I’m curious, I’ve been talking a lot to you, and not too many posts have been open ended. Recently I have been reading the e-mails that people have sent to me and it’s interesting to see why people are building a list.
So, I’d like to know what your goal is for building your newsletter list. Why are you wanting to grow it/start it. What do you want to achieve?
Here are some questions that have been asked, I know need to be answered and some that should be thought about.
1. Will SubscriptionRocket use a Pop Under Window as it did in version 1.0?
No… The previous version (1.0) used that method.
Version 2.0 will use a Pop Up Window, in the upper right hand corner of the web page.
Won’t a Pop Up Window be annoying?
It will only be shown to the visitor once per hour and only a maximum of two times per day. *Subject to change with testing.
For those that are anti-Pop Up Window, all I can say is that it is more effective than the “inline” method. (The inline method is where you can have the “window of newsletters” show up inside a page (like a piece of content.) Too many people place an “inline” version in crappy places and no one really sees it, etc. So, when it comes to effective or “make some people happy”, I vote for effective 110%.
** Things to keep in mind: You can place the subscription code on as many web pages as YOU want. There is no rule saying it has to be on every page, but the system knows what you are doing. (There will be some that try to put the code on “no traffic” pages and get rewarded by the system, but it won’t work.) If you are the type that feels a targeted Pop Up Window is annoying, then selectively choose what pages to place your code on. Again, each person will be rewarded accordingly.
2. Will subscribers be single or double opt-in?
Subscribers will be sent to your autoresponder e-mail address. If your autoresponder e-mail address is single opt-in, then your subscriber is single opt-in. If your autoresponder is double opt-in, then your subscriber will follow the double opt-in process.
3. Should I use single or double opt-in method?
In order to protect yourself and your autoresponder account, you really should use double opt-in. The reality is that using double opt-in will reduce the number of subscribers you will get, but it gives you some protection from being accused of spam.
4. What’s your opinon on a 3rd party autoresponder like getresponse versus something hosted on my own domain/server?
It’s really your call, depending on your situation, but keep these ideas in mind:
In these days it’s easy for someone to hit a button and say that your e-mail was spam and it’s about that easy to get listed as spam.
Your e-mails can get blocked because the words you use in your e-mails.
Third party service providers (aweber, getresponse, etc.):
The reality is that even the 3rd party services get blocked. Look, you’re gonna be blocked by people/places no matter who/what you third party you use, it’s just to what degree will you be blocked. This is why I talked about above, using double opt-in method even if you have the choice to use single opt-in.
Your own software (such as Autoresponse Plus):
Again, use the double opt-in method when using your own software option.
Using a shared hosting account and using single opt-in, is about as close to playing with dynamite as you can get.
I had a recent question from a friend that aksed, “How do I know what the value of my list is, money-wise?”
I told him that this is a rule of thumb that is used:
Say you have 250 people on your list (subscribers)…
You mail to your list a targetted offer.
You make $250 in profit/affiliate commissions…
Your subscribers are then valued at $1.00 each. Again this is just an example.
Now that doesn’t mean that it will stay at $1.00 per person, but just gives you an average and an idea. (In theory you could go out and spend 99 cents to generate a new subscriber and still make money, or $1.00 and break even.)
I then told him what I think is the most important thing when thinking about your list:
Remember though, it’s about the relationship you have with your list. You could make more with less people and make less with even more subscribers.*
Always, to the best of your ability, offer quality content to your subscribers. Stay on topic/target as to what they signed up for and last but not least, don’t be scared of unsubscribes, it’s a part of life, don’t take them personal.
* This is a separate topic that is important and I’ll talk about some other time.
I want to talk about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SubscriptionRocket.com.
There is so much stuff out there on the latest SEO tools, techniques, etc.
SEO is overwhelming and tedious and I’m not against it, I’m in favor of it, but I wanted to focus your mind in another direction for a few moments as you read this e-mail.
There is so much going on all the time with SEO and no one ever talks too much about leveraging the traffic you have, no matter what you have.
I have seen this over the years. Business owners, wanting more people to sell to, more customers. It’s like if 30 people come into their store/business/web site in a month, they want 31 the following month (if not more).
These business owners seem to like starting over each month. It’s also funny how I’ve mentioned this to lots of them over the years and they are like, “no I don’t”, but their actions speak otherwise.
Getting a “new” customer or “new” traffic is expensive as compared to working with the traffic you already have. (I’ll start referring to web traffic from this point on.)
This is why a newsletter or just keeping in touch with past customers, newsletter subscribers is so crucial. They are less expensive to work with and to convert to new sales, additional sales, upgraded sales, etc.
Joe Simmons learned that his newsletter does equal increased sales, “Not only has my subscription rate gone up, but from the extra traffic to my web site, via my newsletter, I have seen increased sales …”
(Read the full text here: http://www.subscriptionrocket.com)
Build a relationship with your newsletter subscribers/customers and help them feel comfortable with your product/service/company.
Provide your subscribers with valuable information and give them a reason to feel good about you, give them reasons to trust you.
Long term subscriber relationships = more money in your pocket, plain and simple.
So, next time you are wondering about what your next SEO move should be, make sure you are not neglecting those that have already raised their hand and shown interest in you.