How To Use Online Newsletters To Generate More Customers and More Profit

One of the easiest wins you can have with a website is to include an email opt-in box so that people can elect to receive more information from you.

To me, not having an opt-in email box is a wasted opportunity – you’ve worked really hard to get those visitors to your site, they’ve stuck around to have a look and yet there’s no opportunity for them to register their details with you, so they keep in touch with you. What a waste!

Here are some tips on how you can use the email opt-in box to generate more customers and profits in your business:

Make a great offer.

If you’re going to offer an opt-in option, make sure it’s a good one. A newsletter is a great start, so give some thought to what you’ll call it, as this is what will entice them to opt-in. For example, how compelling is a newsletter called “Spring Issue, Volume 2” compared to “5 Ways To Make Money From Selling Chicken Coops”. Granted, it’s a niche market we’re dealing with here, but if you’re in the business of selling chicken coops (and I can tell you with a very straight face that building and selling chicken coops is BIG business, and if you don’t believe me, check it out on clickbank.com), then that newsletter will have your prospects signing up in droves.

Be consistent.

If you’re going to promote a newsletter, commit to sending it out at least once a month, if not twice. To make sure this happens, write at least 6 before you start promoting it so that you have a few in reserve and then start publishing them. Not only will it take the pressure off you to write them when time is tight, and deadlines are looming, but you’ll also find it’s easier to write 10 stories x 400 words in one sitting rather than rustling up the motivation to write one story x 400 words on 10 different occasions. Trust me on this one.

Don’t sell.

Ramming a sales message down your reader’s throat seems like a good idea at the time, especially if times are tight and you REALLY NEED A SALE, but the reality is, people won’t buy just because you need them to. The best ratio to work on is 80/20 (yes, Pareto gets a look in again), meaning offer 80% of great content in the newsletter and 20% of a sales message. If you do this often enough and with goodwill in terms of genuinely wanting to offer great information, then on the odd occasion when you really do need a sale, or you want to push something a little harder, then your audience will be receptive, understanding and more prone to accepting your sales call.