RosalindGardner.com

Learn Blogging & Affiliate Marketing with Rosalind Gardner

5 Reasons Why Only SOME Newsletters Get Read

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It's a simple truth…

Some newsletters seem to attract readers like bees to honey – whilst others seem to struggle to find a marketplace of accepting and interested subscribers. But why?

What's the big difference between success and failure when it comes to publishing your own newsletter? And what should you aim to do, if your goal is to build an army of loyal subscribers?

For the first time ever, acknowledged newsletter expert, Michael Green, reveals his top five hints for creating your own winning newsletter or Ezine publication.

#1. CONTENT

If you edit a newsletter and think you can muddle through without top quality content, then think again!

Let's look at it this way. With so many newsletter titles out there today – especially on the web – the choice for readers is almost endless.

Your audience is more subtly aware of the quality of your editorial, articles and content, than you may think.

So don't skimp when it comes to finding top quality contributions for your publication. It should be obvious, but great content matters, perhaps more than ever before.

#2. STYLE

Great newsletters all have one thing in common. They display style and personality.

Wait a minute…can a newsletter really have a personality?

You bet. In fact, it must have a personality, or it's simply doomed to fail!

Your readers *really* need to appreciate what your publication is all about. Which perspective are you approaching your subject from? Are you light-hearted or serious? Do you display the traits that can foster trust from your readership?

Don't leave your readers in any doubt about your market position.

Display style and personality in every issue and be sure to allow your readers to share in your spirit.

#3. FREQUENCY

A big difference between newsletters that get read, and those that get trashed, is that the good ones are nearly always published to a regular schedule which is advertised in advance and understood by their readerships.

So determine a publishing schedule, let it be known, and rigidly stick to it.

If you want others to take your newsletter or Ezine seriously, then you need to work your way into your readerships routine.

A regular publishing timetable helps you to achieve this goal and so “frequency” is an important feature in achieving success for your newsletter.

But remember, frequency doesn't mean that you have to commit to publishing every day or every week. It just means that you need to set a schedule that is fully predictable for your readers.

That could just as easily be quarterly.

#4. CREDIBILITY

Stop and think about any newsletter that you personally happen to read on a regular basis. Now ask yourself: “What is it that really makes me read this newsletter?”

The answer is invariably that you believe what's written in it.

That's right. Newsletters that you like, all have a high “credibility factor”.

So be cautious about just allowing anyone to be a guest article author. Check 'em out first, be comfortable that the knowledge that they are imparting is really first-class.

One bad article published in YOUR newsletter or Ezine could destroy YOUR credibility with a reader forever. So thoroughly vet everything you publish.

#5. INTEGRITY

Perhaps the most important factor in establishing your newsletter as a trusted source, is your ability to create real integrity for your publication.

What does this mean?

Well you've probably read newsletters, particularly those on the web, which forever seem to be pushing some new resource right in your face. And you know straightaway that there's obviously something in this for the editor.

Actually, they're probably pushing an affiliate program or some kind of joint-venture.

Nothing wrong with that of course. But try to avoid turning your entire newsletter or Ezine into one long relentless advertising pitch.

I've read a lot of newsletters that start out well for a couple of issues, but then descend into one long sales spiel by the third edition.

So follow the FIVE GOLDEN RULES of newsletter success and you'll soon turn your own publication into a newsletter that gets READ, not one of the many that gets instantly TRASHED upon arrival.

Good luck with your newsletter or Ezine.

Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Ros

Email Marketing Formula: Use it or Lose Money

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1plus1Once upon a time, I made a HUGE mistake with one of my subscriber lists.

You'd think after half a decade (at that time) as an Internet marketer that I would have known the email marketing formula like the back of my hand.

Tried-and-True Email Marketing Formula

Here's the tried-and-true formula for email marketing success:

An Autoresponder Series
+
a Weekly, Bi-Weekly or Monthly Newsletter
=
Repeat Visits to Site and MORE Sales

It's a Win-Win situation all round. Subscribers receive valuable offers of interest to them and the list owner generates income from purchases through their own, or affiliate links.

The formula is perfect. It works like a charm each and every time – but only when you use it, and use it regularly.

That last point is key and I'll tell you why.

I started my ‘Singles eScene' [SeS] newsletter for my dating service review site in 1998. At the time of my serious email marketing mistake, the [SeS] had 103,000 subscribers.

One day, I sent my subscribers an offer to attend a free John Gray teleminar. John Gray, Ph.D., is the author of 15 best-selling books, including ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus‘ and is a relationships expert.

Relationships – something singles are interested in, right?

Then why did more than 14,000 people unsubscribe from the [SeS] within a few days of receiving that message?

There's only one good explanation.

Too Much Time Between Mailings

I had let more than 7 months elapse between mailings! Most of those subscribers were probably wondering, ‘What the heck is the Singles eScene?' and/or ‘I didn't signup for this!'

So, they got busy clicking those unsubscribe links.

OK, there is a bit of a bright side to ‘culling‘ your list. My autoresponder service, Aweber, charges 9.95 per month for each additional 10,000 subscribers. So, by losing 14,000 subscribers, I saved $120 over the coming year.

But the truth of the matter is that my laziness cost probably me much more than $120.

I know that on average, two of every 100 [SeS] subscribers buys an annual dating service membership for $70.00, and four more purchase recurring monthly $24.95 memberships that they keep for an average of 6 months. With a 50% commission rate… I just tossed $4440 down the drain over the next twelve months.

The lesson therefore is simple.

People buy from people they know, like and trust.

So, build your list with your autoresponder series AND regular newsletter broadcasts… and let them get to know, like and trust you!

Are You Losing Visitors to Your Newsletter Signup Process?

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Hey All!

Did you know that you may be losing site visitors – and therefore potential customers – when people sign up for your newsletter?

A very kind NPT reader let me know (and then I learned about the same problem later at the Underground) and now I'm sharing the info with you.

Dear Rosalind,

I am in a position to help you with a problem you have on your web page.

Currently, a reader scrolls halfway down the page, sees the email subscription, and submits it, but when they submit it, the entire page reloads, which can be very disorienting, especially for people with slow connections who have to wait to get back to where they were.

I can, however, provide you with the HTML and Javascript code that will enable readers to submit the form, see that they've submitted the form while it's being processed, and see the results, right there in that box, so that they can just keep on reading without reloading the page.

Nick Chase
Backstop Media
http://www.backstopmedia.com

Although I had coded the page so that visitors ended up in the very place where they had left off, I really appreciated Nick's suggestion and assistance.

Here is the code that Nick supplied to avoid the page reload, and how you can do it too.

1) Visit Google Maps API and get a ‘key'.

2) Substitute YOURGOOGLEKEY in the script below and place the script within the metatags on your page.

<script
src=”http://maps.google.com/maps?file=api&v=1&key=YOURGOOGLEKEY”
type=”text/javascript”></script>

3) Place the following code below your Aweber Autoresponder signup form code on the page.

<script type=”text/javascript”>

function addLead(theForm){

  //First, let the user know something's happening so they don't submit again.
  document.getElementById(“addLeadText”).innerHTML = “Adding you
to the mailing list…”;

  //Now create the actual request.
  var request = GXmlHttp.create();

  //You'll likely want to change “test.php” to “http://aweber.com/scripts/addlead.pl
  request.open(‘post', ‘http://aweber.com/scripts/addlead.pl',
true);

  //This part watches for the response to come back, then drops the text into the page
  request.onreadystatechange = function() {
    if (request.readyState == 4) {
     
document.getElementById(“addLeadText”).innerHTML = request.responseText;
    }
  };

  //Now we build the data from the form into the request itself.
  var postString = “”;
  for (i = 0; i < theForm.elements.length; i++){
     postString = postString +
theForm.elements[i].name + “=” + URLencode(theForm.elements[i].value) +
“&”;
  }
 
  //Then we tell the request how to let the server know what we're doing.
  request.setRequestHeader(“Content-Length”, postString.length);
  request.setRequestHeader(“Content-Type”,
“application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8”);

  //Finally, we send the request.
  request.send(postString);
}

   function URLencode(sStr) {
     return escape(sStr).replace(/\+/g,
‘%2B').replace(/\”/g,'%22′).replace(/\'/g, ‘%27′).replace(/\//g,'%2F');
  }

</script>

Voila! No more reloading.

How to Avoid Disappointment and Unsubscriptions

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I was so busy last week revamping RosalindGardner.com that NPT-Tuesday came and went with barely a thought about publishing the NPT newsletter.

All day Wednesday I toyed with the idea of writing a quick issue, but by Thursday my guilt had pretty much passed.

However, it returned with a vengeance on Friday when Joel and I were swamped by triple the usual amount of readers' questions.

Some sweeties even wrote to ask if anything was wrong 'cause they hadn't heard from me.

I learned this… about that… again.

Write a regular newsletter with good information and your subscribers will look forward to reading it each week, or month, or however often you choose to publish.

When you decide to take a break, drop a quick note to send your love and tell your subscribers when to expect the next issue.

By doing so, you'll avoid causing disappointment, concern and/or unsubscriptions.

And YES! that applies to affiliate marketers too!

Not having a newsletter is perhaps the BIGGEST mistake made by new affiliate marketers.

The only way to really connect with visitors to your site, and establish yourself as an expert in your field, is to communicate with them on a regular basis.

If you don't ‘feel' like an expert yet, trust me, when you research and write on a topic every week, it doesn't take long before you ARE an expert, or even ‘the expert'.

Although thinking up new topics to write about every week or month may seem like lot of work, you'll soon look forward to the exchange you have with people who share your interests. Their questions will inspire you to keep learning and sharing what you know.

Most importantly, ‘sharing' good information must be your primary objective.

Successful businesses are built on giving people what they need and want, not starry-eyed visions of fancy cars, huge mansions and big bank accounts. Those things come from giving first.

Speaking of readers' questions… one of the questions asked most frequently is whether it's too late to start a business as an affiliate marketer. That question is usually accompanied by the suggestion that all the good niches are already taken.

Let me say this about that.

If you assess strong market demand in your chosen niche, approach the topic in a way that is completely unique, and learn how to market to your target audience, no niche is ever ‘full'.

Too many folks worry about ‘the competition'.

Worry, doubt and fear is what kills a prospective business… not competition.

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