How To Start An Online Newsletter In 7 Easy Steps

Starting an online newsletter is one of the best things you can do for your business because it builds relationships with your customers. Many online marketers only rely on front end sales to generate profits however they could make a lot more money if they followed up on their customers by sending out a regular newsletter. This is because a person will purchase a product from someone they trust rather than someone they have no relationship with.

How To Start An Online Newsletter In 7 Easy Steps

1. Email software

One of the best investments you can make for storing contact information, delivering your newsletter and managing your contact database is to sign up for a professional autoresponder service. Here are some of the benefits:

* provide HTML code to place a sign up form on your website
* automatically store contact information in an online database
* easy contact management
* send unlimited follow-up e-mails
* store unlimited number of subscribers
* track the number of people who read your newsletter
* track number of people who click on links
* send newsletter in text or HTML formats
* provide HTML templates

Even though you’ll be charged a monthly fee based on the number of subscribers you have on your list, it’s a rewarding business investment that will last for a lifetime.

2. Opt-in form

This is an HTML form that visitors must opt-in to get on your newsletter list. Most online businesses already have a website but may not have an opt-in form to capture names and e-mail addresses from website visitors. Copy the HTML code provided by your autoresponder service and paste it into your web page. The best location is the top right of the page so people see it immediately when they arrive at your site. Alternatively set up a squeeze page which is a single web page containing your opt in form, a free offer and several bullet points explaining the benefits of your offer. When a visitor submits the opt in form the information is automatically stored in your online database.

3. Free offer

People are not going to automatically sign up for your newsletter unless you motivate them by offering a free report, video or software. Make sure your content addresses their most pressing problems. Test different offers to see which one works best.

4. Follow-up

This enables you to build relationships with potential customers that will last a lifetime. Make a commitment to regularly send out your newsletter each week or bi-weekly. Using your autoresponder you can schedule your newsletter delivery ahead of time. For example you could write a month’s worth of content and automatically schedule your newsletter to be sent out every week for four weeks.

5. Content

Try to place yourself in your customers’ shoes so you’ll write content that solves their problems and helps build their businesses. If you’re in the habit of writing articles bundle several of these together to create your newsletter content. Include tips, latest news and product recommendations. Write in a personal style as if you were sitting next to one of your subscribers. Make sure you include an unsubscribe link at the bottom of each newsletter so readers will always have the choice to opt out.

6. Text or HTML

Most autoresponder services give you the option to send your newsletter as text, HTML or both. They provide HTML templates which allow you to include graphics, pretty titles and sub headings similar to an HTML web page. Although it may look more appealing many computer users prefer text to HTML newsletters. Create both text and HTML newsletters if you want to please all subscribers. Some autoresponders automatically create a text version when creating the HTML version.

7. Tracking

If you don’t track how many people are actually reading your newsletter or clicking on your links you won’t know if you are being successful. Use the tracking service provided by your autoresponder software to monitor your open rates and click throughs.

Make a plan to start an online newsletter today by signing up for a professional autoresponder service then make a commitment to send it out every week or bi-weekly by providing great content.

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From Herman Drost – Web Design, Hosting, SEO

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