How many strategies can grow our list?
- By vicku kumar
- Published 12/30/2008
- Business
- Unrated
How many strategies can grow our list?
I've been publishing an email newsletter since 2000, and
have to admit I wasn't very attentive to the whole process
at the beginning. Hindsight is 20/20, and I could kick
myself for not taking this strategy very seriously, as my
email newsletter list is my gold mine because it's filled
with subscribers who already know something about me.
Each week after I send out my ezine, for help visit
www.autoresponder-money.com. I receive several
emails that begin, "Hi Donna! My name is …, and I know
you don't know me, but I know you, as I've been reading
your newsletter for a couple of years now." I love those
emails, as I know that my reader has begun to like, trust
and respect me — all the characteristics that need to be
in place for them to decide to buy something from me.
Many of you may be asking, "Well, Donna, isn't the email
newsletter dead? Everyone is blogging now." True,
blogging is quite an effective way to publicize your
business. However, I believe in the power of doing both.
There are people who don't have the time/energy/desire to
read a blog and would rather have the info delivered
directly to them in their inbox, with no additional
clicking required.
How can you grow your own list? Or, if you're just
starting an email newsletter, how can you get subscribers
to the list? Here are some strategies I've used over the
past 5 years to get subscribers to my email newsletter list:
1. Tell your clients, colleagues, friends and family.
Just like a birth announcement, tell everyone you know
about your new "baby" — your email newsletter. Because
you want a list in which subscribers have opted in, don't
add people directly to the list. In fact, many ezine
distribution services don't permit you to do that.
Instead, provide them with an email sign-up link, or send
them to the form on your web site where they can subscribe
to your newsletter.
2. Have a sign-up box on every page of your web site. You
never know on what page someone will land in your web site.
As I look at my web site statistics, for help visit
www.freelist-pro.com. I am amazed at some of
the search terms that visitors use that make them land on
an internal page of my web site.
Don't take a chance that
you might lose them — offer them the option to sign up for
your newsletter on every single page of your web site.
3. Make your sign-up box compelling. Don't have a simple
sign up box that says, "Join our mailing list." Yuck–who
wants to voluntarily receive more email? Not me! Give
your visitor a reason to sign up for your newsletter, i.e.
"Join over 2000 other solo business owners who receive
weekly advice on how to get more clients online."
4. Create one clear call to action. If you have too many
options for action on your web site, your visitor will
become overwhelmed and leave. Conversely, if you don't ask
your visitor to take an action, you potentially lose that
person forever. Make your primary call to action on your
web site a request to subscribe to your email newsletter.
It's short, simple, to the point, and will help you build
your contact database gold mine.
5. Ask for only 2 pieces of info: a first name and
primary email address. Many web surfers are want to
disclose as little personal info as they can, as they fear
receiving spam or phishing emails. Make it easy for people
to sign up for your list — require them to disclose only a
minimal amount of info to be added to your newsletter list.
6. Create a free give-away for new subscribers. If you
know your target market well, you know what problems they
struggle with daily. Write a short report/article/ecourse
that provides the answer to a very overwhelming problem
that they have. They can receive the answer to this
problem (your freebie) by giving your their name and email
address.
www.confessions-followup-marketing.com
www.list-management-secrets.com
7. Create a squeeze page for lead generation. A squeeze
page is just what it sounds like — a web site page that
"squeezes" contact info out of a visitor. I have a
content-rich ebook that I give away to new visitors. One
of my promotional strategies is to list the domain for that
squeeze page and write very compelling copy about why they
would want this information. I get 10-15 new subscribers
per day with this technique.
have to admit I wasn't very attentive to the whole process
at the beginning. Hindsight is 20/20, and I could kick
myself for not taking this strategy very seriously, as my
email newsletter list is my gold mine because it's filled
with subscribers who already know something about me.
Each week after I send out my ezine, for help visit
www.autoresponder-money.com. I receive several
emails that begin, "Hi Donna! My name is …, and I know
you don't know me, but I know you, as I've been reading
your newsletter for a couple of years now." I love those
emails, as I know that my reader has begun to like, trust
and respect me — all the characteristics that need to be
in place for them to decide to buy something from me.
Many of you may be asking, "Well, Donna, isn't the email
newsletter dead? Everyone is blogging now." True,
blogging is quite an effective way to publicize your
business. However, I believe in the power of doing both.
There are people who don't have the time/energy/desire to
read a blog and would rather have the info delivered
directly to them in their inbox, with no additional
clicking required.
How can you grow your own list? Or, if you're just
starting an email newsletter, how can you get subscribers
to the list? Here are some strategies I've used over the
past 5 years to get subscribers to my email newsletter list:
1. Tell your clients, colleagues, friends and family.
Just like a birth announcement, tell everyone you know
about your new "baby" — your email newsletter. Because
you want a list in which subscribers have opted in, don't
add people directly to the list. In fact, many ezine
distribution services don't permit you to do that.
Instead, provide them with an email sign-up link, or send
them to the form on your web site where they can subscribe
to your newsletter.
2. Have a sign-up box on every page of your web site. You
never know on what page someone will land in your web site.
As I look at my web site statistics, for help visit
www.freelist-pro.com. I am amazed at some of
the search terms that visitors use that make them land on
an internal page of my web site.
you might lose them — offer them the option to sign up for
your newsletter on every single page of your web site.
3. Make your sign-up box compelling. Don't have a simple
sign up box that says, "Join our mailing list." Yuck–who
wants to voluntarily receive more email? Not me! Give
your visitor a reason to sign up for your newsletter, i.e.
"Join over 2000 other solo business owners who receive
weekly advice on how to get more clients online."
4. Create one clear call to action. If you have too many
options for action on your web site, your visitor will
become overwhelmed and leave. Conversely, if you don't ask
your visitor to take an action, you potentially lose that
person forever. Make your primary call to action on your
web site a request to subscribe to your email newsletter.
It's short, simple, to the point, and will help you build
your contact database gold mine.
5. Ask for only 2 pieces of info: a first name and
primary email address. Many web surfers are want to
disclose as little personal info as they can, as they fear
receiving spam or phishing emails. Make it easy for people
to sign up for your list — require them to disclose only a
minimal amount of info to be added to your newsletter list.
6. Create a free give-away for new subscribers. If you
know your target market well, you know what problems they
struggle with daily. Write a short report/article/ecourse
that provides the answer to a very overwhelming problem
that they have. They can receive the answer to this
problem (your freebie) by giving your their name and email
address.
www.confessions-followup-marketing.com
www.list-management-secrets.com
7. Create a squeeze page for lead generation. A squeeze
page is just what it sounds like — a web site page that
"squeezes" contact info out of a visitor. I have a
content-rich ebook that I give away to new visitors. One
of my promotional strategies is to list the domain for that
squeeze page and write very compelling copy about why they
would want this information. I get 10-15 new subscribers
per day with this technique.