4 Things You Can Do Right Now to Increase Your E-zine's Effectiveness

You’ve heard it said over and over again – the list is the thing.  But how do you grow your e-zine list?  And what do you do with it once you have it?  Use these 4 simple techniques to dramatically improve your results.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

A recent Marketing Sherpa report I received confirmed something I’d understood a long time: most of your subscribers will make up their minds about you within the first 60 days after subscribing.

Think of your own online behavior.  When you’re moved to sign up for a list, it’s almost like a first date.  You’re at the “Hmm, you look intriguing and I want to make sure you don’t lick your plate after dinner,” stage.  As a new subscriber, you’re looking to make sure the list owner doesn’t spam, share your e-mail address, bombard you with very sales-y promotional pieces (at least not TOO often) or otherwise act like a boor.  Your subscribers are having the same thoughts about you when they first check you out.

That’s why it’s really smart to write an autoresponder series that is designed exclusively for new subscribers.  Imagine your service from the new subscriber’s point of view.  What do they need to know about you?  What benefit can you offer them that would really knock their socks off?  How can you get them to make a purchase from you within the first 60 days so that they enter your buying cycle?  What’s your “intro” offering?

Can I interest you in anything on our menu?

Way too often, we as service providers think people should just “know” what we do.  Not so!  It’s your job to tell them.  This doesn’t mean knocking them on the head with it, but make it clear where to find information about your services.  Is training a possible add-on?  Mention that!  Do you do great work helping with marketing plans?  Package that and sell it.

Some of the most effective ways to mention this:

Make it plain in your e-zine.  Roll it into your articles, include a side-bar with menu options, create a limited-time special offer on a particular service and point them to the full menu after they buy.

Mention it during your speaking.  Again, subtle but clear works best here.  Plant the idea in your prospects minds of exactly what benefit you provide.  You can say things like, “When I was providing the information in this seminar as a training program to a corporate group, I was interested to find…”  Make sure there is information available about other options after your speech.  And, of course, objective # 1 of any speaking engagement:  make sure you collect everyone’s contact information and follow up.

Would you like fries with that?

In addition to being clear on the menu, offer customers solutions they want in a format they want them.  Studies have shown that the most successful coaches provide a variety of solutions.

Product bundling is a way of selling more to your existing client base.  You’ve seen it done very effectively by the likes of Amazon.com and other online retailers.  This doesn’t only work for products, it works for services too!  What if along with a 6-month coaching package you bundled in a live presentation entrance at a discount, or an in-depth life-planning workbook or your latest e-product?  Depending on your niche market, you can design bundles that can increase your per-customer sales.

Cozy up to your competitors.

Most of us have been taught to think that competitors are “on the other side.”  They can actually be some of your best referral partners.  Create win-win situations such as co-registration opportunities, limited-time mutual promotions, great referral fees for promoting your stuff, etc.  After all, they are serving the same population you are.

You can automate your cross-promotion efforts with services like Co-Reg complete.  http://www.coregcomplete.com/

Employing these four techniques will dramatically improve your results in a short time.  Setting up the right infrastructure can help you get more subscribers and generate more revenue from the subscribers you already have.  So start working on it today!