Listbuilding with Newsletters

If you’re looking for listbuilding strategies that will not only get you traffic but repeat traffic, start with newsletters. Newsletters are a great way to establish your expertise, build a connection with your target market, and attract visitors over and over again. If you’d like to create a newsletter, here are the steps you’ll need to take to get started.

Decide on the format of your newsletter.
Do you plan to print and mail your newsletter or send it via e-mail? The easiest and least expensive way to get started is to distribute it as an e-zine. At the beginning, offer your newsletter for free. As you develop more expertise in your target market, you may want to charge customers for the newsletter. Keep in mind that competition is fierce, so if you plan to charge money for your newsletter, be sure that you offer very high quality content.

Decide on your delivery rate.
Do you plan to publish bi-weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? The delivery rate is solely dependent on your audience’s needs. For example, if your newsletter is designed to teach new affiliate marketers how to build their businesses, you may want to create a shorter, bi-weekly newsletter. If you’re targeting corporations who need innovative ideas for their marketing campaigns, a longer newsletter delivered on a quarterly basis will be sufficient.

Initiate a campaign to get newsletter subscribers.
You can use an opt-in form on your website, mention it in your blog, or start a postcard campaign to generate interest in your newsletter. There’s no reason why you have to restrict all of your advertising to online lead capture. You may also want to add a link to your opt-in form in your signature line in all outgoing e-mail and in your forum posts.

Offer incentives for your subscribers.
Offer a free gift for people who subscribe. If you’re charging a fee, you can add a few free issues for individuals who subscribe during a designated period of time. You may also offer a discount on your products and/or services or enter them in a contest to win a prize. Be creative.

Publish a professional-looking product.
Once you get started, be sure to offer a newsletter that publishes high quality, polished content. You can use a plain template or a fancier template, but be sure that the look is clean and professional looking.  If writing is not your strong suit, hire a proofreader/editor to polish the newsletter before you send it.

Make it easy to unsubscribe.
This is true whether your newsletter is free or packaged as a paid subscription. Never give customers the runaround when they want to opt out. Your business reputation depends on solid, customer service, whether you’re making a sale or releasing subscribers from an obligation they’re no longer interested in.

Using newsletters for listbuilding takes a strong commitment to stay the course, but they can also help you build lists of targeted prospects that become lifelong customers. One of the biggest benefits of using newsletters is that your customers may forward them to others and generate more interest in your website, product, or service.

Keep in mind that your newsletters are not simply a tool for disseminating information; they are an avenue by which prospects become repeat visitors for the long term.