You’ve made the decision to start your own ezine or
newsletter. You’ve formatted your newsletter, written an article or tip
or two and sent it to your parents, siblings and friends.
Great! Now what?
The question I’m asked most from new ezine/newsletter publishers is how to get more subscribers on their list.
Here are 7 simple ways for you to grow your ezine list — with integrity and authenticity!
1. Make it easy.
It’s
amazing to me how many people have only one sign-up spot on their
website or don’t include an invitation to sign up for their newsletter
in their email signature.
You need to make it glaringly obvious
to EVERYONE that you would like to share your newsletter with them: put
a sign-up box on *every* page of your website, include an invitation in
your Resource Box and on your email signature. Include a note on the
back of your business card and any brochures or flyers you send out.
2. Coregistration.
Speak with ezine publishers who offer products or services which are complementary to yours.
When
someone signs up for your newsletter, you refer your colleague’s
newsletter and vice versa. Coregistration has the benefit of adding
subscribers to both your and your colleague’s newsletter with no real
effort.
3. Squeeze Page.
A squeeze page
consists of either a simple one page website where the sole goal is to
collect email addresses for your ezine OR it’s a "front page" over your
actual website where visitors can either choose to enter their
information, click away or, in most cases, click to "enter site".
You
can see an example of a one page site at
GetControlOfYourBusinessNow.com. This is a simple one page website
which I’m using while my new site is being redesigned.
4. Ezine Directories.
You
can submit your ezine to online directories such at Charlie Page’s
Directory of Ezines (directoryofezines.com). The Directory allows
people to search ezines by topic and decide if they wish to subscribe.
It also allows other ezine publishers to contact you about using one of
your articles in their newsletter.
5. Advertising.
Take
a good look at other websites/newsletters which cater to your target
market and advertise either on their sites or in their ezines.
By
focusing only on those sites/ezines which cater to your niche, you will
have a higher chance of getting interested prospects as subscribers.
6. Direct Mail.
Send
a postcard to members of your target audience where you do nothing
aside from inform them about your ezine and invite them to sign up.
If
you are a virtual assistant who works with real estate agents, you
could send a postcard to all the local (and not-so-local) real estate
agents and invite them to become a subscriber.
7. Speaking.
One
of the fastest ways to get sign-ups for your newsletter is to speak at
public events and offer a susbscription to your ezine. You can speak at
your local chamber of commerce, BNI Chapter, real estate company, or
any civic groups such as the Rotary Club or Lions.
You can also
offer a drawing where you give something away in exchange for names and
email addresses. Just remember to let your audience know that everyone
*wins* a subscription to your newsletter!
There are dozens of
additional strategies to get people to sign up for your newsletter. Do
some research and choose those which most resonate with you. Remember
the old adage: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step" — the same is true in obtaining a thousand subscribers!
For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing
self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by
implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot.
Visit Sandra at www.SandraMartini.com
for details, compelling client testimonials and her free audio series “5 Simple
and Easy Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”.