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> Get Articles > Email List Building > 5 Effective Ways To Grow Your Opt-in Email List
5 Effective Ways To Grow Your Opt-in Email List
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Jean Lam
jeanzineguru.com
Zine Guru
http://www.zineguru.com
I must admit that creating a newsletter or ezine is a really
powerful marketing tool. But "How do I get people to subscribe?"
After all, you can write hundreds of newsletters, but if you only
have a handful of subscribers, it can be a lot of work for little
reward.
Simply posting a "subscribe today" box on your website -- and then
forgetting about it -- is going to attract subscribers by the
thousands. Even if your web site is highly trafficked, this is
going to produce disappointing results.
You need to be prepared to actively promote your newsletter, much
the same way you would promote any other product or service
online.
(1) Write articles and get them published
Another effective way to get more subscribers is by writing articles
and get them published. Your resource box or author bylines/bio at
the end of the article can contain a small note about your ezine
and how to subscribe. To learn more about article writing and how
this can be beneficial to your business, check this link out:
http://www.zineguru.com/ewriter
(2) Promote Your Newsletter On Your Web Site!
Yes. Definitely promote your newsletter on your web site. But the
keyword here is "promote." How motivating is it for a visitor to
give you his or her name and e-mail address when presented with a
subscribe box titled, "Subscribe to my free newsletter"?
Why? Why should I subscribe? How will I benefit from subscribing?
What am I going to get? Just because your newsletter is "free,"
doesn’t mean I want it. There are plenty of free newsletters out
there I could subscribe to. What makes yours different or
special?
You really need to "sell" your free newsletter to potential
subscribers. In one or two short, exciting sentences clearly
state the benefits of subscribing to your newsletter. For example,
if your web site was golf related, you might say something like,
"Subscribe to the Free 'Golf Tips' Newsletter and receive monthly
tips and advice from Pro Golfers. Improve your swing, hear about
world renowned golf courses, learn which clubs the experts prefer,
plus much more!"
It sounds a lot more interesting than "Subscribe to my free
newsletter," don't you think? Visitors to your web site will think
so, too!
The other tip I’d like to share is about where you should place
your newsletter subscription box on your web site. First of all,
don’t hide it. Your goal should be to make sure that everyone who
visits your web site is offered the opportunity to subscribe to
your newsletter at least once, if not twice.
Your newsletter subscription box should appear "above the fold"
(i.e., it should be immediately visible on the first screen) of
your homepage. This is where you’ll get the best response --
and the most subscribers!
(3) Offer Existing Customers A Subscription
Have you offered your existing customers a subscription to your
newsletter? If you haven’t, you should e-mail them an offer like
this as soon as possible! This is an easy way to get a flood of
new subscriptions.
And be sure to add a subscription offer to your "thank you for
ordering" page or e-mail. If someone is interested enough in your
product or service to purchase it, you can be sure they’ll want
to subscribe to your newsletter. Don’t miss this opportunity to
maintain contact with existing customers!
If you’ve offered a free subscription to your customers but
received a poor response, consider making things a little more
interesting by offering them a "special gift" like a free article
or eBook when they subscribe. This extra incentive should
dramatically boost the number of new subscriptions you receive.
(4) Promote Your Newsletter In Your E-mail Signatures
An electronic signature also referred to as a "sig file" is a
three to six line footer that you can attach to the bottom of
your e-mail messages and public forum postings. And it's a prime
spot to advertise your newsletter!
Unlike a lot of other blatant advertisements, a sig file is
universally accepted, so take advantage of this perfect
opportunity to plug your newsletter! Anyone who receives an
e-mail from you will also receive your invitation to subscribe
to your newsletter.
Chances are, if you’re e-mailing them, they already have a direct
interest in your industry or niche, so take advantage of this and
offer them a free subscription right at the bottom of any e-mail
you send!
(5) Ad Swap With Other Newsletters & E-zines
A great trick for increasing your subscriber base involves
contacting other newsletters that relate to your target market
and offering to swap ads with them. Tell the newsletter owners
that you'll promote their newsletter to your subscriber base if
they'll return the favor. This is a great way for both of you to
increase your readership!
Subscribers will appreciate the recommendation of another source
of quality information, and as long as the sites you swap with
are complementary and not competitive, it's not going to hurt
your business at all.
Ultimately, growing an ezine takes much time, dedication and
patience. But in the long run, it's well worth. Now having a
growing ezine at hand, your goal should be to develop a
relationship with your subscribers through quality articles in
your newsletter before you even consider trying to sell them
anything. Give them quality information that they will benefit
from to establish your credibility and develop a rapport with
them.
Remember that the true value lies in the relationship that you
develop with the person who owns the e-mail address not in the
e-mail address itself. It will be the relationship that you
develop with your subscribers that will result in big sales both
now and in the future -- an important point to keep in mind no
matter how many new subscribers you attract.
© 2003 by Jean Lam
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Jean Lam is the webmaster of http://www.zineguru.com - Your Web
Marketing Power House. He is also the editor and publisher of a
twice monthly FREE ezine "Zine Guru". To subscribe, for cutting-edge
internet marketing tips, tricks and techniques, send a blank email to
mailto:zinegurunewsgetresponse.com and receive 4 valuable ebooks.
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