The Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Write A Newsletter

Have you been thinking about writing a newsletter but haven’t got around to it yet? Does it feel intimidating? Have you heard you should but not exactly sure why it’s worth the time and effort? If you answered ‘yes’ you are not alone.

Here are the top 7 reasons why you should write and distribute a newsletter and the benefits associated with doing so.

1. Stay in touch. Maintain ongoing client relationships by engaging your list of followers on an ongoing basis. ‘Touching’ your subscribers regularly keeps you top of mind and reminds them that you’re open for business. To grow your list, ensure you have a sign up box on your website to invite visitors to subscribe to your newsletter.

2. Show your expertise. You may think it’s all been said before and there is nothing new for you to write about. But when you write what you know it shows you have something important to share and you will have your own unique way of doing so that sets you apart. Demonstrate your expertise with informative articles and tips that address your clients’ needs.

3. The KLT (Know, Like and Trust) Factor. Your readers get to know you, like you and trust you by way of this type of regular communication. Providing them with great information shows that you care about them. And who will they call when they need the type of products or services that you offer? That’s right, you! Like any of us, they want to do business with the person they know, like and trust.

4. Help generate the ‘buzz’ about your business. Have you attended an industry event, conducted a workshop or been interviewed on the radio? Sharing where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to helps build your credibility. It shows that you are active and committed to your area of expertise and you are the skilled and knowledgeable ‘go to’ person when they need what you provide.

5. Build your library of content. The articles you write for your newsletters can be repurposed later and distributed to the article marketing directories, posted to your blog and compiled to create information products to give away or sell. 500 words is the standard requirement for article submissions so keep this in mind when writing.

6. New opportunities arise. A reader may approach you to speak on a topic that you’ve written about or be a guest on their blog. You may also be asked to partner with someone to develop a new program and more. All of which opens up opportunities to reach more people and build your list.

7. Make more sales. Your newsletter should be 80% informational, 20% sales-y. Once you have informed your readers, let them know what you have to offer that may help them. Launch new products and services through your newsletter and include ‘special offers’ exclusive to your subscribers only.

Creating and distributing an email newsletter is a marketing strategy that works and has many benefits. By building relationships and a level of trust your readers feel confident to do business with you. All of which can lead to more clients, more opportunities and more income!

Try it yourself and see how your business can change with a newsletter.

RadioGuestList.com

Are you looking to position yourself as an expert via guest interviews on internet radio programs? It is certainly a great marketing strategy to promote your services and products while being informative and entertaining.

There are a number of ways to find radio shows looking for guests. Most of these include doing your own research on sites like BlogTalkRadio and browsing the categories for suitable shows. There are thousands of shows out there looking to interview experts on every imaginable topic. You’ll be sure to find several in your industry.

However, if you don’t have time to do the research and submit requests, consider outsourcing this task to a Virtual Assistant. And make sure you (or your assistant) sign up for RadioGuestList.com It’s a f’ree service that will email you automatically each day they have a talk show looking for guests (and this is most days). You will be provided with contact information so you can get in touch with the shows for which your area of expertise would be a great match.

Make sure you take advantage of this powerful marketing tool and the opportunities that will arise from the ‘on air’ exposure.

Your Easy To Follow Getting Started Article Marketing Checklist

Article marketing is a long term marketing strategy that helps position you as an expert in your niche and generate more traffic to your website. There are a number of guidelines to follow when writing and submitting articles, and although it is not difficult, it is a multi-step process and having a checklist in place is a helpful tool.

Here is your ‘getting started’ checklist to help you prepare to market your articles:

[ ] Create your author resource box of about 50 words in length. This is what will appear at the end of your articles stating who you are, what you do, the service or product and benefits you provide and a call to action inviting the reader to your website to sign up for your free report, newsletter or other offering. The resource box should be written in third person.

[ ] Create your author bio of up to about 150 words in length. Some of the article directories require a bio in addition to a resource box. Your bio will be based on your skills, experience and achievements and should also be written in third person.

[ ] Choose an author image that you will upload when creating your profiles. Most article directories will ask for one. Your photo will help people connect with you and should be professional looking.

[ ] Create a list of directories you are going to submit to. Start small with about 3 directories. Try www.ezinearticles.com, www.articledashboard.com and www.goarticles.com to start. You can add more later. Just Google “article submission directory” to find more sites.

[ ] Sign up for accounts with these directories and record the Name of the directory, Login URL, User Name, Password and any specific guidelines. For example one site only allows articles with a minimum of 500 words.

[ ] Create an Article Marketing Tracking document in the form of a spreadsheet to track the above directory information, articles submitted and dates submitted.

[ ] Create an Article Template for your writing. Article directories work best with text based articles. Just use plain text, no formatting, no tables etc. by creating and saving your articles in Notepad or another text based editor. Within each file include the Title, Category, Word Count, Key Words and Summary. You will need to enter this information with each article submission.

[ ] Decide on topics based on your market & your expertise and create an ideas file.

[ ] Write your first 400 – 700 word article and start submitting!

Most of the above steps are to be set up once and left. When you have everything in place, make sure you write and submit your articles regularly. If you write an ezine or newsletter you can repurpose these works. Once your subscribers have received their copy, start submitting to the article directories. You can also rework chapters of a book or ebook you have written into shorter articles.

If the above sounds like a great marketing tactic but you lack the time, consider hiring a Virtual Assistant to set you up with the accounts, edit your writing and submit your articles. All you need to do is provide the content and watch your website’s placement in the search results increase.

Write Your Way To Expert Status

Everyone is an expert at something. Whatever product or service you provide in your business is your area of expertise. Writing articles about what you are an expert at and distributing those articles online through various article submission directories is a valuable marketing strategy called Article Marketing.

How will writing and submitting articles help your business?

Here’s how it works. You will:

Gain more exposure – When you write an article and submit it to various article directories it will be posted online for anyone to read. Surfers find your articles when they type related keywords into search engines to find what they’re looking for.

Generate more traffic to your site – You will create a ‘resource box’ that is included at the end of each article you submit. The resource box is a short bio about you, the author, with a link to your website. When someone reads your article and wants to find out more about you, they will click thru the article resource box at the end of your article & will be taken to your website.

Build trust – When you provide value to the reader by sharing information on your expertise through your articles, you gain their confidence in you, your products and services.

Grow your list – Make sure you have a ‘call to action’ in your resource box and a sign up form on your site to capture names and email addresses of those who visit. Offer a free report or a subscription to a newsletter that visitors can sign up for.

Boost business – When you build your market reach, name recognition and credibility, an increase in business is sure to follow.

Remember, no sales pitches. The directories are looking for content-rich articles of about 400-750 words. The only place you can promote yourself is within the resource box.

But what do you write about?

Consider:

• What is your area of expertise? What are you known for?
• Is there something that keeps coming up over & over again with several clients? Check your emails. What questions is your market asking you?
• Do you already write a newsletter? Repurpose your newsletter articles.

If there’s already many articles about your topic circulating out there, don’t worry, you will put a different spin on things as you write from your own experiences and in your own unique way.

Think you’re not a writer? Just write in your own voice, in a conversational style as if you were speaking one on one with someone. People like that.

Now that you’ve written an article, how do you go about circulating this article online?

Here are some simple steps to get you started:

1. Google the term ‘article submission directories’ to come up with various lists of the top sites you can submit your content to (start with 2 or 3 on up to 10).

2. Sign up for your free accounts and review their guidelines. I recommend starting with EzineArticles

3. Create your author resource box, about 50 words stating who you are, what you do, benefits you provide, call to action i.e. sign up for my free report.

4. It is best to convert all your articles to plain text with no formatting. To do this, copy from Word & paste into Notepad to remove any formatting. It makes submitting quick and easy.

5. Submit your articles making sure to track where you have submitted to, what you have submitted and when.

Repeat. Write and submit your articles regularly as an ongoing part of your marketing strategy. An ideal campaign would be to submit new articles weekly or bi-weekly. Articles are a great cost-effective way to market your business and gain expert status in your niche. What can you write about today?

How To Successfully Market Your Business With A Pink Spoon

If you have ever signed up on a website to receive information in the form of a free report, newsletter or ebook and had this delivered to your inbox, you have experienced the pink spoon. A pink spoon is a ‘free taste’ of what a business has to offer. It is like the ice cream franchise that offers potential customers the opportunity to sample a flavour of their ice cream using a pink spoon. If a potential customer likes their ‘free taste’ they will go on to make a purchase. This catchy phrase was coined by Andrea J. Lee, award-winning author, coach, consultant and online business manager.

Why is Pink Spoon Marketing a good way to boost business?

• It is a lead generation tool. Providing a free offering to visitors to your website is a good way to capture people’s names and email addresses.
• It allows you to keep in regular contact with your prospects. You are building a mailing list that you can broadcast to.
• It is a way to build relationships and trust. As you continue to communicate with your list, they get to know you and see the value of the products and services you have to offer.
• It generates new business. You will earn paying clients when your services fit with their needs.

A Pink Spoon can apply to almost any industry and there are many possibilities of what you can offer as a freebie. Here are a few examples:

• a 5 part (or 6 part etc.) e-course
• a free report
• a newsletter subscription
• a free chapter of your book

Are you ready to start setting up your pink spoon to build your database? You will need:

• An email marketing or shopping cart service with website sign up form and autoresponder capabilities, i.e. AWeber, Practice Pay Solutions. (If you’re not quite ready to start selling products you can still go with a shopping cart and upgrade your cart later with the selling features.)
• A pink spoon sign up form and attached thank you page on your website. The sign up form should be one of the first things someone sees when they visit your website. Generally the form is added to the top right of a web page and is really obvious. The form is usually quite simple asking for First Name and Primary Email with a Submit button. If it takes too long to complete the form or the info you are asking for seems too personal to give out on a website for a free offering, the less likely people will sign up. It is also good practice to indicate that you will never share your prospects information with anyone and that they have the option to unsubscribe at any time.
• An autoresponder or a series of autoresponder emails to be sent out on a predetermined schedule to deliver your free offering and broadcasts for ongoing communication with your list.
• Support with the process. If you are technically challenged, find a Virtual Assistant or a Webmaster who is familiar with this marketing strategy and who has the technical expertise to set up and customize the shopping cart and your website.

If you are willing to take the initiative, pink spoon marketing is something that can be set up once and continue to work for you time after time.