Subscribers « Kim A Gillett

Track Downloads With Email Analytics

You may already know about our Email Analytics features. These powerful tools allow you to target your list with pinpoint accuracy, sending messages that respond to subscriber activity. Anywhere you install our analytics, you can track which of your s… [...]

3 Ways to Build Your List with the Broadcast Archive

In an earlier post, we covered the cool new features of the recently redesigned broadcast archive.

The new archive saves a web version of each broadcast in a central location, making it simple for you to share message content with subscribers new and old.

With it, you are able to resurrect your dusty emails for new purposes and strengthen your existing relationships with your subscribers.

But did you know that the broadcast archive can also help you build your list? Here’s how.

Link to an Online Version

Placing a link on your web form to an example of your newsletter shows that your intentions as an email marketer are crystal clear.

Given the chance to preview a real message, subscribers know exactly what they are getting into when providing their email address. There are no questions as to whether or not your campaign will apply to them, since they can sample your content beforehand.

This can also lead to a higher retention rate, because subscribers are better informed prior to signing up to your list.

Make the Most of Forwarding To A Friend

When a subscriber forwards your email, your audience expands for a moment – a blip in eternity. And then it shrinks back, unless the recipient takes initiative and hunts down your sign-up form.

Now, the web version of your newsletter automatically displays a sign-up form. If your subscribers forward your emails to their friends, they will be able to sign up effortlessly.

Even better, you’ve just suggested subscribing to those who might never have thought of it at all.

Leverage Social Media

Twitter and Facebook are fantastic complements to any email campaign, and now integrating them is even more beneficial.

You’ve had the ability to link to your archive in your Facebook status or tweet your newest newsletter to create some buzz and generate traffic for some time. You can even publish each broadcast to Twitter with one click.

Now, as with forwarding, that web form on the archive page means interested readers don’t have to hunt to sign up for more of you – the option is automatically available when they are directed to your archive from your Facebook or Twitter status.

How Do You Use Your Archive?

Using the new and improved archive, the full value of your campaign is available to all of your readers: past, present and future. It’s also a great way to get new subscribers when using these methods.

Do you have any interesting uses for your archived newsletters? We would love to hear about them!

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6 Easy Ways to Market Transparently

We appreciate people we can trust. We are more likely to give them our time. We are far more likely to give them our business.

You want your subscribers to trust you (and give you their time and possibly their business), but they may not know if they can. How can you reassure them?

We’ve talked about building trust with welcome messages and privacy policies. Another key is using transparency throughout your campaign. Be up-front, be honest, be approachable. In the anonymous Internet cloud, be someone real and tangible.

There are several effective ways you can do this:

How to Be Transparent In Your Emails

First, include a valid postal address.

Yes, this is already required by CAN-SPAM, but it also conveys your authenticity. You aren’t afraid to provide your location, so you must be on the level. And if you do get snail mail from a subscriber, you’ll be able to respond.
Put your face where your mouth is. Include your picture in your emails to put your subscribers even more at ease. Bonus points if you’re wearing a friendly smile (see below).
Post a link to your privacy policy on your web form and in your emails. This reassures subscribers that you will keep their information secure.
Provide valid FAQs.
If the answers are evasive or vague, alarm bells might go off in your subscribers’ heads. Answer directly. Answer completely. Answer helpfully. Then provide a way to ask questions you may have missed.
Deliver what you promise.
If you offer a 30-minute Pilates video, there should be 30 full minutes of quality instruction and demonstration. If you link to a how-to guide, the landing page should be that actual guide, not an ad. Follow through, and you won’t break trust.
If you want to be transparent, approachable and trustworthy, do NOT list a ‘do not reply’ email address in the from line. If your subscribers can’t contact you back, you are not in a dialogue; you’re just blasting them with information. Hitting ‘reply’ is the most natural way for them to respond. Stop them from doing so, and it looks like you’ve got something to hide.

How Do You Build Credibility?

How do you show subscribers that you are trustworthy? Have you found some methods more effective than others?

Thank you for sharing!

Amanda
3103 Philmont Ave. Ste. 200
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, USA

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How To Give Visitors a Sneak Peek at Your Newsletter

You want a community of engaged readers. Your subscribers want interesting content in a layout they like. You’re both looking for love at first click.

As in any relationship, the best way for you to both get what you want from your email marketing is to set clear expectations from the very beginning.

An example of your newsletter goes a long way toward setting correct expectations. But how can you share one before the signup?

It’s easy, actually. Just combine two of the tools in your AWeber account – the broadcast archive and the web form generator. This combo lets you offer a sneak peek of your campaign to make sure it’s a good fit for each new subscriber.

Here’s how:

Link to a Past Email Newsletter at Signup

The broadcast archive stores web versions of your past broadcast messages. The web form generator lets you create custom signup forms where people can subscribe to your emails.

To show your newsletter to potential subscribers before they sign up, you would simply need to display a link on your web form to the archived version of one of your newsletters, like this:

Choose a newsletter to be your example

Scroll through your past newsletters Broadcast page. Choose the one you think best represents your emails. Remember, you’re trying to give the most accurate depiction of what you’ll be sending your subscribers.

Grab the link for it

Open the message you’ve chosen in the message editor. Scroll down to the “Syndicate” section. You’ll need to syndicate the message if you haven’t done so yet – this publishes it to the web.

The part you will use is the “Direct Link”. You can copy this link whenever you are ready to put it into your web form.

Add the link to your web form

Open the web form you’d like to use (or create a new one) in the web form generator. Decide where you’d like to put the link to your newsletter example.

Then decide what words to use and click on the Text icon to add them to the form. Remember, it’s an invitation, so be welcoming, not pushy.

Type the text you want in the editing box. Highlight it, click the link icon and paste in that link from Step 2. When you’re satisfied, save the changes.

If the text doesn’t appear where you want it to on the form, simply click and drag the field to the proper place.

Start Using Your New Web Form

Congratulations! You’ve just upgraded from asking subscribers to take a shot in the dark to letting them make an informed decision.

You are one step closer to a community of interested readers who look forward to your messages.

Your Thoughts

Do you share an example of your newsletter or product before asking people to sign up for it? Does this seem to make a difference?

Can you think of any cases when you might not want to share an example first? How can you set clear expectations about your emails in these cases?

We always enjoy the ideas you share. Let us know what you think about setting expectations with a newsletter example below.

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