Fortune-Magnet News

1. Make sure all your email recipients are opt in or double opt in. This means that they have subscribed to your ezine, newsletter, report or e-course.

2. Always provide an unsubscribe link

3. Always sign each email with your name, address, company (if any), telephone # and email address. This will ensure you are never accused of spam or at least you will be found innocent.

4. Keep the email short, with each paragraph 5-10 lines at most. People are in a hurry and they scan most email so make sure your email has the most important point in the first sentence of each paragraph.

5. Create a compelling or interesting subject line. You want your email opened at the least. Good headlines aren’t hype of over-stated, simply what the benefit the reader will get for opening and reading your email.

6. Format every email to 60-65 lines. This ensures your email won’t look like:

when you send an email make sure its properly formatted with 60-65 characters per line with a ‘hard return’ so it looks even and professional.

Many businesses use email newsletters to introduce themselves to new customers and to maintain contact with existing and past clients. By sending useful and relevant information on a consistent, regular basis, you maintain constant contact without the risk of irritating and alienating your customers. Your email newsletter will also enhance your credibility and increase sales.

The following article offers advice on how to produce your own newsletter. For more detailed information on how to establish credibility and build online relationships, download our guide “Building Online Relationships” here:

http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_4.html

Producing your newsletter doesn’t have to be a daunting task. The first thing you need to decide upon is the frequency of publication. This is could be based on how much time you can devote to writing each month or possibly the frequency of new offers or products you would like to extend to your potential customers. A frequency of bi-monthly to monthly has been shown to achieve the best results and will probably be a comfortable pace for both you and your readers.

Next you will need to decide upon a format for your newsletter. You can use a graphical format that will allow accurate tracking of open rates, links visited, etc or a text only version that offers a higher level of deliverability. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and a more in-depth look at these can be found in our guide: “Building Online Relationships” which can found here:

http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_4.html

If you wish to proceed with a graphical design you will next need to produce a template design for your layout. Many email list management companies provide online templates for their customers and with many you can also upload your own template. Once this is set up you simply type or paste in your text information online, and an HTML newsletter is automatically created for you.

Now it’s time for the content of your newsletter. Concentrate on topics that your readers will be interested in and offers or product announcements that are appropriate to them.

For example, I once bought some printer ink from an online retailer that offered me the opportunity to sign up for their special offers newsletter. Every month, regular as clockwork, I receive the latest special offers via email. These offers not only include ink, but also other stationary items that may be appropriate. It always prompts me to check my ink supplies, along with my stocks of stationary and a whole range of other similar items before deleting it. If I didn’t get that e-mail from them, I would have probably bought the next batch of ink cartridges from whoever came up in an online search. And as it saves me time and because keeping these things all in one place is easier for me, they also now get my orders for stationary items as well.

Your newsletter could be product offerings and special offers mixed in with useful product reviews, or it may be a recap of what’s going on in your industry or tips useful to your customers. If you aren’t a writer there are often articles available for reprint in most industries. Most of these are available to use free of charge providing that you include a short bio and link back to the writer’s web site. Make sure the content you use has relevant value to your readers and is not just a topic that interests you.

Once written, make sure you archive the newsletter on your web site for additional content and make the archives available for browsing. This will also improve your search engine rankings as the content will be highly relevant and targeted to your customers. Having an archive will also encourage new subscribers as they find you through your articles.

Most web hosts have some mailing list capability, or you can compose and mail your newsletter in Outlook. If you intent to build a sizable list it is often best to use one of the many third-party mailing services, these also take care of the opting in/out process and make sure you adhere to all legal requirements.

I would recommend Vertical Response whom we have used for several years to manage our lists. They can be found here: http://www.click.linksynergy.com/

Top Tips for successful email newsletter campaigns:

Getting Subscribers:

• Do not purchase, trade or borrow an email list

Sending email to people who have not specifically requested to receive your mailings (opting in) is almost always regarded as spam. You will succeed only in alienating your potential customers.

• Make signing up and un-subscribing easy and visible

Add a sign-up form to your home page and if possible, somewhere on every page of your web site. You can also ask your customers whether they would like to sign up when you speak with them in person. You may want to ask subscribers only for their email address, first and last name, and one or two other questions such as their interests. This will allow you to target future mailings but not put off your prospects by being too invasive. In general, the less information you require, the more likely people are to sign up.

• Use double opt-in registration

There are two standard methods for online registration, single and double opt-in. Single opt in requires that you enter an email address into a web site and click on the sign up or subscribe button. With double opt in you will be sent an email to the address you have used when signing up and you will need to click a link on it in order to verify that you wish to receive the publication. Double opt-in is the preferred method because it requires confirmation and therefore establishes that it is the owner of the email address that has signed up.

• Link to your privacy policy

Place a link to your privacy policy near to your list subscribe form. Your policy should describe how you handle the information you collect and how people can contact you in case they have any concerns or questions. It is also a good idea to confirm that their information will not be sold, rented or passed on in any way to any third parties.

Maintaining your subscriber list:

• Send a welcome message to each new subscriber

When you receive a subscription request, send a welcome message immediately. Include a description of what they will receive and how frequently, and how to unsubscribe. It is also a good idea to try to get them to return immediately to your web site. You can offer a timed discount or a link to previous free articles, anything you think that might get them to look again at your offering.

• Keep accurate sign-up records

Occasionally you or your Internet service provider (ISP) may receive a spam complaint from someone who forgot they subscribed to your list. Keep accurate records that include the date and web address from which they signed up. Using a third party mailing service should prevent this.

• Ask your members to opt in again if you are using an older list

If you have not sent a mailing for a while, ask subscribers to indicate that they want to continue to remain on your list by sending you an email, clicking a link or visiting a web page. Make it as simple as possible to reaffirm their interest to avoid losing potential customers.

• Remind people that they subscribed

Include a standard heading each time you send a message. A short note such as “Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter” will remind recipients that they requested your mailings and that the content of the newsletter will be of interest to them.

Producing an effective newsletter:

• Avoid spam terms in your subject line and message text

If your message contains words frequently used by spammers, people will delete it and possibly file a spam complaint. ISPs often filter emails with suspicious subject lines; also note that it is illegal to use deceptive or misleading ones. Avoid obvious spam words like “free” and if in doubt, good mailing services offer a free spam check facility prior to your newsletter being sent out. They will actually scan the newsletter and alert you to any words that might set off the spam filters.

Vertical Response offer this service, click here for a free trial:

http://www.click.linksynergy.com

• Include your physical address and phone number

Put your phone number and postal address in your message. This allows readers to contact you to place an order or inquire about your services. In addition, legislation in some countries requires that physical addresses are included on commercial email messages.

• Send your mailings regularly

Keep in touch with your subscribers frequently so they don’t forget they signed up to receive your mailings. They will begin to anticipate your messages if you adhere to a regular schedule.

• Reply promptly to each inquiry or spam complaint

If you receive an inquiry or a spam complaint, respond to it as soon as possible. Always include the subscriber’s sign-up information with your response.

Following these simple suggestions will help you retain your subscriber base, which is fundamental for a thriving permission-based electronic newsletter or marketing campaign.

If you are considering using a third party mailing service, I would recommend that VerticalResponse’s iBuilder is the email marketing solution you need to build your opt-in mailing lists, publish your online newsletters and manage your direct email advertising campaigns, right from your browser.

For a complete guide to marketing on the Internet, including:

• The General Principles of Internet Marketing

• Start at the Beginning

• Writing Text that Sells

• Building Online Relationships

• Maximizing Your Pay Per Click Campaign

• Measuring Success

About The Author:
Justine Curtis Enable UK Internet Marketing Information and Resources Make your web site work smarter! Web: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk Email: info@enable-uk.co.uk

Those of you who aren’t ready to wade into the Blog pool are taking your time for several reasons, according to my informal interviews with people before and after they blog. Others start blogging and then abandon their projects too soon, unaware of the benefits.

Whatever your reason, you should get started now - or get back to blogging as the case may be. Here’s some motivating enlightenment that you may find surprising.

Reason # 1 that you aren’t blogging - You don’t realize how huge the benefits are, and how much they may outweigh any monetary or time costs involved.

I think number one may partly the fault of people like me, who have a foot in the marketing arena, and don’t explain the idea in detail.

We tend to tell you how great blogging is, but we don’t tell you why, or better yet, show you. Or we tell you how to get the best results with your blog, but don’t tell you where to start. Let’s talk about some of the basic facts.

If you’ve ever dreamed of going from getting 10 hits a month to getting a few dozen visitors a day from search engines, blogging can make it possible, if you do it right. The structure of a blog, and the fact that most of them automatically generate content feeds, also make them the best food for your friendly neighborhood search engine spider.

If you would like to have visitors come back to your site over and over again, until they buy, you may want to be a blogger. An informative blog that engages your audience shortens the sales cycle. It also creates a courtship period. They can subscribe to your thoughts, see if they like you, even get to know you a little.

People buy from people they like. I don’t remember who said it first, but I’ve learned that it’s the truth.

If your visitors don’t feel like they are getting a personality vibe from you, they are often less likely to buy. Vibe = buy. Remember that, and that blogs make it easy for you to vibe.

If you’d like to create new targeted search engine pages for your site without needing to hand-code a new page, or fire up your HTML editor every time, you may enjoy blogging. You log in to your blog admin panel, type your thoughts, proofread, press publish.

Presto. You’re a blogger.

If you’d like free one-way links back to your site that contain your lucrative keywords, blogging helps with that too.

Even if you’ve made a mess of your SEO efforts, or been the unsuspecting victim of an algorithm change, as long as you aren’t banned by a search engine, blogging can help bring you back into top results. Because they have a search engine friendly architecture, and can make use of your keywords automatically, without being gratuitous, they are an easy way to get into a search engine and stay in.

Reason #2 That you aren’t blogging - You think it’s hard and expensive.

Granted, especially if you’re busy, or have a medium sized to large business, it may be in your best interest to hire one of the few consultants that works on these types of issues.

But if you’re a small business owner or home business owner with an online element, you can get away with firing up a free blog and paying for an inexpensive custom template if you can’t install one on your own. Most blog consultants will do all the keyword research, etc for you, so that all you’ll have to do is log in and blog.

Many of the most common blog software systems are free or inexpensive, especially when weighed against the cost of only using paid methods to attract visitors.

Reason #3 That you aren’t blogging - You don’t think of yourself as a writer.

Not only can you get away with a few paragraphs, you don’t have to write in professional-speak, or use industry jargon to blog. By nature, blogging is done in a casual, conversational tone.

And your blog posts don’t have to be long article-type entries like mine are. I’m used to writing articles, and I’m just naturally verbose. My audience is used to my mini-brain dumps, just as your blog readers will likely be happy with, or adapt to, whatever your style is. Your audience will be thrilled with a few paragraphs every day, as long as they’re informative and consistent.

So take the plunge. Start blogging today. If you’re already a blogger and didn’t see the benefits the first time around, try making it a part of your routine - and have a little fun. Give it time to work for you. You’ll be glad you did.

About The Author:
Tinu is a web site promotion specialist who writes about many different ways to get more visitors to your web site. If you want better search engine results, more visitors and return traffic she invites you to take a free eCourse on blogging at RescueYourBlog.com.