Newsletters

Allen Brown · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 12:32 (GMT) Post subject: Newsletters

I've posted on here before that I was either totally against or, at the least, held mixed feelings about newsletters showing up in my email. I was pretty rigid in my opinion that commercial email was spam.

I'm here today to say that, depending on how you look at it, I have either gone over to the dark side, or finally accepted the inevitibility and the effectiveness of communicating through newsletters.

I came to this conclusion after months of seeing some very tasteful, informative and image enhancing letters from my peers. Thanks to them for slowly opening my eyes.

I'm about to make a major change in my business, and I couldn't think of a better way to inform my clients and vendors quickly than with an email newsletter campaign.

I'm still anti-spam. Who isn't? So, I'm planning on following all the conventions of the Can-Spam law, including giving recipients an opt-out method and providing my physical postal address. There are other requirements to stay legal, so do your homework or you could end up blacklisted as a spammer.

While I know some of you have been doing this expertly for a few years now, I have been a holdout and I'm just now getting on-board. I'm optimistic that adding this method to my marketing mix is a good move.

So, I've changed my mind. Change is exciting!

Erik Sheppard · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 14:39 (GMT) Post subject:

It takes a big man to admit that he has changed his position.

I don't have a newsletter but I have looked into it and Constant Contact or Breeze seem to be the way to go. Simple to use and easily identifiable opt out links for the recipients.

Allen Brown · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 15:04 (GMT) Post subject:

Eric,
I've heard good things about both of those programs. I opted for MailChimp. Couldn't be easier.

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 15:06 (GMT) Post subject:

Oh, welcome to the dark side, dear!

....although I must say my heart still races when I hit "send" -- my big thrill every quarter. More or less.

(Can I deposit money in your account? Just send those numbers. I am honorable.)

Maxine Dunn · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 19:53 (GMT) Post subject:

Hi Allen ~

How cool that you're thinking of publishing a newsletter! You're such a good writer that I can only imagine that it'll be great, whatever its subject matter.

I've been publishing a newsletter for over a year and it's been really well-received and a pleasure to create every month. (Right now I send mine out once a month but I'm thinking of changing that to twice a month.) My list keeps growing and I'm just about to send out a survey to my subscribers as I prepare to make some positive changes....

I have a "confirmed-opt-in" method of subscribing which helps greatly in reducing the possibility of an email campaign being categorized as spam. People have to respond to a confirm-e-mail, to verify that they do in fact want to sign up.

Another tool that you can use to make sure your newsletter is not rated as spam is to use a “content checker.” A great (free) one is at www.lyris.com/resources/contentchecker and it will check your content for spam related words, etc., and give you a rating and you'll be able to see if there are any words or phrases that you need to change. It’s a great little tool! If you go to that link you’ll see how to copy and paste the content of your newsletter there.

Another resource for finding all about newsletters and email campaigns is www.ezinequeen.com. Alexandria Brown is the Master and has a wealth of information on her site and in her own newsletters. She’s been my guru and coach and got me started with publishing my own newsletter.

I use Constant Contact and I’m really, really happy with them. Their rates are great and their customer service is wonderful.

Good luck!

Maxine

.

Erik Sheppard · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 19:56 (GMT) Post subject:

I, for one, can vouch for Max's newsletter. It's fantastic.

Allen Brown · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 20:09 (GMT) Post subject:

Thanks for the tips.

My first letter is not much more than an announcement that I'm moving. Change of address, new phone numbers, etc.

But, as we've discussed on the "Hey, I'm going on vacation!" thread, every contact with our clients is an opportunity. So, I'm using it to do a bit of image building and reconnecting.

Future letters might be a little more restrictive in the "opt-in" area, but this one is directed to current or former clients and vendors.

I'm very excited and happy about my move and I want to push that positive energy along a bit toward the people with whom I work. I'll tell the story and the motivation behind the move in another thread. If I ever get the time. I forgot the million little details involved with moving a business office and studio. The dust will settle soon. Smile

Maxine Dunn · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 21:28 (GMT) Post subject:

Erik, you are so nice and thank you for your post! (But knowing you, for all the time I spend writing the articles, you probably just read it for the pictures....) hüpfend lachen

I appreciate your kind words!

xoxo

.

Lee Gordon · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008, 22:51 (GMT) Post subject:

There are pictures? How do I get on the mailing list? irre

Erik Sheppard · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008, 00:42 (GMT) Post subject:

Well, the visuals certainly don't suck, but there is some other good stuff in them as well.

Hell, she almost had me doing yoga.

Caryn Clark · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008, 01:25 (GMT) Post subject:

Welcome to the "dark" side Allen! Smile