Make More Money From Your Ideas

"One reason I have not done a practice consulting newsletter is that I suspect I would annoy some in my client base. I am toying with the idea of doing a once a year one, so as not to be too intrusive but at the same time to keep my name in front of people. Of course, people can log onto my website and get a free download each month. I do get some responses to that."

First, why would people get annoyed? Make your sign-ups optional, so people can choose whether or not to receive it. Those who might get annoyed would simply not sign up (or would unsubscribe when they start getting annoyed).

Second, once a year is way too infrequent! It's hardly "keeping your name in front of them" if you're only doing it once a year. If that's all you're willing to do, do something better - like buying them a book or a gift voucher!

Finally, your monthly downloads are all the more reason to have a monthly newsletter, even if all it does is to tell people that they can go to the Web site and get the free download. Otherwise, you're expecting THEM to remember - and they won't.

Find out more about publishing a newsletter.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"How do I create leverage most quickly and effectively in the SPREAD of my upcoming free e-book around the world? How do I make it like an idea-virus?"

First, make sure it's interesting and applicable to a lot of people (or at least a lot of people in a particular niche). If it's good enough, you won't have to ask people to copy it - they will do so anyway.

Next, make sure you clearly state that it can be copied and distributed. If you don't say this, some people will copy it anyway, but most won't.

Next, make a direct approach to the leaders in your field, particularly those with big mailing lists. Offer it free to them, and make it easy for them to share it with their own readers and Web site visitors. This will probably generate the most buzz.

Find out more about e-book publishing.

Labels: e-books, e-mail newsletter

"My question is about momentum. How to start your list building if you have no web site or autoresponder. So how can I get started?"

Start by collecting names and e-mail addresses of your clients, customers, prospects, audiences, people you meet at networking events, and so on. Make sure you have their permission to add them to your mailing list (this is important!). Even if you don't have the newsletter software yet, you can still collect names and addresses.

This is not necessarily the fastest way to build a big list (you can do that by buying existing lists), but it costs nothing and you will probably get better quality people on the list.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"Are you aware of any problems with only sending HTML newsletters? (as compared to text based ones) There certainly used to be recipients that could not receive HTML ones, is this still the case?"

A few years ago, most people preferred plain text e-mail. Recently, as HTML e-mail programs have become more popular, almost everybody can now read HTML e-mail. However, I have found that they don't always reach the reader. For example, some spam filters and some corporate firewalls will block any HTML e-mail.

The best option is to provide your newsletter in both formats - text and HTML. Our e-mail newsletter software allows your readers to choose their preferred format, and automatically sends it to them in that format.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"How do I make my email campaigns more effective?"

This is an extremely broad question, so I will give you some useful principles to follow.

First, make sure that you have explicit permission from everybody who is on your mailing list.

Next, find out what they would like to know. Survey them regularly to discover their biggest problems and concerns.

Next, offer them real value (not just promotion) in every message you send them. It's about building a trusted relationship, not about selling, selling, selling.

Finally, when you do offer them something to buy, make sure it's a high-quality product with great value for money.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"I send a regular newsletter, but I know that not everybody is getting it. I suspect that it's being blocked by spam filters."

There's no guaranteed way to get through the spam filters. However, there is a free service that checks your e-mail for potential "spammy" words. Here's how to use it ...

To test your message, sent it in its entirety to the e-mail address spamcheck@sitesell.net. Keep it exactly the same as you would like to send to your mailing list, except add the word TEST (in upper case, like this) in front of the subject line.

Within minutes, you’ll get a free report identifying potential spam problems. The report is wordy and has some advertising, but essentially the one line that matters is that it gives your e-mail a "score", like this:

Your TOTAL SPAM SCORE for your e-mail was 1.

The lower the better. If it's too high, look at some of the things it highlights, and you'll be able to see some things that you can change.

You can use this procedure to test all your e-mail broadcasts before you send them. It's only a guide, not a 100% guarantee of beating the spam filters. But it's better than nothing, and only takes a few minutes.

Labels: e-mail newsletter, spam

"Do subscribers to free newsletters actually purchase products and courses through the websites they subscribe to?"

Yes, I know this is true, because it happens with my own newsletter. The key is to always provide value. Follow the rule that every message you send provides at least 80% valuable information and at most 20% advertising. And if you do advertise, make the advertisement related to the information you provided.

Labels: e-mail newsletter, providing value

"I am trying to encourage more people to subscribe to my newsletter. I would like to offer a free report to everyone who subscribes through the website. The report would be "7 easy ways to improve xxx" or some such."

A free report is an excellent idea. I suggest using the opposite psychology - e.g. "7 dumb things that people do to wreck xxx... and how to avoid them". I think you'll get more responses that way.

Also consider some of these ideas:

• Offer an incentive for people to refer others - e.g. another free e-book. I do this with my newsletter.
  
• Consider giving away the reprint rights to the e-book, like I do with my "Seven Fatal Mistakes" e-book. That allows people to distribute it to their own network, which brings more people to your site.
  
• List your e-book on Web sites that list e-books (Search Google for ebook directories). This is a good reason for calling it an e-book rather than a report.
  
• Submit your articles to other Web sites, including a short bio at the bottom, including a Web site link. This is time-consuming, but probably has the best chance of success. Search Google for article directories - this will give you suitable places to submit your articles.
  

Labels: e-mail newsletter, free products, providing value

"How do I create awesome 'subject headlines' that make people WANT to open my message & not send it straight to their Recycle Bin?"

The simple (but unpopular) answer is: Write consistently good information, so that when people see that the e-mail is from you, they will open it. They are more likely to take action based on you rather than your headline.

The reason I say this is unpopular is that many Internet marketers think there's some magic secret that they can use to compel people to take action. Not so. That might have been the case in the past, but Internet users are getting smarter now. Build a relationship with your readers, based on delivering consistently high value.

If you're still keen on writing great headlines, get Make More Sales, which includes an e-book with 350 of the world's best headlines.

Labels: copywriting, e-mail newsletter, providing value

"How will I create and maintain my site effectively if I am already "too busy" in my retail store front with the public?"

You can't. You won't. And you shouldn't.

Running an effective Web site takes time. It's not enough to simply slap it up, put it on the Net and hope for the best. You have to be driving people to it (either from your retail store or from other places on the Net), converting them to customers, and constantly monitoring its progress.

I'm not saying that this is a full-time job - far from it - but it does require some time.

If you'd like to get started, forget about the Web site for now and just publish a really, really good e-mail newsletter. Build up a database of subscribers and e-mail them regularly. You'll get more value from this than from building a Web site and then abandoning it.

Labels: e-mail newsletter, outsourcing, Web strategy

"I have a new website going up and am going to put my book as an ebook rather than have in hard copy as I don't have any left to sell. What is the best way to get an e-booked marketed and how do I know there is a market for it in the first place? Thank you for your help."

The first question to consider is whether there is a market for it. It's best to ask this BEFORE writing the e-book. However, it's still not too late now. You can do some simple market research on the Internet to find out whether there's a market for your e-book.

Then you have to figure out the best way to promote it. The easiest sale is to people who are already on your mailing list, or who are already your clients. So consider making a special offer to your e-zine subscribers. Then consider other ways of marketing it, and perhaps even offering it in different formats.

Labels: e-books, e-mail newsletter, market research

"In order to direct interest to my noise prevention products, how can I most easily obtain the email addresses of my potential clients who specify noise pollution prevention products, specified by architects, landscape engineers, land development planners, and Government Departments such as Main roads, Public works, Environmental etc."

This is a great question, because it demonstrates that you've thought about whom to target.

The first question to ask is: Where do these people hang out? For architects, I'm sure that they have a professional association. Ditto for engineers and planners. For Government departments, I'm not sure.

Then ask yourself how you can get in front of those people. For members of associations, one possibility is to approach the association and find out how you can reach their members. It might involve putting a flyer in a mail-out, or e-mailing your ad to the members, or becoming an official sponsor.

Ideally, you would like to get the members' e-mail addresses yourself, but for privacy reasons it's unlikely that the association will give them to you directly. So make sure that your flyer or ad directs them to something that asks them for their e-mail address. For example, you could write a special report for this industry and offer it free, in exchange for their e-mail address.

Labels: e-mail newsletter, niche marketing, traffic generation

"How do I know if my website is giving the right message to encourage businesses to subscribe?"

What are the biggest problems, challenges, issues, concerns and worries of the businesses in your target market?

Are you sure? How do you know? If you only think you know the answers, then you might be wrong. If it's been a while since you last surveyed your customers, it's time to do that now.

The easiest way is to start with your current subscribers. Why don't you ask your current subscribers to e-mail you with their #1 problem / challenge / concern. To improve the response rates, give them a free e-book or special report in return.

Then, when you get the results, go ahead and write an e-book or special report that addresses those concerns, and make it available free to new visitors to your Web site, but only if they subscribe to your newsletter.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"How do I get companies to come to my website and leave their contact information?"

Give them something free.

It could be a free e-book or special report, a subscription to a newsletter, a self-assessment questionnaire, a free sample, a survey, whatever.

Also make it clear to them that you are putting them on a mailing list, and that they can unsubscribe at any time. This ensures that you're complying with privacy and anti-spam laws.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"At the moment I send out a monthly newsletter in Adobe format as an attachment that results in a long download time. How can I write a newsletter that can be readily and easily transmitted to clients?"

Yeah, sending attachments is a problem, not just because of the download time but also because some e-mail programs will block them because of virus fears.

A better option is to send your newsletter in HTML format - i.e. looking like a Web page. This doesn't get sent as an attachment, and the file size is usually much smaller.

Even if you don't know how to create Web pages, some e-newsletter systems allow you to write the basic text only, and they will add the HTML to "pretty it up". For example, our CourseBot system works in exactly that way. It also has an automatic switch between plain text and HTML, so that if somebody has chosen to receive their newsletter as plain text only, that happens automatically.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"Is building a list still a feasible long term strategy to use?"

Yes! In fact, some people would say that it's the best long-term strategy to use. The trick, though, is to have a quality list, not just the biggest list. There's certainly no harm in having low-quality subscribers on an e-mail list (provided you're not paying for each subscriber), but a big list doesn't necessarily match a big response rate.

Even if you don't have anything to sell yet, start building your list. Send them useful information every 2 weeks or so, and start building that relationship.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"What is the best and quickest way to build an opt-in list with a brand new site and online business?"

The quickest way, by far, is to pay to get traffic to your site, and then offer those people something of value in return for their e-mail address.

For example, you could buy some Google advertising to lead people to the newsletter page on your Web site. Offer them a special report, e-book, checklist, survey or something else of value in exchange for them signing up to the newsletter.

You can do the same thing by buying an ad in an e-mail newsletter that serves the same market as you do. Or you can buy "exit traffic" from somebody (An example of exit traffic: After somebody buys a product from a Web site, they get taken to a thank-you page. The "exit traffic" is the link that they click on this thank-you page).

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"Developing a website and associated newsletters that can be readily and easily transmitted to clients. At the moment I send out a monthly newsletter in Adobe format as an attachment that results in a long download time."

Adobe format (PDF) is excellent for e-books and special reports, but yes - I wouldn't recommend it for a regular newsletter.

If you'd like to write an attractive newsletter, it's best to send it in "HTML format" (this simply means that it looks like a Web page). Some people still like receiving plain text e-mail, though, so ideally you would offer them both options. Make sure that you use a tool that makes it easy to publish in both formats.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"How do I convert a small list of people who do not join or buy anything into a list that does both?"

First, convince them to join your list. You have to offer them something of value regularly in order to convince them to join your list and stay on it.

If your group is skeptical, make sure that you keep offering them lots and lots of value - at no charge - until they begin to trust you.

Then you can offer them products for sale. But do it gently! I recommend the 80/20 rule in all your mailing list communication: At least 80% free value, at most 20% advertising.

Good luck!

Labels: e-mail newsletter, providing value

"I have noticed many personal development sites on the web how do I make mine stand out from the rest and making me money?"

This is a great question, and it applies to every field, not just personal development.

First, the fact that there are many such sites on the Web is a good sign, because there is obviously a high demand for it.

To stand out from the rest, you have to be offering something that people want. Note: I didn't say that it has to be something different from everybody else; but it does have to be something in demand.

If you're not sure what people want, you do have to start with some market research. Find out what people are searching for, what they would like to know, and what sort of people are looking for this information.

Then you must collect e-mail addresses and publish an e-mail newsletter or on-line courses. Keep sending them information of value so that they remain on the list. Also consider publishing an e-book of value to your market.

Labels: e-mail newsletter