Comments on: Are Your Subscribers Missing Newsletters?

By: John

John — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 05:27:22 +0000

I subscribed to some newsletters. In that period just to see how it worked It’s not that different from ads in RSS feeds BTW, apart from the clickable map.

By: M. Lund

M. Lund — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:12:49 +0000

We all make mistakes. Hopefully not to big. We just have to learn from those mistakes - and continue to be more and more competent and get more subscribers.

By: Justin Premick

Justin Premick — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:36:03 +0000

Jim,

Thanks for the tip! Updating a page of your site with the latest issue and linking to that page is another great way to make sure that your new subscribers can see that issue as they sign up.

By: Marc Kline

Marc Kline — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:17:35 +0000

David,

This is very true. If you add this follow up message and your subscribers are waiting for the next in the series, they will be sent it.

Fortunately, as long as you update that *same* message with the newest content of your newsletter every month (or however often you send), you will not have any future issues.

I’ve added this caveat to the knowledge base item I referenced in the article, and linked to a new item I just made on changing message numbers:

http://www.aweber.com/faq/questions/341/

Thanks for this invaluable feedback.

By: David Travis

David Travis — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 09:52:05 +0000

I think this is a great tip Marc, but there’s a warning that you should give people.

I have a mailing list that I just use for monthly newsletters. After reading this tip yesterday, I set up my autoresponder so that now whenever someone signs up for the newsletter they get the issue that I sent out on the 1st of that month.

What I hadn’t bargained for was that this autoresponder message would be sent to everyone on my list, even those that received the original broadcast. It looks like when you set up an autoresponder for the first time, it goes out to everyone on the list even if they signed up months ago!

By: Jim Cockrum

Jim Cockrum — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 05:53:00 +0000

After we mail our newsletter we always post our latest newsletter online at the same url and then in the first message that new subscribers get from us when they join our aweber list they see the link. It’s the same link that way and we don’t have to change our message on aweber - just post the new newsletter on our "most recent issue" page.

i.e. example.com/CURRENTISSUE is always our most recent issue.

By: Marc Kline

Marc Kline — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:03:12 +0000

Thank you for your always insightful comments. Your impulse of wanting some kind of instant material is matched by your subscribers. Let’s expand on this a little…

A subscriber’s attention to your campaign is often at it’s highest point early after they’ve signed up.

So, another idea I mentioned in our "How to Get Started" webinar today is to put a *whole series* of automatic follow up messages into your campaign to complement your newsletters.

That way, you cultivate a close relationship early on when they want to hear from you most. Otherwise you’re sending just an autoresponder, perhaps your recent newsletter, then nothing further for up to a month.

As time goes on, you can send just your periodical newsletters along with some special messages (offers, etc.) here and there.

Tapering off a bit helps to keep people from feeling overwhelmed with too many messages and unsubscribing as a result. But you need to cultivate the early interest in order to get this sustained interest.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:05:56 +0000

My newsletter is Emailed every Wednesday, and a start-a-profitable-week edition is sent on Sunday.

However, I did not know this automated option was available and will put it in place immediately.

I’ve had 20 new subscribers added since last Wednesday. All of them could have received that newsletter had I known about the autoresponder solution. This oversight won’t happen again.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:58:17 +0000

Marcel,
How right you are. I am the first one to get a little hyper if I don’t have instant results after I sign up for something.

Even an email that says, "Hi, Welcome, Your requested info will be coming (whatever date)" will make me happy

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:37:56 +0000

I can understand someone not setting up a whole series of messages if they are going to be broadcasting, but it seems odd to not at least have a welcome message that says thanks for subscribing and where to read previous issues or other content.