Email Ezine As An Internet Marketing Tool
One of the most powerful marketing tools used on the Internet is the ezine. An ezine, also known as an email magazine, online publication or electronic newsletter is simply a newsletter available via email and/or online. There are hundreds of thousands of ezines on various subjects available on the Internet free of charge.
Publishing an ezine is a great way to build an opt-in list of potential customers. Not only will it enable you to share your expertise, but it will also build your credibility. Developing a trusting relationship with your subscribers is the key to your ezine's success. You must have a sincere desire to assist your subscribers to the best of your ability. Provide them with helpful information that will teach and inform in regard to the subject matter.
Although offering your ezine to your subscribers free of charge may seem to be a waste of time, you have to look at the entire picture. This publication will enable you to have a direct line of communication with your subscribers. Your subscribers are not just subscribers -- they're actually targeted potential customers. When they subscribed to your publication, they were letting you know they have an interest in your ezine's focus. This provides you with the opportunity to advertise your products or services, and provide them with recommendations.
Once you've developed a trusting relationship, your recommendations will be very effective. However, you must only recommend a product or service that you truly believe in, as your professional reputation is on the line.
If you've been marketing on the Internet, then you know it may take several contacts with a prospective customer before closing a sale. What better way to make those contacts. In addition, you can eventually make a nice income selling sponsor advertising and classified ads.
If you're not publishing an ezine, you really should be. The Internet offers a wealth of quality information and resources to assist you.
Tutorials:
Learn everything you'll need to know in order to begin publishing your ezine.
How to Publish an Ezine http://www.thewritemarket.com/ezine.shtml
The Handbook of Ezine Publishing http://www.e-zinez.com/handbook/index.html
A Beginner's Guide to Ezine Publishing http://www.epdigest.com/beginner/
Ezine Tips http://ezine-tips.com/ If you'd like a head start in writing your ezine, the following sites will provide you with some ezine templates:
How to Use A Template to Create Your E-Zine http://www.e-zinez.com/handbook/template.html
Ezine Success http://www.websuccesscentral.com/ezinesuccess/index.shtml
You can publish your ezine completely free. Free list hosts will provide complete email list subscription management including list hosting, subscribes, unsubscribes, mailings and more. They will place a small ad within each message sent to your group. This is a small price to pay and well worth the great service they provide.
Free List Hosts:
Yahoo! Groups - http://groups.yahoo.com/
Topica - http://www.topica.com/
Smart Groups - http://www.smartgroups.com/
Fee based mailing list hosts provide complete email list subscription management including list hosting, subscribes, unsubscribes, mailings and more for a fee.
Fee Based Mailing List Hosts:
SparkList - http://sparklist.com/
Email Factory - http://www.emailfactory.com/
Lyris - http://www.lyris.com/
L-Soft - http://www.lsoft.com/
If you'd rather take care of your own list, there are a couple of different options:
- Use a software program that resides on your computer
- Use a script that resides on your server
Mailing List Software:
Mailloop http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=ml
This outstanding program will enable you to have complete control over your lists including:
- Automatically filters your email
- Completely run your newsletters
- Import your leads or orders into a database
- Automatically email your personalized customer database
- Send out an unlimited amount of autoresponses - and more.
Group Mail http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=gm
Another outstanding software that will enable you to send highly professional formatted messages that are personalized for each of your recipients. You can manage an unlimited number of lists with an unlimited number of recipients in each and much more.
If you're using a software program like Group Mail, you'll also need a good form processing script to enable your visitors to subscribe:
Master Form http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=wm2
This form will enable you to have the results of your form emailed to you or to a specified address. It can write your information to a database file and you can even have a personalized thank you page. In addition, you can even have multi-page forms with no limit on the number of pages.
Alien Form http://cgi.tj/scripts/alienform/
This powerful script will enable you to have the results of your form emailed to you and any additional addresses you specify. It can write directly to files, allowing you to log every time the form is submitted, or to store order or subscription details securely on your server.
Mailing list scripts will enable you to run your mailing list completely online via your web browser.
Mailing List Scripts:
OptIn Lightning http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=oil2
A complete list management system including pop-up subscription request alert, email subscriptions, follow-up autoresponders, SQL database, supports large databases, personalization features, automatic removal links and more.
@News Wizard http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=nw
Complete list management including unlimited lists, list import/convert function, duplicate check, HTML or plain text newsletters, customizable auto-personalization of messages and more.
Although a quality ezine should contain some original content, it is completely acceptable to use articles written by other authors.
Free Content - Articles that may be freely published delivered to your email each day.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/free-content
Article Announce Groups - Articles that may be freely published delivered to your email each day. http://www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm
Ezine Articles - Article Directory http://ezinearticles.com/
Marketing Seek - Article and Ezine Directory http://www.marketing-seek.com/
Idea Marketers - Article Directory http://www.ideamarketers.com/
Author Connection - Article Directory http://www.authorconnection.com/
Internet Wire - Offers broad, real-time dissemination of company press releases and material news. http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/home
If you're not collecting your visitor's email addresses, don't wait another day to start. Opt-in lists are one of the most powerful marketing tools on the Internet.
How To Make Your Email Campaign Pay Off
Have you noticed? It's becoming harder and harder to get a good response out of email campaigns. Why? The more popular an advertising method becomes, the more overused it gets. When that happens, customers develop an "immunity". They are so overwhelmed by the dozens, or even hundreds, of emails that pop into their inboxes that they simply hit the delete button without even giving it a second thought.
So how do we, as Internet marketers, battle their complacency? There are several ways that have been proven to increase customer response.
I'll assume that you already have a customer-focused, sales-oriented Web site; and that your offer is a solid one that shows value.
- Use Short, Concise Subject Lines - While personalization has been shown to increase response rate, there are several things that have been proven to decrease it. Long subject lines are one. Try to keep yours at 40 characters or under. Why? Many email programs cut off longer subject lines. Also, avoid "hyp-ish" subjects. The more personal you are, the better. Exclamation points, the word "free" and other trigger words such as "boost" and "skyrocket" are a sure ticket to the delete file.
- K.I.S.S. - Remember this acronym? Keep It Simple Stupid. It applies to emails, too. Don't piddle around. Get your benefits in front of the reader immediately. Likewise, it is important to note that shorter emails have proven to out perform longer ones. It is doubtful that you'll actually sell anyone from your email ad - rather, aim to pique the reader's interest, and get him/her to click to your site.
- Timing Is Everything - Didn't think that mattered? Oh! It does! The day of the week, and the time of the day all play a significant role in how effective your campaign is. For example: almost everyone is in a rush in the morning hours. This gives a greater chance that they will delete any email they do not absolutely have to read. Take note of your target customer's typical schedule, and send your emails during their "off times".
- Give A Deadline - One simple instruction to act before a certain date can make or break your success. Don't neglect this vital element!
- Consider HTML - These days, most email programs are HTML compatible. In fact, over 90% of customers can receive HTML emails. Color - whether in print or on the Web - always increases readability (if done tastefully). Consider having your email converted to HTML to make it stand out in the sea of plain text messages.
- Give It A Break - Rather than writing long paragraphs (even a 3 sentence paragraph formatted at 65 characters per line looks long), write in short 1 or 2 sentence blips. This is easier on the eyes of the reader, and doesn't take nearly as long to digest.
The competition for your customer's attention is growing greater by the day. Refining your email campaign can help you avoid the delete button, and reap greater profits.
The Pros and Cons of Double Opt-In
Many successful internet business owners state that their most important asset is their "list". That is, their list of customer addresses or the email addresses of their newsletter subscribers is what accounts for a great deal of their profitability.
As a result, there is a wealth of information on how to build this golden list. The two primary ways to build a permission-based list are:
* Single opt-in: only requires someone to send a subscription request before he or she is added to the list. Supporters of this method often believe that it's the quickest way to build a large list. A large list is sometimes thought of as the easiest way to bigger profits.
* Double opt-in: requires two requests before the person is added to the list -- the initial subscription request, plus a confirmation of the request. Double opt-in supporters often believe that this is the best way to a 'quality' list and avoid potential problems.
There has been a great deal of debate over which method is more beneficial. Here's a quick run-down of some of the pros and cons to using double opt-in:
Disadvantages:
* You may lose a certain number of subscribers. Some people can't be bothered to confirm their requests, while others who genuinely want to receive your newsletter may not understand the confirmation process.
* You can pick up subscribers that never intended to subscribe. For instance, let's say you use a double opt-in process which asks users to confirm their subscriptions by replying to the message. Some people may reply with "no thanks" or something similar in nature -- but because they replied, they're automatically added to the list.
Advantages:
* It reduces the probability of spam complaints. While it does not eliminate them completely, many list managers these days can keep track of date/time of the request, IP address, and referring URL so that you have evidence that the subscriber opted-in. Related to this, you won't get people subscribing their friends to the list without their knowledge. The confirmation process will help to ensure that people are only subscribed with their consent.
* Cleaner list -- people have to use their real email addresses in order to confirm their subscriptions. This also eliminates misspelled addresses or those with typos. This can attract outside advertisers who want to be sure of the "quality" of your list.
* Potentially more responsive subscribers. Those who are genuinely interested enough to confirm their subscriptions may also be more inclined to respond to your newsletter, whether that's by purchasing one of your products or by simply participating in surveys or events you promote.As mentioned previously, one of the primary concerns with using double opt-in is the potential loss of subscribers.
It -does- make a difference what software you use to manage your list. One with confusing or complicated confirmation instructions are far more likely to cause headaches for both you and the prospective subscriber.
One of the simplest confirmation processes is that which offers a "one-click confirmation" -- that is, the person simply clicks on a link within the email message to confirm. There are several list management programs that offer this type of confirmation; the one I use is
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/
Many factors are involved when it comes to determining which opt-in method is "better" for your business. For instance, if your audience is primarily "non-technical" people who would generally not understand how to confirm a subscription request, then single opt-in may be better.
On the other hand, let's say you're getting subscribers from other sources (such as co-opt registrations with other sites) -- in this case, it may be "safer" to use double opt-in.
Single vs. double opt-in is an individual choice for each business. Consider your own situation to determine which is the better choice for you.
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