Thursday, May 18, 2006

Building Your List - Part 2

Last week we discussed what you need to do to grow your list.

This week we are going to discuss the biggest problem identified
by those of you who don't have a list.


Part 2 - "I don't know what to write about"

Believe it or not, not knowing what to write
about is a problem shared by both those who don't have a mailing
list and many who do.

Just imagine you've got a list and you're
suppose to send out some useful information every week. Maybe
you've even gotten the first 10 mailings planned out. Now, weeks
11, 25 and 51 come along. What are you going to write about?

If thinking about mailing useful content on a
regular basis makes you shutter because you don't know what to
say then here are 5 suggestions:

  1. There is no rule that says how often you have to
    email your list. Yes, you do need to do it on a regular basis
    and often enough that they remember who you are but you can
    decide to do it every 2 weeks or twice a month or as new
    information becomes available. You can always change the
    frequency of your mailing after you've gotten more comfortable
    with doing them and sending them less often means you don't have
    to come up with as many things to write about.

  2. There is no rule that says you have to write an
    ezine to have a mailing list. In fact, a lot of people start
    their lists by offering a report or ecourse. These reports and
    ecourses are broken down into pieces and each piece is sent
    separately. (It's done this way so those who receive your
    mailings will learn to recognize your name.) Many affiliate
    programs offer pre-written reports and ecourses for your use.
    And although the pre-written material may include restrictions
    about how it can be used and modified, most don't restrict you
    from sending additional email to your list.

  3. Because you're not required to have an ezine to
    have a mailing list, you may decide to send another type of
    information on a regular basis. Things like:

    * A store that adds new items or offers sales can offer to
    notify them when new items are added or a sale is being offered.

    * A site for product reviews can offer to send new reviews.

    * A directory site can send announcements for new listings.

    * A motivational site can send motivational quotes: a sport site
    can send scores; a fun site can send jokes and cartoons; etc.

    * If you have a site that just has your opinion about different
    things then offer to let them know when you've posted something
    new.

  4. Unless you state that the content in your
    mailings are original, there is no rule that says you have to
    write the content. Go to some of the article directories and do
    a search on any topic. If it's a topic people are interested in
    there will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of articles already
    written and available for your use. And yes, using other
    peoples' articles can still work for you. The trick to using
    other peoples' content is to include a short introduction to the
    article. (Hopefully you can write a few words about why you
    liked or disliked, agreed or disagreed with the article.)

  5. There is no rule that says you have to email
    long articles. You can send short quotes, jokes, tips, etc. And
    you can find an abundance of those things online for you to send
    out.

Now that you know that you're not required to
publish an ezine to have a mailing list and you have some ideas
on things to write and where to get information, the

Big question is:

What should my mailings be about?

And the answer is:

Whatever you want.


Look at your site. Hopefully it's focused on 1 targeted niche
and you can offer something for that group. Do they want to know
about sales? Do they want to learn how to do something? Do they
want to express their opinion? Think about what it is that your
site visitors are looking for and then offer it.

If you can't identify the targeted audience for your site
then you need to clean it up and get it more focused. You can't
provide everything to the everybody so don't even try.

Now I don't know how many mailing lists you've signed up for
but over the years I've signed up for hundreds. Why did I sign
up? Because every 1 of them offered something I thought would
benefit me.

I've received motivational quotes, tips on how to use a
Microsoft software application, product reviews, new product
announcements, traffic tips, list building tips, new recipes,
new forum topic announcements and a host of other things.

Do they all send email on a regular basis? Yes.

Do they all provide something of interest to a targeted
niche? Yes.

Do they all send ezines? No

Do they all send original content? No

And while I do unsubscribe to a lot of the lists I sign up
for, surprisingly, I have stayed subscribed to many where the
above questions and answers are still true.

When you got up this morning, maybe you didn't have a list
because you didn't know what to write about. But today is the
day to look at your business, decide what it's about, figure out
what your potential customers are looking for and then offer to
provide related information if they sign-up to your mailing
list.

To Your Success,
Susan


PS Here are 3 very important things to remember after
you've chosen what to write about:

  1. "If at 1st you don't succeed, try, try again." In other
    words, if people don't sign up when you actively promote your
    mailing offer, either re-work the offer or offer to send
    something else. If people unsubscribe faster than they
    subscribe, try changing the format, the frequency, or the type
    of information.

  2. Always protect the privacy of your subscribers and allow
    them to unsubscribe at any time.

  3. Don't abuse your list by sending too many mailings. One of
    the fastest ways to get people to unsubscribe is to send
    multiple email ads too frequently.