Simon Paul Thurston

Every successful online business offers stellar customer service.  This generates satisfaction for their customers.  Such customer satisfaction is what makes customers return and buy again in the future.  In fact, they will even recommend you to others, generating more business for you and your site.  Customer satisfaction is absolutely critical to building your business.

As more traffic is driven to your site through word-of-mouth, you can then entice those customers to subscribe to your mailing or opt-in list.  This is a list of website visitors who have agreed to be sent promotional materials such as newsletters and catalogs that will keep them updated about your site or your niche.  These materials are typically sent by e-mail to members of the list every so often, usually monthly.

Using email as your method for marketing and advertising, you eliminate cost.  Since email is free and if you write your own advertisements and material, you can save a fortune.  Additionally, because customers have opted-in to receive your emails, they are much more likely to open and read your emails, and not simply deleting them as they do other spam.

This means, that you have an opportunity to remind subscribers about your existing products, new produces, and services that you offer – as well as any promotions or special deals that you are offering each month.  Using this marketing method, you also have the opportunity to gather new customers as your existing customers forward your email newsletter to friends and family.

It is also important to remember that a subscriber may unsubscribe if and when they feel that they are not receiving the kind of communication from you that they wanted or expected.  This means that you have to make absolutely certain that subscribers are satisfied with your opt-in marketing.  Your newsletters should keep them excited about receiving your next newsletter or your next catalog.  Here are some tips that can help you building a list of eager subscribers.

Building Your Opt-In List

Make your material interesting, informative, and fun.  Use some creativity and good writing skills, but avoid being too wordy.  Stick to what your product or service is about.  For example, if you are selling bike parts, put pictures and articles of what the newest or latest technology is in the bike parts world. 

Conduct research on what people are looking for – learn what the hottest products are within your niche.  This way, you will remain one step ahead of your readership, and they will count on you for information about the direction of the field or niche.  You will build a reputation as an industry expert.  They will be eager to receive what you are sending them because they have learned that you always have fresh and brand new things to share with them.

Write good articles!  This is critical.  Articles must be well written, informational, and also light at the same time.  They should have data, but shouldn’t be too technical.  If subscribers actually enjoy reading your articles, they will visit your site by clicking the links in your newsletter to read more.  You can provide articles that connect to many people.  Write articles that are diverse!  Use humor, information, news, and more.

If you are not an excellent writer, you can still succeed using this kind of marketing.  There are many professional and experienced article writers that will do the job for you for reasonable rates.  They know what they are doing, they are experienced writers, and they can provide the kind of valuable and interesting content that you need for your newsletters.  The money that you invest into your articles will result in additional opt-in sign ups.  The potential profit from these new members will more than pay for your investment. 

There are some excellent websites where writers offer their services include www.constant-content.com, www.helium.com, or www.invisible-inc-writers.com.  Some sites offer an existing inventory of articles you can purchase.  Others allow you to submit your requirements for articles, and writers will compete – and you choose the best-written article to purchase.  And other sites allow you to submit your request directly, and the team of writers will deliver a custom article directly to you via email.  Choose the option that suits your needs – and invest!  It will pay off in the long run.

Offer E-Books 

Create and send E-books to your customers on subjects related to your business.  Use your own knowledge or expertise in the field to help others who share your interests.  Offer this ebook for free!  You can write about anything information that will be helpful to your subscribers.  Such an e-book would become a valuable reference for a number of people.

Share the ebook with everyone.  Anyone who uses the ebooks will find the links that you’ve provided, and this will lead people to your site.  Again, if you need to, you can hire writers to write the ebook for you.  The investment is small considering the marketing that such E-books end up providing you.

Use E-Coupons

Include e-coupons in your newsletters that offer your subscribers special discounts.  Make sure to put a control number in the e-coupon so that they can only be used once.  When people realize that your newsletters offer valuable discounts, they will be even more eager to receive your newsletters.

 And finally – use newsletters in moderation.  A monthly newsletter is a perfect interval.  A daily newsletter would become intrusive and annoying.  It is important not to flood your mailing list, but also providing timely information that subscribers feel they want and need.  Finding that balance is important.  An e-marketing campaign, as described here, is a cost-effective and powerful technique to drive a large and constant flow of customers to your online business.