).
Newsletter Unveiling
I'm not going to list all these sites in my article. You can find them at (http://free_reads.tripod.com/websitenewsletter.html). There are 31 of them. When I visited them all, I watched my subscriber base grow by about 200 in a month. I don't know which sites should get the credit.
Most of them allow you to list your newsletter for a month. I may or may not visit them again at some point, because they take a lot longer than the two-minute job I mentioned before.
Jump-Starting a New Ezine
You've decided. You know it is critical to your online success, and you are ready to jump in and become an Ezine Publisher. Good for you! You are headed in the right direction.
No doubt, the biggest hurdle you'll find along this road is simple getting started. The easy part is actually developing your idea, setting up your format, deciding on your content, how to mail it out, etc. That's a breeze. No problem.
The challenge comes after that is all finished. Now you need to start enlisting subscribers.
Get ready to work!
First of all, you MUST face the facts. Some recent statistics tell us that there are AT LEAST 300,000 ezines out there. And every one of those ezine are competing for the same subscribers!!
So, are you one of those that, when faced with those kinds of facts, promptly gets discouraged? Then, maybe you need to face another fact: You may be in the wrong business! But if you're one of those who is motivated by a challenge, then read on.
First of all, building a successful subscriber list IS a challenge. But it is NOT impossible, if you know what you're doing, and also what everyone else is doing.
If you're willing to work harder than most ezine publishers, you will get your share of the subscriber market. One reason? A large majority of new ezine publisher, create their ezine, place a subscribe form on their site, submit it to a handful of ezine directories, and proceed to sit back and wait for the onslaught of sign-ups. NOT!
Building a subscriber list is a multi-tasker's dream! The secret is in the numbers. Number of places you get your information, number of different methods you use, numbers, numbers, numbers! ( Work, work, work.)
But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's get back to just getting started. That was the hurdle we were talking about. If you are stuck in that overwhelming land of "I don't know where to start", then here are 4 ways you can jump start your subscriber list. Start here, and I promise, the ball will start rolling.
1. Submit to Ezine Directories and Announcement Lists.
EVERY ONE YOU CAN FIND! Remember, numbers. Here are a list of some of the best ones to get you started. Do a search for Ezine Directories.
(http://www.bestezines.com) (http://www.ezineaction.com) (http://www.ezineadvertising.com) (http://www.ezine-dir.com) (http://www.ezinelibrary.com) (http://www.ezinelocater.com) (http://www.ezine-marketing.com) (http://www.ezinesearch.com) (http://www.ezinesplus.com) (http://www.ezinestoday.com) (http://www.ezine-swap.com) (http://www.ezine-universe.com)
Most will ask for a description of your ezine. A well- written description can make all the difference in whether folks choose to subscribe. As you're looking at these directories, make note of the descriptions that catch your eye.
You might want to check out a great piece of software called Ezine Announcer. Takes most of the pain and tedious-ness out of this submission process. (http://wetrack.it/eza/af.cgi?47)
2. Join an Ad Co-op.
An Ad Co-op is a service (free to publishers) that sends you subscribers, in return for you running their classified ad. These folks have agreed to subscribe to your ezine. You have agreed to run their classified ad.
Two of the best of these are:
2Bucks An Ad
(http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?webworks/paaads)
10Dollars20ads.com
(http://hop.clickbank.net/webworks/cashgalore)
Note: The subscribers you get from these programs are not quite as valuable, percentage-wise as the ones that choose to sign up from your site, or from an ezine directory. Many use yahoo and hotmail addresses to collect the ezines, and may never see your issue. BUT, once again, it is all in the numbers. You WILL gain some loyal subscribers from these.
3. Install a Popup.
Yes, we know, there is a lot of muttering about popups around the internet. BUT, facts are, we, and many others have seen the largest increase in subscriber sign-ups after installing one. They don't have to be intrusive. A well- done popup can get some amazing results. (Especially when combined with #4 below!)
Installing a popup is somewhat of an advanced technique for your site. But we do have an article with instructions. If you would like a copy, just send an email to: mailto:gailh@cmymtc.com?subject=popup
4. Give away a gift for Subscribing.
Giving away a gift to your new subscribers can work for you in more than one way. First of all, it can obviously work as an incentive to subscribe, if you are providing a gift that has value and usefulness. Secondly, if you are giving away a gift (ebook or software) that contains information about you and your site, then you are doubling its marketing value.
Ultimately, you want to work toward the goal of creating your own unique give-a-way product. One you can give away, AND provide to others to give away. (This is called Viral marketing.) But, realistically, if you are just getting started as a publisher, you may not be ready for this. So, give away someone else's product! There are many available that allow you to insert your site information in a prominent spot on the front page, or screen. (Called Co-Branding.)
Here at CMYMTC we offer our subscribers a series of Ebusiness Easy Guides, which are also co-brandable. (http://makemoneyhowto.com/brandform.htm)
There are many other ways that you can add to the numbers game of ezine promotion. These few mentioned here will give you a jump-start on the whole process. Take things a step at a time. Learn the ropes as you go, and keep adding more to your numbers!!
An ezine publisher's job is never finished. If you can accept that challenge, then you will be successful!
Bulk Email, Spam and Email Marketing
This issue focuses on the effective use of email lists and bulk email for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists of sending the same message to some number of recipients at the same time. Excerpted from PlanetLink's Enews - an email newsletter delivered for FREE to your computer. To subscribe, go to (www.planetlink.com)
This issue focuses on the effective use of email lists and bulk email for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists of sending the same message to some number of recipients at the same time. Spam is characterized as sending bulk mail to recipients whom you have had no prior contact or permission.
The issue of whether or not to send Spam can be summed up in three words - "don't do it." While it's not currently illegal under Federal law, (although sending bulk non-approved faxes is), it is generally not permitted by Internet Service Providers under their "terms of service" agreement (PlanetLink's terms of service can be found at (http://www.planetlink.com/policy.html)). Most ISPs will issue a warning on the first occurrence and cancel a client's service on the second. The reason for zero tolerance is that while the responsible party can literally send millions of messages almost for free, the costs associated with sending, delivering and receiving spam are incurred by the recipient whose time is spent processing unwanted mail as well as the ISPs that transport and store email. A recent European Commission report found that the world wide cost is $9.36 billion per year.
The other reasons for not sending Spam are the impact it has on the reputation of the company and the risk of interruption or cancellation of service. The other issue of importance for ISPs whose client's repeatedly send spam is that mail sent from their network can be blocked by other ISPs trying to stop spam from reaching their clients; potentially affecting thousands of customers. Under California Bus. & Prof. Code Section 17538.45, sending spam through a mail server based in California is illegal and allows for damages of $50 per message.
So, if we can't send Spam, what can we us bulk email for?
Bulk email is great tool for keeping in touch with your clients and customers, sending newsletters, service messages, announcing special offers and more. It can also be used to keep in contact with prospects on an ongoing basis and is an effective sales tool for generating new business. Systems can be implemented that make it easy to send automated messages on a regular basis. Systems can also be implemented which make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your list. Subscriber management features also make it easy for you to add, delete, schedule and send messages as required.
PlanetLink can assist you in setting up an effective email list system for your business and can implement anything from a fully automated system to a manual system. For more information, call us at 415-884-2022 or email info@planetlink.com.
Important Tips:
Create an opt-in email list on your website.
Don't buy a database of email addresses and send them bulk email - this is Spam.
Spam can be reported to (http://www.spamcop.net).
Collect email addresses on a "sign up sheet" at public events, trade shows and presentations. Let them know on the form that they will be added to your email list and give them a check box to confirm their participation.
If you send bulk email to your list, make it easy for them to unsubscribe.
In the bulk message that you send, remind them of how and/or why they are on your list.
Be sensitive to your list - people are busy and they get lots of email.
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