Fortune-Magnet News

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

In the current world of marketing — especially online marketing — there’s a lot of talk about the magic of newsletters. If you listen to the gurus, it sounds like every business should be sending a newsletter, whether printed or electronic, to its customers and prospects on a regular basis. But how can you be sure whether a newsletter is really a good investment or the right decision for your business? Start by asking yourself the following four questions.

1. Do I want to build long-term relationships with my customers? If the structure of your business is simply to serve customers one time and never see them again, an ongoing client newsletter would probably be a waste of time. But if your intent is to develop long-term relationships with the clients you serve, a newsletter can be a perfect vehicle for doing that. Because clients and prospects hear from you regularly through your newsletter, you earn their trust and credibility. They become more familiar with you and your services, and they’re usually impressed by your efforts to keep in contact with them. Soon they’ll feel like you’re more than a service provider; you’re a personal acquaintance — so they’ll call on you when they need your services.

2. Do I have information or expertise that could be valuable to my customers and prospects? Without information that is valuable to readers, a newsletter is useless. But if you’re an expert in your field (and hopefully you are), you probably have lots of information, ideas, resources or advice that could help your clients work better, work smarter, or save money. In fact, if you don’t know anything your clients don’t know, it’s doubtful that they will keep hiring you. The key is to figure out what knowledge or resources you have that could be valuable to your clients, and determine how to deliver that information to them in a way that will be helpful and enlightening — without sharing all your secrets. One way to figure out what kinds of information you could share in a newsletter is to make a list of questions clients frequently ask you. If you have informative answers to those questions, you have information that could be valuable.

3. Do I have the time or resources to produce a newsletter on an ongoing basis? A newsletter is only effective as a marketing tool if it is produced consistently — at least on a quarterly basis, and preferably on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. If you aren’t willing to commit time or resources to making your newsletter an ongoing priority, it’s probably not worth an attempt. The amount of time needed to produce a newsletter can vary based on the method of delivery (electronic or mail), the length of the newsletter, the frequency of publication, and the amount of work you intend to do in-house. Keep in mind that publishing a newsletter can include several steps, such as:

• News gathering and trend-watching

• Research and interviews

• Writing and editing

• Layout and design

• Printing and/or distribution

You may outsource some or all of these tasks to an outside provider (such as The WriteShop), or you may choose to produce the newsletter in-house. The method you choose will determine the amount of time and/or money you’ll be investing in your newsletter — but keep in mind that well-produced newsletters usually pay for themselves in long-term relationships that develop into increased sales.

4. Do I know what specific results I want to achieve with a newsletter? As with any marketing program, it’s important to set goals for your newsletter before investing any time or money into it. Think about what you would want to accomplish with a newsletter: Do you simply want to build a larger contact database? Do you want it to help generate more leads? Do you want it to increase sales? If you have specific goals in mind before you launch a newsletter, you’ll be better able to shape your newsletter to the needed results, and better able to measure your success.

Becoming the publisher of your own newsletter can be a significant undertaking. Before you take the plunge, be sure you know what you’re getting into — and what you want to get out of it.

About The Author:
Nancy Jackson of The WriteShop helps companies better market their products and services with powerful written communications including newsletters, articles, Web content, brochures and custom publications. Visit www.writeshoponline.com for more information or to subscribe to her monthly “Marketing Tips” newsletter.

It’s not enough to prepare and distribute a monthly newsletter, one that offers information of genuine value to your market. You also have to make sure your newsletter gets opened and read! Covering letters provide reasons for recipients to open, download and read your newsletter each month.

Covering letters are ‘advertisements’ for each issue of your newsletter. In today’s time-starved environment, you have to provide good, solid reasons for recipients to stop what they’re doing and invest time reading your newsletter.

You should devote as much care to preparing your covering letters as you devote to the newsletters themselves.

Covering letters provide a bridge, between the recipient’s self-interest and the contents of your newsletters. Covering letters should describe how recipients will benefit from reading the current issue of your newsletter. Otherwise, your newsletter may go unread.

There are two types of covering letters: those distributed by email and those mailed in envelopes along with printed copies of your newsletter. Both types should begin with a ‘sales pitch.’

Email covering letters. Use the subject line of text or HTML covering letters to encourage recipients to read attached copies or direct recipients to your web site where they can download the latest issue.

Mailed covering letters. Include a ‘teaser’ on the outside of the envelope containing your newsletter and covering letter. Like the subject line of an email, the teaser should promise the benefits described in the covering letter and delivered in your newsletter.

Successful covering letters contain four essential elements:

1. Engagement:

Engage recipients by showing familiarity with their problems and goals. Make it obvious that you understand their problems and can help solve them. A subject line or envelope teaser like: ‘June, 2004 Newsletter’ fails to provide recipients with a reason to read on.

‘June Newsletter: Cutting Employee Absenteeism’ does a better job of promoting newsletter content and encouraging readership.

The headline and first paragraphs of the email or covering letter should continue to engage by describing, in increasing detail, the benefits recipients will gain from reading your newsletter:

• What problems does the current issue address and solve?

• What goals will the current issue help your readers achieve?

2. Proof – Next, use the covering letter to prove the value of reading your newsletter:

• Case studies – Summarize case studies mentioned in your newsletter.

• Procedures – If your newsletter shows how to do a task, list the number of steps or describe one step in detail.

• Whenever possible, include testimonials from individuals or clients who have successfully benefited from the ideas described in the current issue.

3. Next step – Show how to access your newsletter by:

• Opening the email attachment

• Downloading the newsletter from your website. (Make sure recipients can easily locate the specific page.)

• Clicking a link, but also include a URL in case the link doesn’t work.

4. Promotion:

Encourage recipients to pass along your newsletter to associates and friends who might benefit from its content. Planting the ‘sharing seed’ each month can play a big role in increasing the size of your opt-in mailing list.

Before distributing, review your newsletter after completing your covering letter.

Ask yourself:

• Headline: Does the headline develop the promise made in the letter?

• Content: Does my newsletter actually deliver the promised benefits?

• Edit and rewrite your newsletter until you can answer ‘yes’ to both questions. And then use your covering letter to persuade recipients to open and read your newsletter.

About The Author:
Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million copies in print. Do you make these marketing and design mistakes? Find out at www.gmarketing-design.com

If you’re completely unfamiliar with how e-newsletters are designed and what benefits they bring, you might wonder why people put so much attention into laying out the design and the details of e-newsletters. You might think that all that matters is that the information we want written there is present. In the contrary, this article shall explain to you why HOW the lay out of your e-newsletter is as important as the information you wish to impart to your readers.

Lots of newsletters appear on the internet. The basic types of newsletters are in HTML or plain text. Good newsletters explain themselves clearly and are very focused making them well-written information sources. Lately, HTML newsletters are increasingly taking the place of plain text newsletters in the e-mail. These types of newsletters tend to have a few graphics, hyperlinks and more complicated layouts than those of plain text newsletters, which don’t have any links or complex layout and rely more on good writing and organization.

If you make online newsletters, keep in mind these newsletters are likely to be seen on computer screens. Users, have little patience on long, poorly organized and hard-to-read newsletters. They want to get to the important stuff right away. For an effective newsletter that would peak your target’s interests, here are some basic design tips for you:

For HTML newsletter-makers, basically, keep your writing plain, simple and immediately hits the target. Avoid the use of incredible jargons that would only confuse the readers and lose their interest.

Learn to use links extensively by providing it in context, for example, give an article’s short summary and then link them to the complete versions. Don’t provide links in a bunch at the beginning or end of the newsletter - use them like in a typical web page would.

After a descriptive article for your HTML newsletter, follow up an easy to use and hyperlinked table of contents. Be sure that these would lead to anchors in the articles contained in the newsletter or will launch a browser, especially if the newsletter doesn’t actually contain the articles mentioned in the table of contents. Make sure that the summaries of longer articles contained in your newsletter are not computer generated – meaning, they should have to be written by humans. These would add to the summary’s element of being meaningful.

Explain main points, following a short explanation in bulleted lists. This would make your newsletter easy to scan. The table of contents could also be a bulleted list.

Use hierarchical elements for accessibility and visual reasons. Take advantage of what HTML offers in terms of document hierarchy.

For plain text newsletter makers, since plain text newsletters don’t have the style and structure facilities found in HTML, emphasis could be made by maximizing the use spacing, capitalization and symbols. These accents might just get your target browsers interested. Do not run the article text and table contents’ text together like one long document.

Use a good subject line that will tell what’s in the newsletter right away, especially if the newsletter is to be e-mailed. Use dashed and bulleted list in order to emphasize what follows.

Since the text newsletters are harder to scan, make them simple by including at least two or three subjects or items only. If you need to say more, make additional newsletters for other items or subject matters.

With all these points mentioned, it can now be said that an appealing interface also brings more benefits to everyday simple things such as e-newsletters. They’re pretty basic but can compound the response you’re already getting from your so-so designed newsletters. Try following these simple guidelines in laying out your newsletters and then you can watch your reader numbers go up.

About The Author:
Lala B. is a 26 year-old Communication Arts graduate, with a major in Journalism. Right after graduating last 1999, she worked for one year as a clerk then became a Research, Publication and Documentation Program Director at a non-government organization, which focuses on the rights, interests and welfare of workers for about four years.

After creating your email newsletter, you face the challenge of delivery. With a printed newsletter, there’s usually only one method of widespread distribution: the post office.

Fortunately, though, publishers of email newsletters have several choices. Let’s now work our way through this small jungle, and try to remember that although these choices force us to do extra research, they also give us many more options than we have with printed newsletters.

The first choice is between manual and automated mail management. The manual approach is how many, if not most, email newsletters get started. And, it’s a good system as long as the mailing list remains small, say something less than 100 or 200 names (depending on how efficient you are at managing your email program). You can do this with an email program like Outlook Express or Eudora.

But, if your list is growing, you’ll soon grow impatient with the amount of time it takes to manually add and remove subscribers, as well as to send the newsletter. For example, you might need to divide your list into parts, and send out a series of mailings rather than just one, to keep the size down.

That’s when it’s time to check out the automated approach, using mailing list managers. These programs and services come in several forms. By the way — and you’ll need to know this when you go looking for an automated service — the difference between an announcement list and a discussion list.

An announcement list is essentially one way, which takes in most regular newsletters, or ezines. You are the only person allowed to send a message to the people who have subscribed. You’re also probably the only person who knows the email addresses of the subscribers.

However, if you want to make it interactive, with recipients allowed to post contributions, as well as receive them, then you need a discussion list. For most of us, though, an announcement list is the best starting point for a newsletter.

Now, if you have chosen to automate, you need to decide whether you want to do it yourself, or have someone else do it for you. If you plan to do it yourself, then you need a dedicated mailing list program. A couple of well-known providers are Dada Mail and MailLoop. To find other mailing programs, enter the phrase “mailing software” (with or without the quotation marks) in a search engine.

Of course, it’s much easier to have someone else do the mailing for you, and that’s where we’re going next, since few of us have the expertise or time to do it ourselves.

Full service providers take care of all, or almost all the work for you. You fill in a few forms, make a few choices, and then they take over and do the rest. Those duties include adding and removing names, sending the mail, and handling mail that can’t be delivered (expect as many as 5% of messages to ‘bounce’ back after each mailing, once your list begins to grow).

So, if you’ve decided to use a full service provider, you next have to decide whether to use a free service or pay-for-service provider. Again, free generally works well when your list is small, and grows more problematic as the number of subscribers increases.

Free services offer many of the same services as the commercial services, but don’t charge a fee. The catch? They place an ad in your e-mail newsletter. If you sell advertising the free service takes away a revenue spot. Or they restrict the number of subscribers or the number of mailouts. Services I’ve used include Topica, MailerMailer, and at the moment, I use ResponseBot. Again, you can find other services by using a search engine or directory.

One of the great advantages of using free services is the opportunity to try out different services before making a commitment. Test drive each one for a few issues to find out whether or not you like it, then make your choice.

Summing up, finding your way through the delivery choices can be a big job. But, be grateful for the choices, and use free versions to find out which works best for you.

About The Author:
Robert F. Abbott, the author of A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results, writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. Read more articles about Internet communication, as well as email and printed newsletters at: http://www.communication-newsletter.com/ic.html

As you likely know from personal experience, the value of email has been greatly tarnished by spam, unsolicited messages, online junk mail. So, many subscribers and would-be subscribers care very much about the exposure of their email addresses.

Since this issue is so important, articulate a privacy policy for your newsletter. Will you rent, sell, or exchange the names of your subscribers to other organizations or persons? While most of us have no plans to do so when we are small, that opinion can change as we grow our list.

Quite frankly, once your list gets to a certain size, you may be able to earn quite a bit of money by renting it out. Many magazine and subscription publishers find that the difference between a profit and loss is list rental income.

If you do decide to keep the list names strictly to yourself, post a message to that effect somewhere, either in the email newsletter itself, at sites where you collect the names of subscribers, or both. By posting, and adhering to, a privacy policy, you will get more subscribers. To read an example, go my newsletter’s web page at:

http://www.abbottletter.com

If you’re not sure whether you will or will not sell or rent the addresses, then put a note to that effect instead. Many companies do this by saying something like this: “Would you like to receive information messages by email from our valued partners?” To that, of course, you add a checkbox. The default position should be off, which is to say, subscribers have to click on the box to receive those mailings. And, needless to say, you must then respect the choice they make.

You must also make it quick and easy for subscribers to say good-bye. Each issue of your newsletter should contain information explaining how to unsubscribe or be removed from the mailing list. There are many forms this information can take. To choose one, go through the email newsletters you now receive, and decide which you like best. Then, prepare your own notice, using this one as a guide. Of course, you will not copy anything directly, which would be plagiarism.

On the flip side, add information to each newsletter that explains how to subscribe, and consider, too, putting in a line asking recipients to pass along your newsletter to someone else who would benefit from it. A simple reminder like that could help you build your list, painlessly. Recommendations from a trusted colleague or friend will boost your subscriber list quickly.

Summing up, develop a privacy policy and stick to it. In addition, give your subscribers an escape hatch they can access quickly and easily.

About The Author:
Robert F. Abbott, the author of A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results, writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. Read more articles about Internet communication, as well as email and printed newsletters at: http:// http://www.communication-newsletter.com/ic.html

With the expansion and diversion of businesses, manufacturers, and even hobbyists into more and more specialized areas of endeavour, there is an increasing need for more information. And newsletters are the high profit way to cash in on that market for specialized information.

You can write and produce your own newsletter from home with a low overhead and potential for high returns. Many newsletter subscriptions range from $25 to $100 per year, some much higher. Even a thousand subscribers will bring in huge earnings.

There are no tried and true methods of making a newsletter successful, but if you investigate the market thoroughly, and are cautious in your moves, you can make a break-even profit turn into a sound income year after year.

You don’t have to be a famous business consultant or an insider on the stock market to produce a newsletter. There are many that cater to all types of sports, crafts, health, housing or money making.

The most important aspect of creating a successful newsletter is the market. You need to research who will buy the subscription and how much they are willing to pay. But there are sound methods of testing the market so you can be sure to come out ahead and establish yourself in the field.

If you have a special interest that has a broad following, you might find that a newsletter will be readily accepted and flourish.

What interests or hobbies have you been involved with that can make a lively income for you? If you follow the steps and carefully consider your market, there is no reason why you can’t get into the newsletter business too. And you can MAKE IT WORK.

WHAT IS A NEWSLETTER?

A newsletter is a special timely report on a single subject. It is a personalized, concise statement from an expert or person thoroughly familiar with a specialized field. Newsletters are maintained solely by subscriptions; there is no advertising. Most are printed within low budget means, typewritten, from two to eight pages.

The specialized information in newsletters is current, and usually cannot be found elsewhere. They are a logical extension to trade journals and magazines.

Aimed at a select group, they often contain the inside information in the field, hot tips or news scoops that become old news in publications of the trade.

Newsletters are not distributed by newsstands, nor are they meant for the mass market. In fact, the average number of potential readers of newsletters in any one field is relatively small.

Because of their specific information, newsletters can command a high subscription fee. Businesses can afford to spend the money to offer executives top-rate inside information.

There are hundreds of newsletters now being published and distributed in the United States. But there is room for hundreds more. Because of the specialized market, there is often little competition among newsletters, and THERE IS A RISING TREND TOWARDS SUBSCRIBING.

WHY ARE NEWSLETTERS POPULAR?

With all the print media and visual communications in this country, you might think there is a saturated market. And that is true when it comes to general interest mass market publications.

However, the need for specific information in specialized fields is constantly increasing. How can I beat the competition? How does the world news affect my industry? Will a union strike on the other side of the world raise our prices?

The focus of the newsletter is success. Success in business, success in hobbies, success in health and happiness. The information contained in the newsletters motivates readers to follow the advice. What are the best investments? Where are the trade shows? How can I get an edge on winning contests?

There is an endless need for specific knowledge in every field of endeavour. Since there is a high standard of competition within every aspect of our modern life, people search for ways to be in the know, and use that information effectively.

One of the reasons subscription prices can stay high is because people are paying for the knowledge and what might be gained by it. If a two hundred dollar newsletter saves a company thousands of dollars in excellent advice, then it is well worth the price.

WHAT IT TAKES

You can start a newsletter by yourself; you don’t need a large staff. A desk at home, a typewriter and a telephone are all the basic tools you need to create a newsletter. Even when you get into computerized labels and mass mailings, you still will not need a large space.

You don’t need to invest a lot of money to begin a simple newsletter. You may need to put a little out for advertising for subscribers or mailings to introduce your product. And you may need to spend some money on getting the first newsletter printed.

But, if your subscription list builds properly, you’ll be able to earn back your initial investments quickly - with some left over.

WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT

The topic you choose has got to be your major interest. You’ll be living with it day in and day out for years, so you need to be devoted to the subject. Usually, it’s not hard. You probably already have a chosen field of endeavour, or have developed a keen interest in a special hobby or sport. Writing a newsletter is only one more way to demonstrate your interest.

Read any newsletters you can find. What do they talk about? How much do they cost? How long have they been in business? You might want to talk to the publishers of a few to find out how they started and what troubles they encountered. Consider paying them a consulting fee to help you get on your way.

Take a look at all the trade magazines of the topic you’d like to work with. Find out if there are any newsletters already existing in that field. But don’t worry - there is usually room for more if you keep to another aspect of the business or endeavour.

Keep up with the current trends in health, money, sports, or social events and styles. What’s new with the young people? Or the elderly? There are many retired people actively pursuing hundreds of various interests. How can you tap into that market?

WHO WILL BUY?

The first place to test your newsletter is with associates and colleagues. And, you don’t need their subscription - just their input. What do they think about your ideas? How much would they pay for a newsletter delivered to their office or home on the subjects that are vital to them?

The target you’re aiming at is simply, anyone who will benefit from the information you have. Not only are people in a specific profession hungry for news, but there are people in all sorts of related jobs and organizations seeking specialized knowledge.

Everyone is interested in making or saving money. Although you don’t have to focus on investments - there are many such newsletters already - you can point out the benefits of your  inside tips on how to find the easiest, or the least expensive, or direct-to-the-source methods of attaining materials for pursuits or sports.

Generally, you have a small audience target - about thirty to fifty thousand people. But even a small percentage of that target will make your newsletter profitable.

Extremely successful topics are new trends where people can’t get enough information. Manufacturers, advertisers and entrepreneurs are all searching for the new to exploit. Depending on the subject you choose, tap into those potential subscribers.

SUCCESS IS YOURS

Writing and publishing a newsletter is a challenging and exciting way to express yourself. And it will give you prestige and acknowledgment in the community.

You can start the business with virtually no overhead and a small amount of capital, and you can build up to making profits in the six-figure bracket.

A newsletter has a market, and the people who subscribe to it will pay high prices for the information you have. Tap into the market and reap those profits.

There’s no news you can’t find out about, and there’s no industry or type of endeavour in this country today that doesn’t have a large group of enthusiasts. How can you find out what they want to know? This is a place to use your resources and use your background.

The actual task of researching, writing, and having a newsletter published is easy. There are no secrets or special tricks or skills you need besides a good nose for the best prices. What is  important is coming up with an idea for a newsletter that will sell to a select group who has no specialized information presently available in that or in a similar form.

You’ve probably got your ideas already. Well, go ahead. Make up a sample newsletter and pass it around. Get a good response? A small sampling is only a good indication that the rest will like it too. Success is around the corner.

If you need specialized LEGAL advice or assistance on this subject, the services of a professional person is recommended.

About The Author:
UT Austin Graduate (1989)
Business Finance http://www.workathomecoop.com

Have you ever thought about it?

If you don’t have a business newsletter yet, have you ever thought of the importance of having one?

Why is it so vital to one’s healthy business dealings?

Let’s explore some important factors even if you do have a newsletter.

If you are not yet using a newsletter as a part of your marketing efforts, then you are missing out on new potential and already existing customers becoming valuable long-term buyers.

Communicating with your subscribers as well as customers is vital for their continued involvement. It’s hard nowadays for someone to remain interested in your business if they never or rarely hear about it. Hence, a newsletter is the best way to keep them involved in your business and show them your appreciation for their subscription.

When you have a customer buy from you, but no newsletter to follow up, then you are virtually handing him or her back to your competitors. On the same note, when you have a visitor coming to your website and not capturing his or her name and e-mail address, it’s a lost marketing effort. Of course, if the service was good and the product memorable, they may come back.

But, what if they lose your website address? What if they just forget about you? What if you have a new product that your existing customer may wish to buy and they don’t know about it?

A newsletter will prevent these things from happening. It’s a good way to connect with people, and eventually they will connect with you and your website.

Having your own opt-in newsletter or loading purchased e-mails in your autoresponder. Which is the most effective and less troublesome?

Your own opt-in newsletter is the most effective and the only choice nowadays. When your visitors give you their name and e-mail address, they’re telling you that they agree to receive further e-mails from you. Therefore, if someone forgets that they’ve subscribed and complains that you’ve spammed them, you’ve got a proof that they’ve voluntarily given you their personal info.

But, when you purchase leads and load them into your autoresponder, you don’t know how those e-mails were harvested off the Internet. Those poor people might have opted-in somewhere, but certainly not for your newsletter. You’re a toast if only one person complains that you’ve spammed them.

Also, when people personally opt-in to your newsletter, they will be more acceptable to your further e-mailings as opposed to people who haven’t gotten a clue how they ended up on your list.

What do I write about? – you might be asking yourself.

What’s your business, service or product about? What’s your niche?

That’s the reason why your subscribers gave you their personal info. That’s what they want to hear more about. Your job will be to constantly improve on that subject and deliver information that will be both educational and informative to your subscribers.

My newsletter deals with the Internet marketing industry. My subscribers are expecting information on that subject. Therefore, for each issue I pick a different topic directly related to it, and I write about it. If I don’t have enough knowledge or experience, I improve on it and then deliver the info.

And, you don’t need a long newsletter. A sale alert or announcement of a new service or product can do just as well. Only, don’t over do it and misuse it. You would very quickly lose your integrity.

Subscribe to several competitors’ newsletters and see how they do it. That will definitely give you some ideas. Don’t copy their format, but adapt a format that will be suitable to you.

Keep your newsletter consistent.

It’s amazing the amount of newsletters that thrive online. Because of this, subscribers can forget which ones are legitimate and which are spam. And people often subscribe to multiple newsletters on top of the spam e-mails that they get on a daily basis.

Keep your format consistent at all times so your newsletter becomes visibly familiar. When your subscribers see the subject line of your e-mail, they will know immediately that it’s your newsletter.

Also, indicate that the subscriber requested the information and provide an unsubscribe link in EVERY issue. You must do this if you want to limit complaints or spam reports. And nowadays, you’re obligated by law to provide unsubscribe link and your physical mailing address in each one of your e-mails sent to your subscribers.

How often would you want to send it out?

That depends on various factors. Some businesses contact their subscribers as often as every day, others as infrequently as several times per year. You can do it once per week, twice a month or once a month.

More often, and your subscribers may unsubscribe or routinely delete your messages. Less often, and you’re allowing your competition the chance to win over your potential customers.

What works for you depends a lot on what you are selling, what information you can give to them, how often your subscribers will want to hear from you, etc. But most importantly, your time availability. How soon can you get the newsletter ready?

The newsletter is an excellent integrity builder. It builds you as an expert in the field.

More than 90% of the people will not buy from you the first time they see your ad. They will want to get to know you and see if they can trust you. Only then will they consider buying from you. If you don’t have a newsletter, how else are you going to build the trust with your visitors?

Your newsletter will prove to your subscribers that you or your business is not a “fly by night.” You’re serious in what you’re doing and you mean business. They will begin to trust you and slowly but surely become your valuable long-term subscribers and buyers.

What’s your subscription ratio? With other words, how many people are subscribing to your newsletter every month vs. how many are unsubscribing?

When you see more people unsubscribing from your newsletter in one month than people subscribing, you’re either doing something that they don’t like or you’re not providing quality information.

The way you treat your subscribers will be the same way they treat you. You treat them with respect, they will return same respect back to you. You give them value, they give you value. You take care of them, they take care of you.

You give them crap, ……… boy oh boy. They will give you 10 times more crap back to you. It takes a long time to build the credibility and the trust, but you can lose it all in one simple e-mail.

I saw it with my eyes when one supper-affiliate tried to take advantage of his subscribers by trying to profit from them while delivering sad news. Hundreds of them unsubscribed in one day and many of them sent him nasty e-mails back.

He was a topic of nasty conversations in many forums.

The quality of the content in your newsletter is the other determining factor of the ratio between the people subscribing in one month vs. the people unsubscribing. What is quality, you might ask?

Quality content is useful content. It addresses a need or solves a problem. So, ask yourself what problems or needs your subscribers have, and use that as a starting point for developing quality content.

But, don’t be too constrained. People have a need to laugh, learn, get informed, and so on. For example, typically useful content might: save time or money, entertain, inform or educate.

A good rule of thumb would be to provide the information that will be useful to your subscribers. Only, don’t stop at “good enough.” After you’re done writing your newsletter, read it yourself.

If you get the “WOW!” feeling, your subscribers will too. If you get the “WHATEVER” feeling, guess what? We’re all humans. We all think alike. Your subscribers will see you as “whatever” person too.

How do you balance your content with promotions?

More promotions and less content, your newsletter loses in value. On the other hand, if you, the publisher, don’t benefit too, then you’re just being charitable with your time (by the way, that’s a perfectly valid reason to be publishing).

So, it’s a bit of a riddle - how to produce content that readers are interested in, and at the same time ensure you get a (financial) benefit too. A good guideline is to keep it at around 80% content and 20% promotions.

When a reader finds himself or herself coming close to a purchase decision, who will he or she turn to? He or she will turn to a credible and trustworthy source of relevant advice and information. And that’s you my friend!

Your newsletter deserves time and attention - it is the voice of you and your business and will help you build relationships with your customers (and potential customers) in a way that no other tool can.

About The Author:
© Steve Dimeck. Author and Publisher. To receive more quality articles such as the one you’ve just read, sign up for Steve’s [TSM] Bulletin at: http://tsmbulletin.ogdteam.com - and receive a free ebook. [TSM] Bulletin - free Internet Marketing newsletter that you can’t be without.

Many online internet marketers tell us “its all in the list” and many people lap up stories of guru’s emailing thousands in their online list and making a huge profit in the process. Actually you too can start your own email list and make money from it as well. This article will highlight six tips on how you can make more money from your own email list.

1. Have a paragraph to disclose something personal so as to create trust between yourself and your newsletter reader.

Most people fail to realize that the reader of a newsletter is very much a person like you and me and they have emotions and feelings and are not reading your newsletter purely for the topic at hand but they need to trust you before they can purchase stuff you recommend. A good way to create trust in your newsletters is to add a personal touch to your emails with some personal revelation that can connect you with your readers. The greater your readers trust you, the more likely they will purchase the stuff that you recommend thus earning you a commission in the process.

2. Spend time keeping up with your area of interest.

To be able to capture and keep your newsletter audience, it is important that you remain on top of your area of interest. Spending some time daily keeping up to date with your area of interest by reading online news websites and online magazines is a good way to keep up to date. When your tips are current and effective, your readers will thank you and this increases the chances of them telling their friends about your newsletter.

You might want to write some good articles on trends and developments in your area as well and publish them in article directories and then refer to your own articles in your newsletter so as to establish your credibility and authority in your area of interest. The greater influence that you hold over your newsletter readers would mean greater profits for you when you should choose to email them a special offer.

3. Answer your newsletter subscribers.

Many newsletter publishers are very happy when their newsletter subscribers actually take the time to email them and ask them questions. This helps create trust and you can always grab a free testimonial for your newsletter after you have successfully helped your newsletter reader.

On the other hand, ignoring your subscribers questions is detrimental as you could see and increase in newsletter subscription opt out. So the simple solution is to take the time replying to emails and questions posed to you.

4. Ensure your email newsletter gets delivered.

Today with the proliferation of spam filters there are many emails that are not getting through to their intended readers. There are a couple of solutions to this problem:

One of them involves putting your newsletter on your website and emailing your readers with just your link to your website to reduce your chances of your email getting caught by the span filters.

Another method involves ditching the whole idea of email and using direct to desktop readers. Your subscriber downloads a desktop reader and when your newsletter is ready for collection, your desktop readers will then inform you.

With a greater delivery rate, you can see your profits increase exponentially.

5. Use attention grabbing headers.

The really advanced affiliate marketers test everything and one of the things they do involves testing their headlines. The use of attention emotion stirring words tend to increase the chances of your newsletter reader opening your email. An example would be in order here. “Secrets of wealth generation revealed in this issue of your Widget newsletter”.

Your header therefore should invoke curiosity in the reader so that they open up your newsletter email and click to view it. Obviously the more eyeballs you have reading your email the higher your profits are going to be.

6. Choose applicable affiliate programs.

One simple way to make money from your email list is to recommend affiliate products that fit in with the theme of your list. So if your list deals with children education for instance, you could recommend children education toys to your list as a possible choice for a Christmas present. Always choose products that you have personally seen and consider good. Treat your email list like gold and your readers will be very loyal and thank you for the recommendation.

In conclusion, making money with an email list is not that difficult but it takes effort and each step you take today will pay off richly in the future. By treating your newsletter readers as your friends, they will be able to trust you and your recommendations and help you earn commissions when they do purchase what you tell them. The world of online internet marketing is ever expanding and you can make some money with your email list today if you make the effort to try.

About The Author:
By Joel Teo 2005 All Rights Reserved Globally http://www.MakeThousandsToday.info
Joel Teo is a work at home business owner, the owner of several highly successful money making websites.

1. Fear Of Having Nothing To Say

As a small business owner, you know a lot more than you may realize. And although running out of material is the number one reason cited by small business owners for not launching an E-Newsletter in the first place, I have never come across anyone who knew enough about a particular industry or topic to start a business in it, who didn’t also have a nearly endless supply of content to choose from.

Remember, your clients and others who have an interest in your area of specialty, don’t work in it every day the way you do. The things that are second nature to you, whether it’s how to purchase life insurance if you’re a broker; how to write a press release if you’re a marketing consultant; or how to troubleshoot a light switch if you’re an electrician; are all news to those of us on the outside of your industry.

The people who are going to read your newsletter have questions. You on the other hand, have answers, opinions, experience, and perspective. When it comes to your industry, you understand what matters and what doesn’t, and how all the pieces fit together. These brief, useful nuggets are the things you write about.

2. Fear Of Technology

An E-Newsletter has a lot of moving parts. There are mailing lists to manage; links to set up; images to lay out; responses to track; and dozens of other small pieces to coordinate and fine tune, all in the course of writing and publishing a newsletter month after month. Managing this process efficiently requires a fair amount of technology churning away in the background. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that email marketing has finally evolved to the point where there are dozens of vendors out there who, for a very small fee, will take care of most of this for you (go to Google and search on “email marketing vendors” for a look at what’s out there). So while it’s true that you will have to go down a learning curve before you can switch your newsletter publishing into autopilot, you no longer need technical skill to get there.

Managing the logistics of a monthly newsletter can be tedious at times, no question. But if you’ve ever successfully assembled a gas grill, you’re more than technically qualified to publish an E-Newsletter.

3. Fear Of Publishing On A Regular Basis

Although you may be sold on the value of a regularly published E-Newsletter, you may still be worried that once let out of its cage, this beast won’t ever leave you alone. The truth is, you’re right to be concerned. If I had to point to one factor that plays the most significant role in the failure of company E-Newsletters, it’s that the people behind them stop publishing.

Like starting an exercise program, we all go great guns out of the gate: telling everybody we know, celebrating every issue. But (also like exercise), by month four or five the thrill is gone, and many people start to wonder how to quietly put the thing out of its misery.

I’m happy to say that I’ve discovered two solutions to this potential problem.

First, publish monthly. Although it may seem that dropping back to a less frequent schedule will reduce the burden, in practice the opposite is true. The less often you publish, the bigger a deal it is, and the more it seems to hang over your head. A monthly schedule however, means that the next issue is never more than 30 days away, and you will find yourself less concerned with achieving perfection each time.

Second, create a publishing schedule and stick to it. First Tuesday of the month, third Friday, whatever. The important thing is that you bake it into your monthly work schedule. An E-Newsletter will never be today’s top priority, and unless you explicitly determine when it will come out, you’re more likely than not to keep pushing it to the back burner.

4. Fear Of Writing

I hear it every day from the small business owners I work with: “I can’t put out an E-Newsletter, I’m a lousy writer.” Well, you’ll be happy to learn that writing an E-Newsletter - like email in general - is a lot more like talking than writing.

People don’t expect to read prose on screen, and they don’t want something that reads like an article from a local business journal. They want a piece of you and your expertise. As a result, the most effective E-Newsletters are those that sound as if the company leader is just talking; filled with all the slang, run on sentences and joking around that comes out in person.

After all, E-Newsletters are simply glorified emails, and email is fundamentally a two-way conversation. The more you can write in an authentic, friendly, spoken manner, the more it will feel to readers like somebody (i.e. you) is really on the other end. So don’t worry about something that your high school English teacher would be proud of. Focus on turning out something that breaks down the walls between your company and your customers. Something real.

5. Fear That SPAM Makes It All A Waste Of Time

There’s no doubt about it, SPAM has decreased the effectiveness of E-Newsletters over the last 12 months, and we are all much more aggressive with the delete key than ever before.

But, let’s put that into some perspective. A good E-Newsletter sent to your house list will still be opened by over 50% of the people it’s sent to. That’s 5?, 10?, 50? times better (you pick) than the percentage of people who read your newspaper ads; respond to your direct mail; or accept your unsolicited phone calls. The fact is, for the small business owner, an E-Newsletter represents the first time in history that she’s ever been able to cost effectively communicate with her entire customer and prospect base over and over and over again. Not only that, but thanks to the inherently democratic nature of email (i.e. the big boys don’t get any more space in the email inbox than the rest of us), an E-Newsletter gives us the opportunity to not just compete with, but outperform our much larger competitors for the attention of readers.

Yes, SPAM has taken some of the shine off of this diamond. But make no mistake, it’s still a diamond.

A Final Comment

You may be waiting to launch your E-Newsletter until everything is “just right.” Until your mailing list is large enough; until you’ve stockpiled enough columns so you’ll never run out; until you’ve hired that new marketing person; etc., etc.

I’ve got news for you. No matter how much you plan and prepare, things are going to go wrong even then. I’ve been midwife at the birth of dozens of E-Newsletters, and every time we launch one (every time), something goes wrong. It’s never the same something, but it’s always there. So don’t worry about it, just get in the game.

Three reasons: First, because the cost of error online is exceedingly low. If you make a mistake — or simply change your mind! — you can fix it. Nothing about your newsletter need be permanent, from the name to the look to the content. Every issue is an opportunity to start fresh.

Second, because time is your enemy. Relationship marketing (of which, your E-Newsletter is a tactic) is a long term approach. The sooner you get started reaching out to your circle of contacts, the sooner you’ll see the results. With an E-Newsletter in particular, you lose much more by waiting than you gain by perfecting.

Third, because experience is your friend. You can do all the research in the world, but until you’ve got a living, breathing newsletter of your own, it’s just a theoretical exercise. There’s only so much insight to be gained intellectually; the real “A-ha’s” occur when you get behind the wheel and drive it yourself.

Bottom Line: These five fears are common among burgeoning E-Newsletter publishers, but on closer examination, not all that daunting. Go ahead, get started with yours today!

About The Author:
Michael J. Katz is Founder and Chief Penguin of Blue Penguin Development, Inc., (http://www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com) a Boston consulting firm that helps clients increase sales by showing them how to nurture their existing relationships, and that specializes in the development of electronic newsletters. He is author of the book, E-Newsletters That Work.