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How To Start An Email Newsletter
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By Jason Oconnor
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How To Start An Email Newsletter Copyright 2005 Jason OConnor
Here are the goals:
You regularly send out relevant and anticipated emailnewsletters to your ever-growing list. You have a form on yourwebsite that asks people to sign up for your email newsletter.When someone signs up, they give you their name and emailaddress and they receive a few automatic and customized emailsthat you previously crafted while they wait for their firstnewsletter edition. You have a database that stores eachperson's email address and you have a way to send out regularemails to them all, including beautiful HTML newsletters(e-zines). You watch the list grow over time and watch readersturn into customers.
Here are the benefits:
* You are continually building a list of loyal readers thatgrows over time
* Your readers spread the word that your organization ishelpful, knowledgeable and experienced.
* Your readers are regularly reminded of your organization'scontinued existence, growth and relevance.
* Some loyal readers will turn into loyal paying customers.
* You learn more about your customers and site visitors byasking them to communicate with you through the newsletter.
* You generate a new income stream by selling advertisementspace.
* You'll have a regular source of fresh and original content toadd to your website which will help search engine rankings.
There are two distinct, but equally important aspects ofstarting an email newsletter that need to be addressed for youto accomplish the goals and gain the benefits listed above.First, you need the infrastructure and functionality to make allthis happen, such as a database, an HTML form, a method forsending out emails in quantity and so forth. Second, you needthe content that will be in each newsletter. This article willexplain how to do both.
The Needed Infrastructure & Functionality for an Email Newsletter
Does getting the infrastructure sound difficult? Does it soundlike you have to know a lot about programming? Neither is true.This wheel doesn't need to be re-invented.
There are a number of websites that offer paid services thatprovide the entire infrastructure for you. The cost is afraction of the cost of developing the infrastructure yourself.Two good examples of this type of service are Constant Contactand Aweber. I prefer Aweber and find itsinterface intuitive and easy to use. I use Aweber for ourcompany email newsletter and suggest it to all our clients.
Using a browser I can log into my Aweber account and create textor HTML email auto-responder messages for people to receive whenthey visit our site or sign up for our e-zine. I can create asimple HTML form that asks for people's name and email as well.In fact, the html code for the form is created for me and all Ihave to do is cut and paste it into my site. No programmingneeded.
Each person's information is stored in a database on Aweber'sservers. I can manage my leads list in my browser and sort bydifferent ways. It also allows me to see how many of myauto-responders have been sent already. And every email that wesend out has a personalized first name greeting.
There is a place in Aweber where I can manage my messages,whether they are regular emails to part of the list or anewsletter that's sent to the entire list. And there is a placewhere I can enter my messages, edit them, check to see if theywill trip any sp@m filters, I can test the messages by sendingthem to my own email address first, and finally I can send themall out at once with one simple click.
The Needed Quality Content for an Email Newsletter
It's not good enough to just have the infrastructure andfunctionality. You need content that makes people want to acceptand read your newsletters over and over again.
Your newsletter ought to be related to your website andorganization. Every person and organization has valuable andunique knowledge and experience to offer others. And you'd besurprised at how many people want your unique knowledge. Sharingthis knowledge and experience with your existing and potentialcustomers is what the Web is all about. People use the Web forgetting information. So make your newsletters about variousaspects of your business or organization, and make themeducational, so that your readers come away with more usefulinformation than they had before.
So if you're a Web design firm, write about Web design in yournewsletters. If you're a small local bookstore, write about howto become an author, or how to start a local bookstore. Ifyou're a financial advisor, write about how people can makesound investments. If you're a furniture builder and seller,write about how to fix up old pieces of furniture on your own.
Newsletters that are just extended advertisements don't cut it.If your newsletter only has announcements of new or improvedproducts or services, or specials that you're running, thenyou're missing the boat completely. There is so much more youcan offer.
Creating newsletters that contain useful, relevant andanticipated information for your readers is what to aspire to.You want to give away ideas and concepts for free that can beused to help improve some aspect of your reader's lives. Youobviously don't want to give away the whole farm since a lot ofyour expertise is what you charge for in the first place. Butgiving some information away for free is a win-win.
Most often, your readers don't care about you or your company oryour specific products or deals, they only care about what youcan do for them. If they take the time to open your emailnewsletter and read it, it better provide them with some realvalue or they won't bother again and your list will not grow,but eventually wither away into oblivion.
In return for providing useful, original content, you develop aconstantly growing list of loyal readers who will spread theword that you are an authority in your field. Your readers mayeventually buy from you if they haven't already. And you can useyour list to occasionally sell your products or services, but dothis very sparingly. You can use the newsletter for sellingadvertisement space, but again, use sparingly. Finally, you canuse your list to learn more about your customers and sitevisitors. You can ask the people on your list to fill out anonline survey, but be sure to offer them an incentive for theirtime.
If you don't know any programming or HTML but want to send out aregular newsletter, you can use Aweber to create text-onlymessages. If you want to send out professional HTML emailnewsletters, then either learn HTML and design (which isobviously time-consuming, but certainly possible), or hire a Webfirm to do it for you. I would also suggest hiring a firm tohelp you with writing the content as well if you're notcomfortable with writing.
But as you can see, you don't need much to get an emailnewsletter going. If you can regularly create quality content,just sign up for an online service like Aweber and away you go.An internal customer email list is a very valuable asset for anyorganization. Handle it with loving care. Never sell or rentyour list to anyone, try to offer value in your writing, anddon't overuse it as an advertisement medium.
Good luck and happy e-zining!
Learn more aboutAweber. Jason OConnor owns Oak Web Works, LLC, afull-service Web firm. He also runs A great website toget sports & rock concert tickets.
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