You’ve finally launched your free newsletter. You’ve put together the content, found a good mailing list host, and have listed your newsletter in all the ezine directories you could find. What else can you do to increase your subscriber base? The answer is actually quite simple: you’ve got to know how to ask.
If you want your visitors to give you access to their inbox, you have to make it easy and risk free for them to subscribe. We offer some pointers that will help you do so:
Use a subscription form instead of asking your visitors to send a blank email: Sending blank email is counter-intuitive, and some people may think it won’t work. On the other hand, displaying a simple subscription box with a “Send” button next to it will make the process easier. If possible, place a subscription box in all the pages of your website.
Always include a link to archived issues of your newsletter next to the subscription box. Very few visitors will sign up for your newsletter if they don’t know what it looks like.
Give a free bonus to entice your visitors to subscribe. It can be an ebook, a special report, or anything else of value to your readers. There are many online authors that will let you distribute their work for free in exchange for including an author box with a link to their site. You can also build your own special reports using articles from other authors, that you can pick up free of charge in numerous article submission sites, like http://www.marketing-seek.com or http://www.ideamarketers.com.
Indicate the frequency of publication. If you don’t, some of your visitors may worry about receiving too much email and may not subscribe. Many newsletters are published monthly, but weekly or every other week are also considered acceptable frequencies.
Explain that every message you send will contain clear and easy instructions to unsubscribe. It is better to provide a link that your visitors can follow to unsubscribe, rather than to ask them to send an email message.
Include a privacy policy link, or, even better, a small privacy policy spelled out next to the subscription box. Nothing works better to reassure your visitors like an iron-clad statement like: “Your email address will not be sold, rented or disclosed to anybody under any circumstance”.
Finally, include a link to your subscription page on every issue of your newsletter. Satisfied readers will most likely send your newsletter to friends who may in turn become subscribers. Nothing works better to turn readers into subscribers than a recommendation from a friend.
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Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest ( http://www.theinternetdigest.net ), an internet marketing content site packed with useful articles and resources, and SEO Tutorial (http://www.seotutorial.info) where you can learn the basics of search engine optimization in four easy steps.
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