Tag: low

Categories
Online Business

How To Fix Low Ezine Newsletter Deliverability

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If you publish your ezine through one of the emailing list services then you will also be provided with tracking stats for each issue. Are you happy with the open rate, or does it seem exceptionally low for each issue? Not only is it important that you publish your newsletter regularly, but equally important is that your subscribers receive it.

Is your list a double opt-in list?
Do you send both a Text and HTML version of your newsletter?
If you have answered NO to one or both of these questions you could be sabotaging your own newsletter efforts!

Why do I need a double opt-in list?

Double opt-in is the process whereby when someone signs up to receive your newsletter via your website they receive an email from your email list provider, which asks them to confirm their subscription by clicking on a link in the email. Once they have clicked on this link they are then confirmed as a subscriber to your list.

This process is known as double opt-in as:
:: they opt-in once via your newsletter sign up form on your website; and
:: they opt-in again by clicking the link on the email that they receive from your email list provider.

It is very important that you have this process in place as it avoids a subscriber being signed up to your newsletter by a third party, and therefore reduces the number of spam reports that you are likely to get. Your subscriber has had to confirm for a second time that they want to be on your mailing list.

The downside to this is that your subscriber may not confirm their subscription, in which case you would lose the subscriber. But if they really do want to receive information from you they will be on the lookout for your confirmation email. And isn’t it better to have 100 subscribers who really do want to receive your information rather than 1,000 subscribers who aren’t that interested?

Just recently I had a conversation with support at my email list provider and asked them about their double opt-in process. They told me that those lists that are set up as double opt-in lists are sent via a secure server that has been approved by the ISPs thereby resulting in a higher deliverability of your ezine. Lists that are not set as double opt-in get sent out on a different server and could result in your ezine being blocked by the ISP.

So even if your subscriber has you on their white list (or friends list) if your list is not a double opt-in list they may not even receive your ezine as it could be blocked by their ISP.

Check with your emailing list service as to their policies on double opt-in.

Why do I need to send both Text and HTML versions of my newsletter?

Again sending both versions of your newsletter ensures that it will get through to your subscriber. Some subscribers have their email programs set up to only receive text emails, and if you only offer a HTML version of your ezine they are not going to be able to read it.
Also, if you’ve sent your broadcast in both versions there’s a good chance it won’t be viewed as spam/junk email as spammers don’t usually send emails in both formats.

Conclusion:
To fix low newsletter deliverability there are two things you can do right away:
1. Ensure your list is set to double opt-in.
2. Send out both Text and HTML versions of your ezine.

Categories
Online Business

3 Simple and Low Cost Marketing Ideas to Create Visibility

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Marketing your business is one of the biggest challenges for any solopreneur – it’s a task we all find quite daunting, and are simply overwhelmed by all the information that’s available. Below I have put together some information on 3 simple and low cost marketing ideas, which you can easily implement right away to create more visibility for your online business and web site. They all work well for me!

To help you decide which is the best strategy (or strategies) for you, I have listed the pros and cons of each one.

Create a Blog

Pros
:: You can really show off your expertise by posting on a regular basis.
:: Blog posts don’t need to be very long – approx. 200-350 words.
:: If you have some important information to share, you can instantly create a post – no waiting for your next newsletter to make your announcement!
:: If you use a blogging platform such as WordPress, this is hosted on your website. Each time you post to your blog you are creating fresh content for your website, which the search engines love!

Cons
:: You need to post regularly – at least once a week – in order for this to be an effective marketing strategy.
:: You need to feel confident that you will be able to write fresh content regularly.
:: It can be difficult to build a direct relationship with your reader.

Publish an Ezine

Pros
:: Unlike a blog, readers sign up to receive your newsletter so you already have a connection with them.
:: You can build a relationship with your newsletter reader and encourage one-on-one communication.
:: You can go into more depth in your newsletter article than you can with your blog posts.
:: Your clients/target audience can get to know you through your newsletter.

Cons
:: You have to make a commitment to publish on a regular basis, otherwise your subscribers will see you as unreliable, and may even forget about you!
:: There is more work involved in putting together a newsletter than writing a simple blog post.
:: You will need to subscribe to one of the ezine distribution services – I strongly recommend you do this and not send your ezine via your email client!

Article Marketing

Pros
:: If you are already blogging or publishing a newsletter, you have your articles written.
:: It is highly likely that once you submit your article to one of the article submission sites, it will be picked up and published on other article submission sites.
:: Regularly submitting your articles will elevate you to ‘expert’ status within your field/niche

Cons
:: You have to write the articles if you’re not publishing a newsletter or posting to a blog.
:: It takes time to manually research suitable article submission sites and submit articles.
:: In order for this strategy to be effective, you have to submit your articles regularly – at least once a month.

Conclusion: You can just pick one strategy to focus on, or you can do all three! Whichever one you choose make sure it’s the right one for you. The key is to be consistent in your approach. If you decide to go with a blog make sure you have the time and motivation to add new posts regularly – at least once a week. Don’t start a newsletter if you know you won’t be able to keep to a regular publishing schedule! And for article marketing to be effective you need to submit articles on a regular basis.