I need some newsletter tips

[RussellWebb]

I'm at that stage where I need to create a newsletter. I have a site that is starting to move up the search listings, probably a month or two away from top ten. Although I am ranked 4 for one of my phrases! That's nice to see!

In the meantime I've been using google adwords with pretty good results. The site receives maybe 100 clicks per month. Wow Big numbers huh! I humor myself.

I'm explaining all of this because I think its relevant to how I approach my newsletter campaign (maybe not?).

So my questions are:

How often to mail out the newsletters? bi weekly, monthly?

Which format: html, or plain text?

Do I use an autoresponder for this task?

With new spam laws in place, what's the best approach?

Any tips on what NOT to do?


Best regards to everyone

[Sandra]

Russell,

These are all great questions! I think a lot of it depends on your topic and target market. How hungry are they for information and how much info do you have to provide?

You can use an autoresponder like aweber (which is what I use now) or a mail list provider. I used http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/ for a year and was very happy with the service and value.

With the autoresponder you can usually both set up a series of prewritten messages and also have the ability to send a broadcast message for your newsletters. I send out on a monthly schedule.

Hope this helps.

Sandra

[koanwrangler]

wow.

I wish I had thought to ask those questions before I jumped in.

Here's what I've learned:


How often to mail out the newsletters? bi weekly, monthly?

-it depends- are you going to stick with just publishing an ezine, or are you going to also promote products to your list. If it's just an ezine, I'd recommend at least twice a month.

-the marketers I pay close attention to seem to send out emails to their list whenever they've got something interesting to say- I've gotten three in one day from Joe Vitale, for example.

Which format: html, or plain text?

-html looks better, but increases your "bounce" rate by up to 25%. A good solution is to post your 'zine online in html, and include a link in your text 'zine.

-you want to post your 'zine online regardless- your new subscribers will want to read your back issues. this will increase your sales.

Do I use an autoresponder for this task?

-definitely. I use 1shoppingcart, now. Previously I was using a company based in florida whose name I'd better not share with you- they took up to 36 hours to get my emails out. 1shoppingcart gets 'em out in minutes.

With new spam laws in place, what's the best approach?

-your autoresponder company will handle the "double opt-in" issue for you and provide an "opt out" option automatically. You'll have to learn the rules- Craig, at nitrolistbuilder.com has a good program, and there are several others.

Any tips on what NOT to do?

-I think the most important thing is to take action now. You'll learn as you go, just like we all do. After a while, you'll establish a relationship with your list- they'll tell you what they like and what they don't like. I encourage my subscribers to email me.

-one last tip- write your ezine and emails as if you were writing to just one person. visualize that person and write to them.

Good luck!

[Lynn Terry]

[onlineleben]

[Lynn Terry]

[Anita DeFrank]

[RussellWebb]

[happimel]

[Anita DeFrank]

[Lynn Terry]

[Anita DeFrank]

I have to agree with Lynn. Our ezine pretty much goes with the flow of things of what we're working on throughout the week. While researching for our own uses we usually come up with great resources/articles to share with our readers.

Anita

[Warren Contreras]

[Steve MacLellan]

[Lynn Terry]