Writing for Your Wealth

The mailing list is a key tool for building up your blog, whether you’re making money from advertising and affiliate programs or you’ve got a product of your own (book, ebook, continuity product, etc.) to sell.

I have to confess that it took me a long time to jump on board the mailing list train. I was afraid I’d be making a lot of extra work for myself, and though I knew it was important for people trying to sell things, I wasn’t sure I needed a list since my income comes from advertisements on my blogs.

I can only guess at how much money I lost out on because of my late start, but as we discussed in my Daffodil Principle post, it’s never too late to get started.

And that’s exactly what I did this past year. As a result, I’ve seen a definite boost in traffic (and earnings) because I implemented a mailing list on my home and garden blog.

But let’s start with the basics here…

What is a mailing list?

Essentially, a mailing list is a collection of email addresses from people who have agreed to receive email from you. It’s often called a newsletter or e-zine, because it typically offers information, tips, news, etc. in addition to product promotions.

You might send a newsletter to your list quarterly, bi-monthly, monthly, weekly, or even daily. You get to make the rules, though it’s important to be aware of what your readers want. A daily email may be too much, thus causing people to unsubscribe from your list. A quarterly or bi-monthly newsletter may be too infrequent, which could also cause people to unsubscribe because they’ve forgotten who the heck you are and why you’re sending them email during the lapse.

Why you need to start a mailing list

If you’re like me, you may wonder if creating a mailing list is worth it. After all, you’re already producing regular content for your blog, and you may be writing books or other information products to sell as well. Do you really want to put more on your plate by agreeing to put out additional content in a regularly published newsletter?

Yes.

Really.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why:

• Mailing lists can increase exposure to your products —

  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, marketing research tells us that people need to have multiple exposures to a product or service before they actually decide to buy.

  Let’s say you’ve written an ebook that you’re trying to sell. No matter how good it is, chances are a first-time visitor to your blog isn’t going to buy it. They probably need to hear about it several times before they decide it might be right for them. Now if that visitor returns to your blog on a regular basis, then they may get that exposure through your site, but what if they simply chanced on your blog and forget about it a day later? Wouldn’t it have been nice if you’d gotten their email address so you could remind them about your blog and your ebook?

• Mailing lists can drive traffic to your site –

  If you don’t have your own products, but you’re making money from running advertising or linking to affiliate sites, then you know you make more when you get more visitors to your site.

  The problem with making money from methods such as Adsense or the Amazon affiliate program is that the whole point is to get people to click links and leave your site. A lot of people who leave will never return again.

  What if you captured their email addresses before they clicked away and sent them newsletters that included links to your site every week? Think of all the times the same person might visit your site and click those ads in the future.

• Mailing lists trump RSS feeds for effectiveness –

  In the blogosphere, it’s popular to encourage/cajole/plead people to sign up for RSS feeds, and sometimes bloggers are so wrapped up in increasing their feed numbers that they forget why it matters.

  It’s all about turning a visitor into a long-time reader (and maybe even purchaser of your products), but a mailing list is actually more effective for this. This is because an email message lands smack in your inbox with your name on it, making it more personal than an RSS feed. When someone sends you a personal email you asked for, you read it!

  The downfall of RSS feeds is that a lot of folks who sign up for them (myself included) don’t read them regularly. Some people are daily feed checkers, but they probably scan tons of feeds when they log on, so your post may only get a second or two of eyeball time. Some people only check their reader when they’re looking for ideas to blog about, and then there are the, “Dude, what’s my Google Reader password?” folks. On the other hand, people read letters.

  Okay, now that I’ve convinced you that you need to start your own mailing list (at least nod your head and pretend I’ve convinced you, so I’ll feel better about writing all that), it’s time to jump into the down-and-dirty how-to stuff.

  Make sure to visit Part 2 of Mailing List Basics for Bloggers and Authors.

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