How to Get E-zine Subscribers

Forward: The e-zine related question I hear most often is "How do I build an email mailing list if I cannot email people first?"

I suggest several tactics, including putting an invitation to join on all invoices and in your email sig line. Here, Alexandria Brown suggests some others. Enjoy. - Bobette Kyle, Publisher and Author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much for Just the Spider? Strategic Web Site Marketing".

While I run my business completely online, I really enjoy attending in-person events and seminars here in Los Angeles and around the country. I'm sure you find these events valuable too. The problem most of us have with networking, however, is following up with the people we meet.

An easy way to follow-up powerfully and automatically is to turn these folks into e-zine subscribers. This ensures that you'll have the chance to repeatedly teach them how great your products/services are while building their trust in you.

But how do you "capture" people in person? Remember, you can NEVER sign someone up unless they specifically ask you to be signed up — it's unethical.

So you need to encourage people you meet in person to join your list, and make it easy for them. And I have three successful strategies to share with you.

1) Advertise Your E-zine on Your Business Card (or Brochure)

Nothing gets passed around at a networking event more than the good old business card. But what's on the BACK of your cards?

Nothing?

Well, from now on you're going to use that valuable real estate. Next time you print new cards, use the flip side! Create a brief message that promotes your e-zine and gives information on how to subscribe. When someone you meet looks at your business card again when she's back at the office, she'll be much more likely to subscribe when she sees the reminder on your card.

As an example, here's what I have on the back of my new cards:

"Promote your business with an e-zine! Sign up for FREE biweekly tips at www.EzineQueen.com."

BONUS: This strategy also gets these people to visit your Web site, which they may not have done otherwise.

If you aren't ready to print new cards for a while, use your computer to print your message onto labels, and affix them to the backs of your cards. Cheap and easy!



2) Follow Up With Each Person You Meet Via E-Mail

After each event I go to, I aim to follow up with every person I met with via e-mail within three days. In that e-mail, I remind the person that she can sign up for my FREE tips at my Web site. Here's an example of a note I sent out recently:

"Dear Margaret,

It was a pleasure to chat with you at [EVENT NAME HERE] last Thursday. I'd like to learn more about your business and how we can help each other. Perhaps we can meet for coffee next week?

In the meantime, you may enjoy my FREE weekly e-zine "Straight Shooter Marketing" that gives tips on how to market yourself online. I write it for small business owners just like you! You can learn more and sign up at www.EzineQueen.com

Take care and let's stay in touch.

Best, Alexandria K. Brown, 'The E-zine Queen'"

Once again, this strategy also gets these people to visit your Web site, which they may not have done otherwise. (Very cool, yes?)

3) Are you the Speaker? Pass Around a Signup Sheet or Collect Cards

Whenever I'm the featured speaker at an event, I make sure to give the audience members an easy way to sign up for my e-zine. I either pass around a signup sheet to collect their names and e-mail addresses, OR I collect business cards when I draw a winner for a free book.

If you use the business card method, tell the audience to write an "E" for e-zine on their card — this lets you know they want to be signed up for your newsletter. Some speakers do the opposite, and tell the audience that if they do NOT want to be subscribed to their e-zine, to put a "NO" on their card, but I'm more comfortable with the former method.

Remember, Your List Is Your Goldmine!

People you meet in person will be very valuable subscribers, because they've already met you. And we're all more likely to buy from others whom we know, like, and trust.

Your in-person meeting will start that process, and your e-zine will follow-through for you, automatically!

(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown

About the Author
Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.ezinequeen.com.

Jill Whalen is well known for her search engine optimization talents. She’s equally well known for her ezine, High Rankings Advisor. From its inception in 2000 until today, she has built an exceptionally loyal subscriber base of over 15,000 that would literally follow her to the ends of the ‘Net and back. How did she do it? We’re about to find out!

Karon Thackston: Hi Jill… thanks for your time.

Jill Whalen: No problem, Karon.

Karon Thackston: Let me start with this…. many people decide to create an ezine simply because “everybody else has one.” Why did you choose to launch a newsletter?

Jill Whalen: Well, for years, I was a heavy poster to many email discussion lists, and I had lots of people asking me to do a newsletter. Since I was always giving out free advice anyway, it made sense to share it with more people. When I made the decision to give it a whirl back in 2000, I had a partner. Together we decided on a name, created a Web site for it, and figured out how to host it, etc.


Karon Thackston: Now, you told me that you split from your partner later on. When that happened, how did you handle the "conversion”?

Jill Whalen: When we decided to part ways, we had over 9,000 subscribers, and there was no way I was gonna start over from zero! We agreed to each get a copy of the subscriber list and go from there. We mentioned what was happening to the subscribers, and that we would now have two separate newsletters. Anyone who wanted them both didn't have to do anything, and from that point forward, anyone could separately unsubscribe or subscribe to either of them on our respective sites.

Karon Thackston: Seems pretty easy. So basically, except for having some subscribers, you really had to start all over again, didn’t you?

Jill Whalen: Well, the experience was there, too. I had been doing the list admin work for the other ezine for years, so it was easy for me to simply contact the list host and have them convert it over to the High Rankings Advisor. The hard part was coming up with the new name! When I did finally come up with the High Rankings Advisor name, I was happy with it. I think most people don't spend enough time thinking about their newsletter names. We see the same names recycled between different newsletter publishers. I really believe it's important to be original and creative. Newsletter names don't come easy. They take a lot of time and effort to really come up with one that's exactly right for your publication. Like everything else you do with your newsletter, you should never just rush it. Once you do think of a name, you should check around to make sure nobody beat you to it. I had one I thought was great, but when I checked, someone else in my "space" was using something very similar.

Karon Thackston: I agree. Since the launching of Business Essentials, I’ve found three or four other email newsletters that have very similar names. Now, you have way more than 9,000 subscribers today. How have you gone about getting them? Which way(s) work best? Which way(s) stink?

Jill Whalen: At first, I contacted everyone who ever emailed me over the years (yes, I had saved them all!). I created a list of a good three or four hundred names, and sent out a mass email telling them that I was creating a newsletter and how to subscribe. I would never, ever, ever just sign people up. Nothing irks me more then when people do that. Grrrr!

After that, I put a little something about signing up for the newsletter in my signature line when I posted to discussion groups. That also worked well and still does.

One of the things that work best is the Moreover news feeds. Having news organizations spider your site and archives for new articles brings incredible exposure. You just have to figure out how to set up your own feed. I recently had a guest article on how to do that, which you can read here. If you provide high-quality content, it's definitely worth the trouble to syndicate it.

I can't actually remember anything I tried that stunk at getting subscribers. I'm quite Internet savvy and very picky about the things I try. I can usually spot something that seems too good to be true and don't bother with it. Word-of-mouth works extremely well, too!

Karon Thackston: Now, I can attest from firsthand experience that you have one of the most loyal subscriber bases on the entire Web. Jill, what are you doing to keep your subscribers? What contributes to your extremely high subscriber loyalty?

Jill Whalen: Thanks, Karon. I'd have to say that the biggest thing would be just being myself. It's pretty obvious when reading my stuff that I y'am what I y'am. People learn quickly that I'm a straight shooter and tell it like it is. They don't always agree with me, but at least they know where I stand.

Also, I never try to trick people. I don't pretend that affiliate links are not affiliate links, and in fact probably go overboard by making sure that everyone knows it is indeed an affiliate link. Plus, I don't just put in affiliate links for the sake of having them there or for the sake of making money. However, there are some really good resources out there that cost money, but are worth every penny. When I find them, and believe my readers will benefit by them (like your Copywriting Course, for instance!), I will then promote the heck out of them. It's a win-win situation all around at that point. People learn about something that can greatly help them in their businesses, I make a little bit of extra money to pay for my list hosting and time spent on the newsletter, and the author of the great resource gets paid for his hard work.

Karon Thackston: Excellent points, Jill. (And thanks for the plug. ) So then, let me ask you this…what would you say is the most important factor of consistently delivering a quality ezine?

Jill Whalen: I'd say you have to like doing it, because it's definitely a chore. If you think you can just rush something out the door cuz you have to get something done, it will show in the lack of quality. You really have to set aside a certain amount of time to do it right. Plus, you gotta proof, proof, and then proof it again.

Karon Thackston: I agree 100%! Well, Jill, I’ve taken up enough of your time. I truly do appreciate you letting us in on your success secrets. : ) It’s always helpful to see how others work.

If you want to subscribe to Jill’s ezine, High Rankings Advisor, you can do it here. You can also find past issues online at her site. Good info, I can promise you! I subscribe myself.

Author Information
Want to learn exactly how to create a quality ezine and how to build your subscriber base? You can! Karon will take you step-by-step through the process and give you over 70 free places to promote your ezine. Get three FREE bonuses with your purchase, too! Get all the details today at http://www.creatingezines.com.

Way of indexing your Site in Almost Search Engines with DiscountClick.com

Discount Click

For you all who are struggling to find a way to optimize your company site all over search engines and to be in top of the all your competitors, and also maybe you want your blog or your personal sites to be optimized in most search engines like Google, yahoo, msn and all other popular search engine, you don’t have to worry because DiscountClick.com will provide you with these valuable facilities in one site and all with quality assurance, which you can be in top of all.

In addition to that Discount Click will also provide for you with Affordable Search Engine Promotion with as low as $ 50 per month, and also they are providing for you with dedicated Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Consultants, Link Building Service, Search Engine Marketing, SEO tools which you can promote your site in search engines very easily with good result which you can then get unique visitors to your site more and more.

Moreover with their Search Engine Optimization they are offering the following other money valued services:

· Keyword Ranking Reports. Find out where your website currently stands in all the major search engines.
· Self Service Professional SEO tools, including a Keyword Density Analyzer, Traffic Metrics and both Organic and Pay per Click Traffic and Rank Reporting Utilities. Analyze dozens of URLs and perform effective on page seo optimization for your company site or your customers sites.
· PPC Setup, Tracking and Management Tools. Increase ROI, stay on target. Increase click through rates and have the online marketing industry work for your companies benefit. We can get your website ppc setup to produce targeted traffic to your site with pay per click sponsored listings.

And with some other services which you can look at them to www.DiscountClick.com , they got a good relationship with their partners which are include Yahoo Inc the most popular site into the internet which have more than a billion of visitors a day, the other partners are like FindWhat.com, Kanoodle, Inktomi and some other strong website.

Email Marketing Laws:

01/21/04 Update: I just received an email from Anne Holland of MarketingSherpa. She spoke with the FTC lawyer who is responsible for coordinating the CAN-SPAM rule-making, Michael Goodman.

To many of us it appeared only government agencies could sue under the law. Not so. According to Goodman (in reference to the the clause allowing "providers of internet access services" to sue you, as quoted by Holland):
'…the definition is fairly broad and I think it could include a company that offers networking services to its employees.' Which is basically anybody with an IT department."
Read the whole article here, along with some more useful links on the subject. If you are not already on Anne's EmailSherpa list, you may want to join. She's top-notch when it comes to marketing issues. --Bobette Kyle
Original "Email Marketing Laws: Keeping Updated" article starts here:

If you are new to online marketing, you might equate direct email to direct postal mail. The concepts are very similar; in both you broadcast a standard message to a large number of individuals in hopes of receiving positive responses. To the uninitiated, it is logical to assume you can approach the two in the same way. It seems like the only difference is the means of communication. If you are thinking this way, STOP! STOP! STOP!
An unsolicited email advertisement has a different connotation to the recipient than junk mail from the postal service. Excessive email ties up resources. It uses storage space, slows down systems, and can crash equipment. For this reason and others, many abhor unsolicited emails.
Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Website hosting companies have long enforced policies against unsolicited email advertisements. Until recently, however, there have been no US Federal laws making these emails illegal.

Unsolicited Email Law
Several US states have passed laws that regulate email. According to the SpamCon Foundation Web site, there are currently twenty one states with anti-spam laws. Internationally, numerous countries have passed laws limiting email advertising. Many of these laws are now pre-empted by a new federal law.

Beginning January 1, 2004 CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003) went into effect. You can read the full bill and more information here: http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html
What Does The US Law Mean to Emailers?
In a letter to publishers, Topica Email Publisher (http://www.email-publisher.com) summarized the law by noting four standards commercial emailers must adhere to:
Senders must include a postal address in emails
Removal requests must be acted upon within 10 days
Subjects and other headers must not be misleading
Unsolicited messages with sexual content must be labeled

Who Can Sue?
If you publish an email newsletter or send advertising to an opt-in list, you may be concerned that those who forgot they signed up (or have a vendetta against anything related to marketing) could file suit against you even if you do everything correctly.

You may also have been concerned that if a virus or spammer uses your email address in forged message headers (both of which are beyond your control) you could be held liable.
There appears to be no need for concern about either situation (01/21/04 UPDATE: See Note at top of page). My interpretation (and I'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as legal advice) is your neighbor cannot sue you because he got an emailed virus claiming to come from your email address. A competitor cannot sue you under this law out of spite. Under Section 7, CAN-SPAM limits those who can file suit. Generally, lawsuits can only be initiated by limited government departments and officials.

How to Stay Updated
There are several sites you can monitor for news on email marketing. These include the SpamCon Foundation Law Center (http://law.spamcon.org), the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE, http://www.cauce.org), and the spam section of The Open Directory Project (http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Abuse/Spam/).
Additionally, David E. Sorkin, Associate Professor of Law at the John Marshall Law School, writes and speaks extensively on the subject of Internet policy, http://www.sork.com.

For the honest marketer, the new law is a positive step toward improving email marketing.
About the AuthorBobette Kyle draws upon 12+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network, http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com , and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business,"

http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/MarketingBook/TOC.htm .
(Note: Small business management and marketing articles written by Bobette Kyle are generally available for reprint provided the byline and "About the Author" resource box remain intact. Please make at least one of the links in the "About the Author" resource section clickable. Also, your Web/publication must be non-offensive and appropriate as explained here and you may not charge a fee if allowing others to reprint the article.)

Increasing Conversions Through Action-Oriented Copywriting

Note from the Website publisher, Bobette Kyle: In this article, Karon explains a step-by-step process to increase conversion rates by improving your sales and marketing copy.)

I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a lot of Web copy. One thing that always befuddles me is the lack of focus many site pages have. It's as if the writer assumes the site visitor will read the copy and automatically know what to do next. The fact is you have to know what action you want visitors to take before you get them to take that action. That means knowing what the preferred action you want visitors to take is, before you write the copy.

Think About It
Before you pen one word (for the Web or any other marketing medium), stop and think. "After reading this copy, what - specifically - do I want my site visitors to do?" Maybe you want them to click deeper into the site. Perhaps you want them to buy right then and there. It could be that you'd like them to call to discuss your product or service. Make a donation. Subscribe. Download. There are thousands of possible actions. Give some consideration to the question above and choose the action you most want your visitors to take.

Signposts Point the Way
The next step is to include signposts along the way so your visitors understand what they're supposed to do once they've read your copy. Leaving verbal clues helps prepare your visitors to take action once the time comes.

For instance, if you run a software site that offers a free trial download, you can prepare your visitors to get the trial version all throughout your copy by mentioning "free download" or "free trial." Your copy might read:

Email Lock software allows you to send emails and attachments securely through encrypted channels. With the free download, you'll discover just how easy it is to protect your messages and attachments from spying eyes. It's ultra-easy to use. You'll send emails just as you always have, and your recipients won't know anything has changed, either. The free trial version is fully functional and allows you to experience all the flexibility and simplicity of sending safe and encrypted emails and attachments.

What's happening as your site visitors read? They see phrases like, "With the free download, you'll discover…" OK, where's the download button? Then they read, "The free trial version is fully functional…" Wonderful! I want it! How do I download the free trial?

They begin looking for ways to take the action you want them to take. So tell them how!

Ready? And… Action!
Your job is just like a movie director's job. The director has to motivate and encourage his actors. He tells them why their characters are so important to the film. The director helps the actors understand the emotions involved with the parts they are playing. Then, once he has them all primed, he calls for action.

That's what you should do in your copy. Guide your visitors. Lead and nudge them in the right direction. Show them signposts that point to the action you want them to take. Then call for them to take that action.

Once you give your copy focus, once you define a goal for the copy and an action for your visitors, you'll find it easier to write copy that converts.

About the Author
Karon Thackston is a veteran copywriting pro who specializes in SEO copy. If your copy isn't getting results, let Karon teach you how to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to check out Karon’s latest ebook “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.

Generating Targeted Web Site Traffic.

An important question to answer when creating or revising a Web site is "What are the goals of this site?" because the answer will drive your Web site design and marketing decisions.

In Part 1, Understand the Decision Making Process, I took a look at understanding your site visitors' decision making process and providing them with the right information, thus converting more visitors to purchasers.

Here in Part 2 I will present some tips for attracting targeted Web site traffic and ideas for profiting through information sites.

Attracting Targeted Traffic to a Sales Web Site
In Part 1, Karon Thackston explained the multi-step buying decision and why many of your visitors may not yet be ready to purchase. If you own a sales site, those early in the decision process are not likely to buy from you.

There are ways, however, you can attract better targeted visitors to your site (i.e. Web site traffic composed of more people approaching the purchase stage). One way is to have a presence on information sites that attract visitors in your targeted audience. This because on the information sites visitors are gathering information and evaluating options. In other words, they are preparing to make a purchase.

Michelle Horstman, owner of Choice Promotional Products, www.choicepromotionalproducts.com, says, "I do get hits from advertising on 'informative' sites such as www.barmitzvahfindit.com, where they have a vendor area."

For those on a limited budget, Michelle suggests purchasing advertising on sites that participate in pay-per-click programs like Overture or Google AdWords.

"When you list with Google and others on your own, you may have to pay more than your ROI would justify." She explains. "However, when you advertise with an informational site, that site can afford to pay more for the clicks, since they are supported by multiple vendors/advertisers. Ask the site if they'll offer a trial period so you can see how much traffic it is producing."

Targeted Web Site Traffic for Information Sites
If you run an information site, the majority of your Web site traffic will be interested in researching the subject, too early in the decision process to purchase. So how can you both attract targeted Web site traffic (i.e. visitors in the early decision stages) *and* earn revenue?

You can attract information seekers by structuring each page in your Web site so it gives information on a specific topic. This expands the list of key words through which searchers might find your site.

Other ways to earn revenue from traffic to an information Web site:

Initiate the two step process James Maduk explains in Part 1.
Participate in a few select affiliate programs, which you can promote on topic-specific pages in your Web site.

Join a targeted advertising network such as Google's AdSense.
Sell your own advertising space.
In any case, targeting Web site traffic in the "right" decision making stage creates a win-win situation. Your visitors find the information they need and you profit - through sales, advertising, or affiliate revenue - by meeting those needs.

About the Author
Bobette Kyle draws upon 12+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network, http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com , and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business," http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/MarketingBook/TOC.htm .
(Note: Small business management and marketing articles written by Bobette Kyle are generally available for reprint provided the byline and "About the Author" resource box remain intact. Please make at least one of the links in the "About the Author" resource section clickable. Also, your Web/publication must be non-offensive and appropriate as explained here and you may not charge a fee if allowing others to reprint the article.)