Contributed by Jennifer Cote

I wrote the book, thought I was done. People would flock to my door, beg to buy my book. It would fly off the shelves.

My business-savvy friend knew differently. “So what’s your marketing plan, Jennifer?” When this friend sent me a sample newsletter and encouraged me to start an “email marketing campaign”, I realized I’d found something I could do at home, between family time and work. Perhaps my family life wouldn’t suffer, and perhaps some blessing would come of it as well.

Now, my newsletters have become more than an “email marketing campaign”. Yes, it helps get my name out there. But I’m also compelled by the desire to simply share what God’s given me. I love to communicate. I love to share. In the process, relationships are built.

In starting out, I did some research to determine the best “email marketing service”. I zeroed in on iContact. (Yes, they offer a free trial, too.) One of their examples was a Christian newsletter; I suppose I was encouraged by that!

But the whole idea seemed potentially overwhelming at first. All the software was in place through the service, but how was I to put it to work? My path unfolded gradually. I kept track of the source of my various contacts, putting those contacts on the appropriate lists. Some folks had signed up at our deli, some were friends from church, some were through other local associations. There were also those from across the country, “foodies” who signed up online, eager to receive a few extra recipes in their email boxes. Read More→

contributed by Lori Twichell

As we’ve been discussing this week, newsletters are an important and useful way to grow your audience and also to bring people a better understanding of your business. They’re a great way to increase loyalty as well.

So now that you’ve increased your mailing list and learned how to use the newsletter to grow your client list, how can you be sure that your newsletter will get read and not end up in the virtual trash can? Here are a few things that you’ll want to keep in mind as you build your newsletter and prepare to send it.

Is your newsletter visually balanced? On first glance is your layout evenly balanced with text and graphics?  This is a fine line to walk these days. People are busy and they don’t want to get bogged down in too much text and information but at the same time, they’ll quickly toss ‘fluff’.  Make sure that the graphics highlight your content and don’t pull attention away from your message but also that you don’t overburden your reader with too much text. Make sure you have solid content balanced with eye pleasing graphics.

Share your expertise! When you write your articles, think of ways that you can make yourself and your newsletter a more valuable resource to your readers. Include content that they can apply to their business, workday or home life immediately. The more you’re able to accomplish this, the more you’ll be able to position yourself in their lives as their ‘go-to’ expert. Your readers will come to rely on you and trust your advice and opinions. This is invaluable when it comes to marketing your products or services! Read More→

It can be a challenge to come up with new ideas for your newsletter on a weekly or monthly basis. You need ideas for topics that your readers are interested in!

Here’s how I recently got a year worth of ideas for my weekly newsletter with just a few minutes of time.

I created a quick, three question survey at Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey is a reliable website that offers both free and paid service levels you can choose from based on your survey needs.

My first question was multiple choice with some website related questions to help me understand what point my subscribers are at — whether they have a website, a blog, or sell products or services yet. This helps me know what perspective to start from when writing my newsletter. Read More→

Post your tips below!

1. The most obvious way to gain newsletter subscribers is to have a great newsletter – full of great content.

2. Place your sign up form front and center.

3. Ask your subscribers to spread the word.

4. Offer a special or freebie to new subscribers.

5. Try a pop-up. Of course we don’t want to annoy our website visitors, so try a pop-up that only appears the first time or two that someone visits your site.

6. Trade articles with other newsletter owners. Share about each other’s newsletters to your own subscribers – a win-win situation. Read More→