Email is the future.
Wait, is this 1995 or 2010?
Well . . .
The big discussion online this week is whether or not you should drop your blog in favor of an email newsletter or eZine. And the consensus is that for many online businesses and consultants, dropping the blog may be more beneficial.
I’m not sure I agree that this is a good approach for authors who are trying to become experts and build their brands online. I think authors (and most small businesses new to social media) should use both. Wondering how each one would work best for you?
Read on.
Either: You blog when you are trying to build a brand. Blogs can be added to search engines, can come up as search engine results, can be forwarded, liked on Facebook, Tweeted, added to Stumble Upon, and replied to with a comment.
Or: You send out an email newsletter when your audience knows so much about you that they don’t have to scrape the Google results to find the info they’re looking for. Say, you’re Lauren Conrad (who also has a blog, btw). Lauren Conrad could send out just an eZine once a month and still sell tons and tons of books. But pair an email newsletter with a blog and wowza!
Either: You blog because you are a writer and have a lot of extra tidbits to share with your audience that work well as a blog and/or eZine material. You blog because you are trying to sell a product, not just a consulting service. You want to sell books, not to just be a thought leader.
Or: You send out an email newsletter because you find that your product pitch for each newsletter gets you a 120% return rate the first week after sending out the newsletter. Think of how this is amplified for you with a blog. Say you send out an eZine issue and it is forwarded by a subscriber to a friend. They plug in the info from the newsletter into Google (or better yet, simply click from the newsletter) to your blog. They read about you, they read some of your posts, voila! They decide to buy the product too!
Either: You blog to become an expert. People are looking for a solution to their problems (be it organic gardening, how to travel well, how to take great photographs, whatever) and you’re it! The blog is proof to them that they have found the right person to turn to.
Or: You send an eZine to solidify your status as an expert to folks who read your blog and whose ears perk up when they see your name on Twitter. It’s a deep level of commitment to be allowed to send strangers email (with promotions, no less!). It’s an honor.
And if you don’t yet do it yet, well, it’s time to get with it!
Action Tip: Do you have a blog and no email newsletter or eZine? What are you waiting for? I recommend Aweber or Constant Contact for email list management (about 20 bucks/month). For folks who want to get started with zero cost, try Mad Mimi (free up to 100 subscribers).
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve had good success with clients who create their newsletter content in their blog and then send out a newsletter with a two sentence summary about the blog content and a ‘Read More’ link.
There’s different ways to configure this but you get the best of both worlds!
That’s good feedback, Mitch. Yes, a blog/email newsletter works VERY well together. What those clients have done is a blog broadcast (really easy through Aweber or Mad Mimi). It’s a great marketing tool. Points folks back to valuable content on the blog (hey, folks are busy, they don’t always read everything you write, yes?).
Great points. Thanks, Mitch!
Trish,
I agree that it’s good to use email and blogging together.
I’ve heard good things about MailChimp, which I believe is free up to 500 subscribers. I use Constant Contact.
I’ve heard not so good things about MailChimp, but yes, Constant Contact is a great option. Your newsletter looks great!
You are right. Having a blog and a newsletter is important to your business. If you offer a blog with useful inofrmation that your visitors enjoy, it increases your chance of them subscribing to your newsletter.
The very best way to make sure people will keep coming back to your blog is to get them to subscribe to your list. Offer qaulity content on your blog and you will get more subscribers.
Yes! They work VERY well together. And with email making such huge strides among the new-to-the-Internet crowd, it’s like a double-impact punch! If folks miss your blog posts, send a blog broadcast! Thanks for the input!
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