Mailing lists are great tools you can use to build a strong audience. You can share information that you wouldn’t post on your site or blog that you only want to share with your subscribers. Here are a couple of ideas:
- Create a giveaway to get subscribers – give them a copy of an eBook that would be beneficial to the product you are selling to promote your business, but would be of interest to them You got them to your site, now capture them and keep them coming!
- Give information regularly – When you have an eNewsletter, you want to be sure you have the time to commit to it. You don’t want people signing up with the expectation that they are going to be getting your newsletter on a regular basis only to find out that you don’t have time for them. Specify in your signup how often they can expect to receive information from you. It can be weekly, monthly or even quarterly. Then make a reminder to yourself on your calendar software or book so that you remember to send one out.
- Create a deal – Everyone loves a good deal. If you offer products or services, why not offer a 25% discount to your subscribers? Give a code that they can use, create a QR Code if you want to be fancy, use a coupon software, etc. Your subscribers will feel special.
These are just a few ideas to get you going. You also need to choose a mailing list program to help you with your newsletters and subscribers. One of the best free* programs out there is MailChimp. Since I’m the queen of budget resources for my clients, I’m always on the lookout for ways to help save money when building a website and starting an online presence. *a free account will allow you to store up to 2,000 subscribers. Send up to 12,000 emails per month. This is an excellent way to get started! Other recommendation are:
- iContact – Customers now have the option of signing up for a FREE version of iContact! These accounts will offer many of the same great features that a standard iContact account has, but without a monthly fee!
- Vertical Response – Whether you’re an email marketing pro or just starting out,VerticalResponse lets you create, send and track professional-looking emails quickly and affordable.
Now, how are you going to get those sign-ups?? You could give something away to entice them, or you could use a pop-up with your message and bullet points as to why signing up with you is a great idea.
A client of mine recently purchased just that. He told me that since he installed this pop-up, he’s already gotten 200 subscribers to his newsletter. Amazing. The software is called PopUp Domination, and is completely customizable. You create your message, you create up to 4 bullet points, and it works most of the most popular programs: MailChip, Constant Contact, AWeber, iContact, GetResponse, plus custom scripts. Take a look at the site. It’s pretty impressive. You can even create pop-ups for different pages on your site that you might want to market to.
Yes, I’m an affiliate of this product, but I only endorse products that I have used or that have been recommended to me by my clients.
