Internet Marketing Strategy News: 10 Ways To Increase Your Subscriber List

One of the most effective ways to promote a business is to send them an email newsletter. Or you can print, and mail it which is more expensive as you have the printing and postage costs. A newsletter has many advantages as a tool in an overall Internet marketing strategy:

It has more credibility than advertising or other forms of promotion such as a brochure as it is educational not a sales pitch. It falls into the realm of public relations.

The newsletters cost nothing to send as email.

The newsletters can also be printed hard copy as needed to include in sales presentations.

Newsletters can be edited and turned into news releases or articles to be sent to the media to get publicity.

Of course, you need email addresses to send the newsletter. Here are ten ways to increase your subscriber list:

Content, content, content! The content of your newsletter is the key to expanding your list of subscribers. You want to create an "idea virus" that others will be so interested in the content that they can't wait for the next issue and will want to forward it to their friends and associates. Make your content timely and interesting. In our over communicated society your message has to be worthwhile enough to spend time to read. Keep in mind that business owners and managers are most often trying to increase sales and profits. What can you write that will help them do that?

Offer a free subscription to your newsletter on your web site. Have the link to the subscription page on all your web pages--on the top left corner. Make it simple and easy to enroll. The free subscription is the "front end" of your offer. The "back end" is the readers becoming interested in buying your product or service--the real end result of a good internet marketing strategy.

Make it a practice to collect identities in all your business dealings. Collect business cards when you attend lunch or a networking event. Send them an email to confirm your meeting and invite them to subscribe to your newsletter. Provide the link to your web site.

Get free mailing lists, write letters or send personal emails to them and use the newsletter as your offer. E.g. you could contact your trade association, Chamber of Commerce or networking group and get their mailing list. As your budget permits, rent mailing lists but ensure that they target your demographic and are not spam lists which will kill a good internet marketing strategy.

Encourage your subscribers to forward it to others. Use wording something like this: "Please feel free to forward this to your friends and associates by selecting the forward button on your e-mail."

Publishing schedule. Keep a regular schedule of publication. If you are offering a monthly newsletter, then make it monthly.

Add your free subscription information to your email signature. E.g. "Free newsletter available at www.expansionplus.com"

Offer free reprint rights for your newsletter to others which will get it published in other newsletters or articles. We use this wording "This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided that the following resource box is left intact: ..."

List integrity. Have a privacy policy and enforce it.

Add the published newsletters to your web site which increases the content and will help improve search engine rankings--all part of an intertrated internet marketing strategy. With more people coming to your web site, they are good prospects to enroll.

Keep increasing the subscriber list of prospects and of course stay in touch with them through regular newsletters and other mailings. This is not a quick fix to generate fast sales but it will eventually develop good quality prospects.

By the time they call you they will already know you through your writings which is a great start in developing trust with your prospect.

Newsletters are an inexpensive but effective part of an Internet marketing strategy.