Insight Marketing tips to grow your newsletter list

Before you pay anyone for a “list” of potential newsletter subscribers, you should absolutely attempt to capture these names directly. Why not? It’s free, and you know that purchased list will cost you a bundle in cash, time, and credibility once the spambots are linked back to you.

If you build it, they will come.

This doesn’t apply to fields of dreams, but also to great subscription lists filled with names and emails that are specifically applicable to your business.

The most effective way obtain a good list is to build it yourself. And it all starts with good content. If you build it, they will come. Here’s how:

Quick, Easy Tips to Grow Subscriber Lists

1. Practical, useful, original content. You will never collect email addresses just because you provide a newsletter “free of charge.” You must first provide content worthy of their time, giving readers a reason to click, stay, and subscribe. Provide unique and valuable information first and foremost.

2. Make it easy. Add a subscription form to every page of your website, and make it easy to find. Place in the same spot on every page, clearly identified. Request minimal information: the more details you ask for, the less likely you are to capture the email address.

3. Provide a sample newsletter. Future subscribers should be able to review your newsletter before they sign up. The free sample to a free newsletter is necessary to secure capturing the email address.

4. Archive past newsletters. Archive past newsletters to build credibility as an authority in your field, while providing readers access to past information. In addition, articles with good SEO techniques can provide additional web traffic.

5. Network with publishers. Publishers of newsletters and/or print articles can provide valuable links, content, and subscribers to your own publication. This is an absolute win-win, with both of you will build your lists faster.

6. Give away opt-in bonuses. Create an opt-in bonus in return for subscribing. An ebook or PDF report, webinar, podcast, or downloadable or web-based software are great options to entice new subscribers, and builds credibility as well. Do not limit opt-ins to new subscribers; if you systematically pass on various freebies, subscribers are unlikely to leave.

7. Ask readers to share. Word of mouth is viral. If a subscriber finds your content to be informative, they will pass your newsletter to friends. This can be a good source of new subscribers.

8. Blog consistently. Blogging creates great dialogue with potential customers, and creates nice synergy with email marketing. Be sure to include a newsletter sign-up form on each blog page.

9. Comment. Post valuable comments on related blogs. In most cases, comments are posted with a link back to your site. This is an easy way to generate new traffic and subscribers.

10. Allow reprints. Websites and publishers actively look for high-quality content. Share yours, as long as it’s not modified in any way. With each reprint, your audience and exposure grows leading to new subscribers, traffic and links.

11. Include “Sign Up” button. Use a button or link within your newsletter providing a text link to your subscription page. Readers will forward newsletters to others, or share online, and the “sign-up” button or link will give others an immediate manner to opt-in.

12. Add a squeeze page. A squeeze page is a mini-sales letter for your newsletter or opt-in bonus, directly building your list. Use a powerful headline and valuable benefits to tease subscribers to sign up. Once created, a service such as WordTracker can find hundreds of targeted keywords, and then you can utilize pay-per-click from Google, MSN and Yahoo.

13. Testimonials mandatory. Put strong testimonials on your squeeze page in any format, video is most believable. To increase credibility, include full names, locations and/or live urls.

14. Establish a Privacy Policy. Let readers know without doubt you will never share their contact information. Establish a Privacy Policy web page, and provide a link to that page below every opt-in form.

Choose your business, product or service name wisely!

Talk about pressure: choosing the name for your company, key product, or service, may in fact be the most important marketing decision you make. Don’t take this task lightly!

Many businesses, unfortunately, put little thought into this all-important decision, settling for names that do little to enhance image or reputation. And it’s not simply small start-ups that fail at this responsibility; in fact, many large, sophisticated corporations are equally guilty of settling on generic, nondescript names.

3 Simple Rules for naming your business, product or brand

Here are 3 simple rules that will help you develop an effective name for your business, product or brand. These are guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules. And if you find a name that you really love, by all means, trust your instincts and go with it. There are always successful exceptions to every rule.

Rule 1. Avoid generic sounding names

If it sounds cliché, it is cliché, so don’t use it. Very often, businesses choose names that are generic, non-descript and overused. Avoid using words like the following:

• General
• Consolidated
• International
• Associates
• Universal
• World-Wide

Companies think that using these terms they will position their company as large, long established and stable, but these traits are too common and do little to differentiate itself from the competition. Which company has a stronger brand image: General Tire or Michelin?

Rule 2. Avoid initials or acronyms

Another common error is relying on initials and acronyms. This is epidemic among business today, and I can’t understand why business partners would use their initials to form the company name – other than driven more by personal ego and than sound business tactics. Not a smart move.

If you call your company the SMC Corporation, what are you communicating to your customers? Nothing! When you use initials, you lose the opportunity to quickly communicate key business elements to your customer when they first encounter your company. Don’t make it harder on your customers to know who you are!

Rule 3. Avoid names with too many words

During the 1980s, American Express wanted to expand into the brokerage services business – it purchased Shearson Loeb Rhoades and Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb, calling the new firm Shearson Lehman American Express. Phew! Quite a mouthful, and an example of how large, sophisticated companies make naming errors. The resulting merger so thoroughly confused customers that the brokerage business was ultimately sold to Primerica, and the firm again became known as good old American Express.

If you already have a long name, think about abbreviating or shortening it. International Business Machines, which violates Rule #1 and Rule #3, became simply known as IBM (which happens to violate Rule #2). This goes to show that there are always successful exceptions to these rules when the company is exceptional at its core business and creates a powerful brand.

There are many aspects to consider before launching your business into the social media world of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. If you take the time to establish to really understand your social media goals and develop a strategic plan to achieve these goals, your plunge into the waters of social media will be much more successful.  Marketing strategist Lee Odden first addressed this in a great post on TopRankBlog, and it’s a post worth reading.

Here are the highlights:

Common questions asked by small businesses considering a Social Media Strategy:

“Should we develop a strategy first before engaging?”

“Should we experiment or develop a strategy as we go?”

“Is it okay to ask customers if they’d like to buy directly on social networks?”

To set up the framework for a successful social media marketing program, consider these suggestions prior to jumping in:

• Identify your business goals and how these are to be measured.

• Develop an approach and methodology to use in your Social Media program. This is essential for planning, implementation, accountability and measurement of success.

Setting Social Media Goals, Then Listening in on Conversations

The goals set for your specific business will lead you to the appropriate social media venue for success. For example, if you want to create conversations with your customers, this would require a different network than developing sales leads. Having a clear understanding of your customer needs and business goals will lead to the perfect social media platform (ie: Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube, or Twitter), or perhaps a combination of these social media tactics.

Listen before leaping.

Once you develop social media goals, research each network and listen to the conversations happening there. You will quickly find out where your business belongs, and where you don’t. This small amount of research will provide valuable insights each social media platform, and where your customers are most engaged.

While I strongly recommend formulating a specific, permanent strategy, doing so shouldn’t deter you from diving into social media, especially if you are employed at a large corporation or organization. Trying to get an overarching social media strategy through layers of bureaucracy, can delay and even kill its implementation.

Social Media by its very nature is a fluid, ephemeral media in which you can experiment with different tactics to see which resonates with your audience. Once colleagues begin to see the fruits of your labor, you’re more apt to gain consensus and supporting data to support your strategy, creating momentum within your organization and getting the naysayers to quickly jump on board.