Email marketing 131 whitepaper

The Branding White Paper

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How an email newsletter can help keep you connected with your customers

Email Marketing 131 White Paper
How an email newsletter can help
keep you connected with your customers

More Downloads: http://www.cyberoptik.net/downloads.html

November 19 2013 | Version 1.0

1


Congratulations!
You’ve made a smart decision in downloading our Email Marketing Whitepaper.
This document will help educate you on why you should get a newsletter started for your business, and it will
give you some helpful insight into how that can be accomplished.
We want to help your business expand and grow, so if you have any questions as you're reading, make a note
and feel free to give me a call directly.
We would love to be your resource for anything website-related.
Ron Johnson and the CyberOptik Team
Main: (630) 296-6932 | Direct: (630) 533-3752
Email: ron@cyberoptik.net
Website: www.cyberoptik.net
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronjohnson



2


Table of Contents
4.

Why You Should Have an Email Newsletter

6.

50 Ways to Get People to Subscribe to Newsletters

13. 50 Interesting Things to Send Your Mailing List
20. 50 Places to Promote Your Newsletter
28. What Now?



3


Why You Should Have an Email Newsletter
As a small-business owner you need to be doing everything you can to get an edge
against your competition. If you do not currently have an email newsletter set up, you
could be losing out on a lot of potential business.



4


So why is an email newsletter such a good idea?

It’s Targeted. Anyone that subscribes to your

It’s Affordable. The cost of running an email

newsletter is either a customer or potential
customer. By subscribing to your newsletter they are

newsletter is very low. General pricing: you can
handle up to 2,500 subscribers for just $19 a month

asking for you to keep them up to date about your
business and any relevant news.

(Aweber). This really makes it a no-brainer. With
that price you can send out as many emails to your
subscribers as you wish (but don’t send out too
many, otherwise they may choose to unsubscribe).

It’s Easy to Use. Even when you’re first
setting up your newsletter, the process doesn't take
very long (we can also help you). And once it's set
up, it's still just as easy to send out emails to your
subscribers. There are many online video resources
that may be of help to you — we've included a link to
them on the very last page of this report.

It's Easily Automated. Similar to
WordPress blogs, email newsletters let you
essentially "set it and forget it." You can set up a list
of messages to be automatically sent to your
subscribers, and you can also manually schedule
posts for specific days/times.



5


50 Ways to Get People to Subscribe to Newsletters
If there’s one thing you can do to grow your list quickly, it’s to give away something valuable in return
for opt-ins. If you’re not sure what to give away, here are 50 ideas to get you started:
1.

A free PDF. Give them a report or a brief guide on something.

2.

An audio content download. A lot of people prefer to listen to audio rather
than read while on their lunch break, and audio is a clear choice while driving.

3.

A video download. Videos have a higher perceived value than audio.

4.

A coupon or discount code. Customers see this as almost as good as cash,
especially if they're planning to buy.

5.
6.

#1

Free trial membership. Especially if the membership is normally paid.
Access to a forum or discussion area. People will sign up just to get access
to the advice and conversations in a private area.

7.

Tips. Give away a giant list of tips. For example, “101 Tips for a Better


_____________.”


6


7.

Tips. Give away a giant list of tips. For example, “101 Tips for a Better _____.”

8.

Tools. For example, if you run a graphic design site, give away Photoshop brushes
for the opt-in.

9.

Excel spreadsheets. If you run a weight-loss site, give away a spreadsheet that
makes it easy to track workouts.

10.

A web application. For example, give away a tool that lets homeowners
calculate their mortgage amortization.

11.

#9

A physical DVD. This works for high-end products, such as $2,500 stock-trading
courses. Giving away a physical gift is a great way to build trust.

12.

A guide to buying something. For example, write a buyer’s guide for choosing
an Android phone.

13.

PLR content. Give away content that your audience can give away to their
audience.

14.

A checklist. For instance, give people a checklist on what to look for when buying
a new computer.



7


15.

A free preview. For example, give people the first chapter of your book for free.

16.

Give annotated, edited or better-formatted public domain content. For
example, Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” is in the public domain. You could format
it for your industry and give it away for free.

17.

Answer a problem on their mind. Dive deep into it and make sure you answer it
completely.

18.

Construct a course. For example, a 7-step course on meditation. Deliver one step per

#18

email, and send one email per day.
19.

Rant. Give away your controversial thoughts on the industry.

20.

Link to your best posts. Basically give away a report that’s really a guide to your
best resources.

21.

Give a recipe. People are always on the lookout for a great recipe.

22.

Do a screencast. Record your video screen and give away the video. Use it to teach
something on your screen.

More Downloads: http://www.cyberoptik.net/downloads.html stunning presentations that 19 2013 | Version 1.0
November grab
23. Do a Prezi presentation. Prezi creates graphically

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23.

Do a Prezi presentation. Prezi creates graphically stunning presentations that
grab and hold attention.

24.

Give away reference material. For example, for a copywriting course, give
away 10 samples of the best copy ads in history.

25.

Talk about mistakes to avoid. For example, “7 Mistakes Car Buyers Make
When Shopping for a Car.”

26.

#29

Interview someone in your industry. If it’s a recognizable name, you’ll get a
ton of opt-ins.

27.

Access to a live webinar. They have to sign up right away to get the time and
phone number.

28.

A recorded webinar. You can make it seem like a time-limited webinar.

29.

A free teleseminar. Again, people have to sign up immediately to ensure they
get a spot.

30.

A printable workbook. People fill as they learn. Writing down lessons helps

boost retention.


9


30.

A printable workbook. People fill as they learn. Writing down lessons helps
boost retention.

31.

A screen saver. If you’re in the pet industry, for instance, a screen saver of cute
cats could go over very well.

32.

A free iPhone or Android app. This is especially appealing if the app is
normally paid but they can get it free by signing up.

33.

A free Kindle book. Again, it’s more appealing if it’s usually a paid book.

34.

Access to you. For example, promise to answer a question via email for anyone

#32

who subscribes.
35.

A free consultation. This has high perceived value, but is only worth it to you if
you’re allowed to record it and turn it into a product or marketing material.

36.

Give away a game. Make it educational so people learn as they play.

37.

Access to a contest. People have to join your email list to participate in the
contest.


38.


Get blog posts in their email. If they love your blog, this alone could be enough.

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38.

Get blog posts in their email. If they love your blog, this alone could be enough.

39.

Deal reminders. If you frequently do limited-time deals, let people know that.

40.

Random giveaways. Give a prize away to someone in your list every week or every month.
Use this to entice people to sign up.

41.

Members-only events. If people want to come to the event, they have to sign up.

42.

Give them an opportunity to make money. For example, by posting your content on

#43

their Facebook wall. Again, they have to opt in first.
43.

Give a mystery gift. Don’t tell people what they’ll get before signing up, just tell them it’s
something good. Or tell them what it’ll do for them, without saying what it is.

44.

Give away something completely off the cuff, but something that people
would want. It doesn’t always have to be in your industry to be interesting. This tends to
work in “over-gifted” industries like Internet marketing or weight loss.

45.

Give them something they’ll use every day. For example, a list of foods to eat and not to


eat.


11


45.

Give them something they’ll use every day. For example, a list of foods to
eat and not to eat.

46.

Give something that helps repair something. For example, a guide to fixing a
slow computer, or a software tool that does the same. If it’s a problem they have,
they’ll gladly opt in to get the tool.

47.

Your old content. Lock your old content so people have to sign up to get access to
it.
#50

48.

The rest of an article. For example, you might give away Page 1 of an article for
free, but people would have to sign up to get the rest.

49.

A song or something they can listen to. For example, binaural beats or a
motivational song.

50.

Statistics. Give away a detailed report about little-known statistics in your industry.



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50 Interesting Things to Send Your Mailing List
If you’ve ever struggled to come up with ideas for what to send to your email list, you've hit the
jackpot. Here are 50 ideas you can use just about any time and any place. Keep this list handy to plan
your email marketing or grab it whenever you need a quick idea:
1.

# tips to do something. For example, “15 Tips for Cooking a Better Pot Roast.”

2.

Warnings. For example, “Warning: The Most Common Dating Mistakes to Avoid.”

3.

Put a discount in the subject line. For example, “$20 Off Between Now and 7:00pm!”

4.

Share a new theory. Ask people to give feedback and share their thoughts and
experiences.
#4

5.

Tell a story. Did you fail or succeed? What did you learn? Try to make it emotional — this is
the best strategy for engaging audiences.

6.

Breaking news. If you know news is coming, try to be there for it. For example, go to where
new products are being announced and write about them immediately.
7.

Something simple they can do right away. For example, an easy 10-minute workout

they can try immediately.


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7.

Something simple they can do right away. For example, an easy 10-minute
workout they can try immediately.

8.

A video. Give people high-quality video content. Use a video-metrics tool like
Wistia to measure your drop off rates and see what kinds of video content people like.

9.
10.

Do a time-limited sale. Give a reason for it. For example, do a 48-hour Christmas sale.

11.

#8

Share a victory. For example, “How I Earned $5,602 This Weekend.”

Challenge your audience. “I Challenge You to Do 10 Pull-ups by This Time Next
Month.”

12.

Give them something they can copy. For example, “My exact formula for getting
seats in my seminars.”

13.

Address a common question or objection. For example, “How to Compete
Against High Speed Traders – Without Million-Dollar Equipment.”

14.

Give away a coupon. People love getting discounts.

15.

Hint at future products. Building anticipation makes great content, and it boosts sales


when you do your launch.

14


15.

Hint at future products. Building anticipation makes great content, and it
boosts sales when you do your launch.

16.

Explain a problem. For example, “The 5 Reasons 90% of Dieters Fail.”

17.

Rant. Just say what’s on your mind. This often turns out better than you'd think.

18.

Promote your Facebook page or Twitter. Use email to build your social media audience.

19.

Give a step-by-step guide. Walk people through how to do something complicated.

20.

Give proof of something. For example, film yourself doing something difficult. This builds

#17

your credibility.
21.

Interview an expert. Send it out to your list for free.

22.

Ask other people to guest-write for you. Make sure it’s super high quality before
sending it out to your list.

23.

Talk about someone you respect. For example, “The Doctor Who Trains Health Coaches
Says …”
24.

An opportunity to work with you. Give people the opportunity to get coaching or direct

contact http://www.cyberoptik.net/downloads.html
More Downloads:with you somehow.


15


24.

An opportunity to work with you. Give people the opportunity to get coaching
or direct contact with you somehow.

25.

Do a Q&A mailbag. Answer questions you get in the mail via your newsletter. Use
your answers as content.

26.

Answer the most frequently asked questions you get. This is a great email
to add to an autoresponder sequence.

27.

Announce a beta test. For example, let's say you’re promoting a new membership
program. You can launch a “beta” version at a discount for a few weeks before
launching the full-priced version.

28.

Tell someone else’s success story. For example, “How This 242lb Woman Lost
90lbs Last Year”

29.

Critique a method you disagree with. For example, “The Atkins Diet: The Pros,
The Cons and My Thoughts.”

22.
November 19
Ask your audience a question. Start a two-way dialogue to really build your connection 2013 | Version 1.0

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30.

Ask your audience a question. Start a two-way dialogue to really build your
connection with your community.

31.

Say something controversial. For example, “Did You Know Broccoli is Bad for
You?”

32.

Give them a free MP3 download. This is great for people to listen to while on
the go.

33.

Put a time constraint in the headline. For example “A Seat for You – Only Till

#32

Tomorrow.”
34.

Go against something you said a while ago. For example, if you’ve been
against eating fruits and came across new research that changed your mind, send a
detailed post to your list.

35.

Have a question panel. Pose questions to a panel of experts, and email out their
answers.

36.

23.

Poll your audience for their tips. Share the best ones with your list.



17


37.

Teach them something that depends on them having your product. For
example, teach people how to monetize an iPhone app, after they use your software to
create the app.

38.

Do a motivational email. Instead of how-to content, have an email dedicated to
getting people fired up and inspired.

39.

Let people pre-order an upcoming product at a discount.

40.

Send an affiliate promotion for a product you genuinely believe in. Make

#38

sure to tell your personal story about why you like the product before you promote it.
41.

Make something seem easy. For example, “How to Eat Your Favorite Foods and Lose
Weight.”

42.

Do something out of the ordinary. For example, write about a tangential industry.
If you’re in the stock trading industry, write a post about Forex for a change.

43.

Give a personal share. Tell a story that’s mostly designed to let your readers get to
know you more.

23.
More Downloads: http://www.cyberoptik.net/downloads.htmlmistake in your company, come clean | Version 1.0
November 19 2013
44. Apologize. If you think you’ve been making a

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44.

Apologize. If you think you’ve been making a mistake in your company, come clean and
apologize. For example, if you’ve been over-promoting affiliate products, admit your

45.

mistake and tell people how you plan to change going forward.
Make a comparison. For example, describe how your method is like how Michael Jordan
trained for basketball.

46.

Appeal to someone’s sense of security. Explain how your product can help them
live a more secure life.

47.

Write an email designed to generate social proof. Talk about your clients’ past
results and make it sound like a lot of people have bought.

48.

#48

Pick up a copy of Joe Sugarman’s “Triggers” and find an emotional trigger you
can use. Write an email designed specifically to hit that trigger.

49.

Every once in a while, send a simple sales message. Just a few benefit
statements and a link to buy a product.

50.

Every once in a while, do a massive sale or a re-launch of an old product.
This can help you milk a lot more money out of things you’ve done in the past.

23.


19


50 Places to Promote Your Newsletter
Growing your list is a very important business-building task, but it’s not always easy to know how to do
it. This list includes 50 very useful ideas for promoting your newsletter. Keep it handy and do at least a
few of these each and every day:
1.

Put it in the sidebar of your website. Have some sort of headline above the
newsletter box to draw attention.

2.

Use a popover lightbox. These tend to work better than popovers or popups.
Put compelling copy next to the lightbox signup.

3.

Include it in your Facebook page. You can get code that lets people sign up
for your email newsletter directly from your Facebook page.

4.

#5

Link to it via content from your Facebook page. Post good content
regularly to keep people coming back to your website.

5.

Use Twitter. Vary your tweets. Do promotional tweets only occasionally.

49.

6.
Ask people you’re close to for #FF referrals. If someone big #FFs you, make
sure your subsequent tweets are hard-hitting, and use at least one to promote your

newsletter.


20


6.

Ask people you’re close to for #FF referrals. If someone big #FFs you,
make sure your subsequent tweets are hard-hitting, and use at least one to promote
your newsletter.

7.

Use Pinterest. Post pictures that catch attention and that people are likely to
want to share. For example, post content that presents shocking facts or highlights
an interesting idea.

8.

Do guest posts. Give a short blurb for your website or newsletter at the bottom
of the guest post.

9.

#7

Get interviewed. Get on podcasts or even radio shows if you can. Talk about your
newsletter briefly while you’re on the show.

10.

Create an infographic. Again, highlight little-known facts in your industry. If
you don’t know how to create an infographic, you can just do the research and pack
up the facts, then outsource the actual graphic creation.

11.

Add it to your LinkedIn profile. This is crucial in B2B markets.
12.

50.

Add it to your email signature. Again, this makes a huge difference in B2B

markets.


13.


Buy PPC traffic. Calculate your value per email address before making big buys.

21


12.

Add it to your email signature. Again, this makes a huge difference in B2B markets.

13.

Buy PPC traffic. Calculate your value per email address before making big buys. Try
http://adwords.google.com

14.

Get someone with a list to mail a promotion to your landing page. Make
#18

sure they get a high commission for everything sold.
15.

Buy solo mailer advertisements. You can pay people to mail a marketing message
for your list.

16.

Buy blog posts to talk up your site. Make sure the site gets traffic relevant to your
industry.

17.

Buy banner ads on highly relevant Internet forums. People on forums are
extremely passionate about your market and are very likely to want to sign up.

18.

Use Reddit. Go to specific subreddits, which are like small communities, to post your
content.

23.

19.

Use StumbleUpon. Make sure your content is quickly digestible and entertaining

before posting on StumbleUpon.
More Downloads: http://www.cyberoptik.net/downloads.html big forums in your industry. 19 2013 | Version 1.0
November
20. Post on forums. Be an active participant in the

22


19.

Use StumbleUpon. Make sure your content is quickly digestible and entertaining
before posting on StumbleUpon.

20.

Post on forums. Be an active participant in the big forums in your industry.

21.

Ask people on your list to forward your content. Have a link in your emails
that lets people forward content, but require people to sign up in order to see it.

22.

Syndicate your blog content. Talk to other site owners who’d want to display your
#19

content. Link back to your email opt-in page.
23.

Comment on other people’s blogs with intelligent, thoughtful
comments. Link back to your site.

24.

Write an in-depth Squidoo lens and link back to your site. Don’t write a
Squidoo lens unless it can really be the best lens on the subject.

25.

Join HARO and contact journalists who are interested in your subject.
See if you can get featured.

23.

26.

Answer questions on Quara. You won’t get much raw traffic, but a lot of journalists

and influential bloggers browse Quara. They might get in touch after seeing
knowledgeable responses.


23


26.

Answer questions on Quara. You won’t get much raw traffic, but a lot of
journalists and influential bloggers browse Quara. They might get in touch after
seeing knowledgeable responses.

27.

Work on your SEO. Get your pages ranked well to bring in tons of free traffic.

28.

Contact bigger sites in your industry and see if you can be one of
their writers. It never hurts to ask.

29.

Publish a free Kindle book. Use it to drive people back to your site.

30.

Make it a part of the signup process for a free web service.

31.

Buy co-registration leads. Make sure you separate your co-reg lists from your

#29

opt-in lists.
32.

Get listed in DMOZ. Most other directories are useless, but DMOZ still gets
quite a bit of traffic.

33.

Talk about it with people you meet in person. Don’t underestimate
word-of-mouth traffic.
34.

Create a simple and free iPhone app. Have your website as your iPhone app’s

website.



24


34.

Create a simple and free iPhone app. Have your website as your iPhone app’s
website.

35.

Think international. Create an international site to get easy SEO traffic for more
leads.

36.

Consider creating a pay-per-lead affiliate program. Pay affiliates for
bringing you email leads instead of for sales.

37.

Use Google+. It’s not the biggest social network in the world, but it gets a lot of
influencers. Getting just a handful of them on your newsletter could be a big deal.
#34

38.

Create a free template that links back to your site. For example, create a
WordPress theme for your industry and submit it to theme sites. People who install it
will automatically link back to your site and send you traffic, rankings and signups.

39.

Launch a review contest. Whoever sends the most traffic from reviews gets a
prize of some sort.



Brainstorm joint marketing projects with other people. Attending conferences is a great

25


40.

Brainstorm joint marketing projects with other people. Attending
conferences is a great way to meet valuable contacts.

41.

Enter a contest. If you win, a lot of people will check out your site. For example,
designers might check out Photoshop contests.

42.

43.

Create a controversial video making fun of something that’s
popular. Chances are it’ll get a lot of shares if you’re in a niche market.
#44

Comment on a recent event. For example, if a new product is launched, get
your hands on it and review it right away. A lot of people will link to you, bringing you
more newsletter signups.

44.

Create a useful Facebook app for your niche. Make it easily sharable,
which gets you more fans, which gets you more email registrations.

45.

Use a video-submission service like TrafficGeyser to get your best videos out
around the web. Have a link back to your site.


46.


Release informational content on Digg. Digg is much more informational

26


46.

Release informational content on Digg. Digg is much more informational
rather than entertaining and has a different flavor than Reddit.

47.

Discount and coupon sites. If you sell a popular item, put a discount code on
those sites which links back to your site.

48.

Your RSS feed. Talk about your newsletter in your blog posts.

49.

Start a blog series that spans different blogs. For example, you post Part 1
and link to Part 2, while Part 2 links back to you and so on. Have a strong opt-in box

#46

to capture the incoming traffic.
50.

Give away a free gift on commercial areas of large Internet forums.
Make people opt in before they get the free gift. It can be a report, a video, a
download or anything else with high perceived value.



27


So, what now?
Act. Set up your newsletter!
Hopefully you now understand why an email newsletter is so important for your business. There are many
vendors you can use to set up your list. The one we recommend is Aweber.
Here are some video tutorials to walk you through getting started: www.aweber.com/videos.htm
When we do your website project we can always help you get your newsletter set up FREE of charge.
Here’s to your success!
Ron Johnson and the CyberOptik Team
Main: (630) 296-6932 | Direct: (630) 533-3752
Email: ron@cyberoptik.net
Website: www.cyberoptik.net
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronjohnson



28


About CyberOptik
CyberOptik is a full-service web design firm based in Elmhurst. We can help you with
your website, social media, web hosting, branding, mobile websites, SEO and much
more.
If you’d like professional help with your website needs, don’t be shy! Contact us today.

To download more free info about marketing
your business online, visit
www.cyberoptik.net/whitepapers



29

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