| 8 Ways to Get More Email Addresses On Your List ... Today |
Whether you've got 100 or 100,000 people on your email list, chances
are you can optimize your web page to better feature and promote your
ezine. Here's a few ways to capture more customers and leads - without
having to increase your traffic.
Give Something (Or a Few Things Away)
Studies show that most people will only subscribe to about a dozen
email lists at a time, and given the number of lists out there, you've
got to seriously compete for your customer's email address. Giving
away free bonuses is a great way to push you over the edge.
A few things you can give away are:
Free ebooks. This is a strategy many marketers use - and it's a little
worn out. Not just any free ebook will do anymore. Still use it, but
make sure your ebook is something your customers crave. Ebooks like
"10 Easy Ways to Make Your Skin Look Younger" and "7 Ways Moms Can
Make Money On Ebay Today" will get you a ton of email sign-ups.
Free courses. This is a lot like the free ebook strategy, except you
break up your course into a sequence using an autoresponder. This
works well if you want to be in constant contact with your prospect
for a few days or weeks.
Exclusive coupons. If you're in the retail or service business, offer
up a few exclusive coupons for list members. Make them little bonuses
(like a free handbag with a clothing purchase of over $100 - or free
facial with any cut and color). 10% off isn't likely to make your
customer jump - but a free goodie will.
A birthday offer. This works especially well for restaurants, women's
retail, and travel. Invite visitor's to join your birthday club - and
in return give them a free meal, little gift, or night at your B&B on
their birthday.
Write a Killer Headline
Having no headline for your ezine ad is a mistake many new marketers
make - but bad headlines can be almost as damaging. "Join Our Email
List" or "Get Site Updates" just doesn't cut it anymore. Your headline
needs to have a strong call to action or benefit. Here's a few
excellent examples:
Free 7 Day Course - How to Lose Weight Without Carb Restriction
Win $10,000 and Your Dream Vacation
Free Google Adwords Tip of the Day, Plus Free Top Google Strategies Ebook
Have a Compelling Name for Your Email List or Ezine
Selling discount designer handbags? Call your list the "Chic Yet Cheap
Club." Advertising your day spa? Call your ezine "Ultra-Relax VIP Circle"
Most people are members of "enough" email lists, discussion groups,
and ezines. However, they always seem to want to join more "clubs" and
"VIP" groups.
Give a Bullet List of Benefits
No matter how good your copy is, the fact remains that surfers scan.
By outlining your benefits in a bulleted list, you'll grab wandering
eyes - and summarize your case nicely. Here's a sample bulleted list
for a local Italian restaurant.
- Free "Taste of Italy" cookbook, with 25 easy to make recipes
- Membership to our birthday club. On your special day, you're
dinner's on us.
- VIP coupons (free desserts, entrees, and wine)
- Exclusive tasting nights. We close our doors to the public - and
invite you to sample our new menu first.
Give a Bulleted List of Objection Killers
Why aren't people signing up to your list? That little nagging voice
in their head wondering if you'll spam them, if you'll email them to
much, if the emails will be boring. A short list of objection killers
can take care of this nicely. Here's an example.
- You'll hear from us (and only us) once a week. If you get sick of
us, you can easily say "no thanks"
- We keep your email completely private - you'll only hear from us.
Our privacy policy can be found here (link).
Make sure you do include a short version of your privacy policy in
your list, with a link to your full privacy policy on a separate page.
More and more surfers are looking for privacy policies every day.
Provide a Sample Email or Two
If the emails you send out are content filled and well written, by all
means show a couple of them off. A lot of ezines are boring, poorly
written, or worse, just blatant ads. If you show surfers that your
emails are worthwhile, they'll be much more likely to sign up.
Make Your Ezine Ad Standout
Many marketers take the time to set up an email list, write the
issues, and then bury or hide the sign up box.
Feature your sign up box as prominently as possible, using bright
colors (I'm partial to a yellow background).
Include a photo in your ad when relevant. Diet ezine? Show a woman
satisfied with her fit body. Parenting advice? Happy moms with their kids.
Experiment with the size and location of your sign up box. Does it
work best on the side, above the fold? Or in the middle of an article?
Usually bigger is better when it comes to ads - but test unusual
shapes (like a square or long rectangle) as well,
Don't Ask Them to "Join" or "Subscribe"
You can make your submit button say whatever you want, so why not
re-enforce your marketing message with a strong call to action? "Get
Your VIP Coupons" or "Download 7 Easy Ways To Look Younger"
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(c) 2003 shelikesmoney.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cynthia King, runs shelikesmoney.com a free marketing resource site
for female business owners and entrepreneurs. To find more free
articles like these, visit: http://www.shelikesmoney.com/
Want to use this article? You're welcome to reprint this article on
your web site, in your ezine, or in your ebook as long as it is in its
entirety (including the copyright, author bio, and web site link).
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