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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Email marketers are scrambling to cope with Web 2.0.

Over 70% consider “competition with social media for recipients’ time and attention” an important challenge for 2010, according to Marketing Sherpa’s 2010 Email Marketing Benchmark Report.

So how can you deal with this challenge?

Try Email 2.0. Instead of competing, implement these ideas to put social media to work for your campaign.

Draw Up a Plan

First, it is important to pin down your strategy. What are your specific goals?

You could, for example:

• Find out what’s being said about your company
• Reach a wider audience (your contacts’ contacts)
• Have informal conversations with your customers
• Get feedback on new ideas

For more tips on building a social strategy, check out Groundswell authors Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li’s 4-step approach.

Put It Into Action

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to accomplish, try these moves to meet those goals and point your social network back to your emails.

• Occasionally, you may want to broadcast a brilliant newsletter beyond your list. Follow these steps to tweet your newsletter and show the Twitterverse the value of your emails. Put a sign-up form in the newsletter for new converts.

• Post a sign-up form on your Facebook fan page. Your fans’ contacts will see any posts they make about you, and potential fans can also find your fan page via search. If they click over to your page, a sign-up form instantly invites them to join your list.

• People who start following you via social media need a reason to subscribe by email, too. Make your web form is clearly visible, and try offering an extra incentive for signing up.

• You aren’t the only one who can hype your campaign: your readers can, too. Buttons to share your emails on social networks offer opportunities to promote your message – and give you a chance to go viral.

• Track the chitchat. Run a search on these sites to find out where people are talking about you (and what they’re saying!). Respond where appropriate, and link to helpful pages on your site or relevant blog posts.

  Twitter Search | Facebook Search (choose “Posts by Everyone”) StumbleUpon Search | Digg Search | Delicious Search

  Bonus: Not only do these searches reveal which sites to focus on, they might also be full of ideas for fresh newsletter content!

• Facebook has long offered the ability to host a custom application for your fan page. Now, you can have your application either request or require users to sign up for your emails. These opt-ins can then be imported to your email list.

• For a closer relationship, show as much interest in your subscribers as you ask them to show in you. Invite them to share their username for the network of their choice. Then pay attention to what they say.

Remember, the more readers see you, the more you’ll stay on their minds. And instead of an email automaton, they’ll see you as a person.

Your 2.0 Tactics

Which of these methods have you tried with your campaign? Have you seen a change in your relationships with subscribers?

In your experience, is the extra time and effort worth the results? Let us know!

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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I know you. You tell me what you want. I make it. I remember next time.

-D. Peppers and M. Rogers, Enterprise One to One

Customer satisfaction is vital for a company’s success. You take care of every customer, not only because you appreciate their business, but also because you know the profound effect of word-of-mouth.

Promptly responding to feedback can make you in an otherwise break-you situation. Read on to discover one company whose lack of response cost them millions, and three others whose effort earned them rave reviews.

As Joseph Jaffe points out, “Retention is the new acquisition.” Work on your own retention with these ideas on finding out what subscribers want – and delivering it.

A Public Relations Nightmare

Canadian country singer Dave Carroll‘s guitar was broken in spring of 2008 by United Airlines’ boisterous baggage handling.

The airline ignored Carroll’s complaints for months. Fed up, he launched a YouTube video informing the public that United breaks guitars (and a follow-up about the messy aftermath.)

The video was viewed over 7.5 million times. United eventually offered Carroll a settlement, which he redirected to charity.

United’s share value fell by 10% after the video’s release. The $180 million loss would have bought Carroll over 51,000 new guitars – and saved the airline’s reputation.

Gold-Star Acts of Service

On the other hand, when companies jump to respond to customer feedback, it pays off. Not only did these three avoid the snafu that United went through, they were also publicly praised.

Cathay Pacific flight attendants circumvented protocol to get a stranded passenger halfway around the world to his home, earning a glowing recommendation.

Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas found a disgruntled Facebook post about poor customer service. They apologized within hours with a basket of wine and chocolate.

Comcast’s Frank Eliason addresses customer concerns – and improves the company’s reputation – on Twitter. No need to wait for the cable guy – he’s @ComcastCares!

You Can Do It, Too

As an email marketer, you are already a step ahead of the game. Through your email list, you are already in contact with lots of your customers. Here are some ways you can tell your readers that you want their feedback, and get it from them.

• Make sure that the “reply” address and postal address listed in your emails are legitimate. If you don’t check them frequently, start doing so. Respond to every complaint and every compliment – show each customer you appreciate them.
• Periodically send out customer satisfaction surveys. Design them so your readers can critique as much as possible. Cover every topic you can think of, then leave room for ones you miss. Encourage comments and stories, and again, respond wherever you can.
• Include your company’s phone number in your emails with a clear invitation to call you with any questions or concerns.
• Set up an autoresponder that invites feedback. For example, AWeber’s new blog subscribers get an email that shows all the ways they can contact us and asks for their feedback and preferences.

Once you have your customers’ feedback, go use it!

• Apply your findings to the content of your newsletter. If your readers prefer certain topics, concentrate on them.
• If you get feedback regarding a lack of interest in certain types of content, try segmenting your list. Group subscribers with similar preferences and send the content each segment most wants.
• If you use a rating scale, segment the subscribers who rate an email low. Ask them what they didn’t like or what content they’d rather see. Personally address any serious problems.
• Use the feedback as content in your emails. Positive comments can be included as testimonials. If you make a change based on a reader’s suggestion, write about it. You value your subscribers and your door is always open – let them know.

What Makes You Shine?

It’s been said that customer service is the new marketing.

How do you find out what your customers want? How personal do you get with your responses?

How does their feedback make a difference in what you do? Share your thoughts!

You have 51 seconds to get to the point.

That’s all the average email gets, according to the Nielsen Norman Group. In those seconds, readers determine the email’s value and decide whether to act.

Clear presentation makes this decision easier. As Dr. Flint McLaughlin of MECLABS says, “Clarity trumps persuasion.”

Don’t try to convince your subscribers – instead, clearly present them with an appealing offer. These four techniques show you how the structure of your email newsletters can provide that clarity and take your readers to the next step.

Make Your Text Scannable

Only 19% of newsletters are read, according to the Nielsen study – the rest are scanned. Introductions are skipped and headlines get the most attention.

In an age of 30- second commercials and short Twitter posts, don’t bog readers down with one giant paragraph. Instead, try these techniques:

• divide your text into sections by subject
• if your content lends itself to list format, use bullet points
• for multiple articles, include only the first paragraph of each – link to the rest

There are many more ways to make HTML messages scannable. Plain text can be made scannable by tweaking both design and content.

Position Each Part Properly

Arrange your best enticements above the fold.

“Above the fold” is the part of a newspaper you see before unfolding it. In email, the “fold” is the point where readers have to scroll down. The job of above-the-fold content is to prompt that scroll-down.

Biggiantcrayon.com‘s tips on how web sites can sell themselves above the fold easily translate to email. See how they might work for you.

Include Links For Credibility

If you cite statistics, link back to a reputable source. If you mention a company or public figure, link to their web site.

Web developer Jennifer Kyrnin explains how to use links properly in web writing. Larry Masinter puts her ideas into play with some clearly explained examples.

Linking when appropriate has several benefits:

• your emails earn an extra layer of authority
• your readers get the extended value of the linked content
• most important of all – it’s polite

Use a Single Call to Action

The most effective emails offer only one call to action:

• Redeem your coupon
• Buy this product
• Take our survey
• Come get this information

The Erickson Barnett blog explains why this is. That 51-second scan is fast. Readers need to encounter one simple choice: to act or not. Until then additional calls to action clutter and confuse.

Other choices should stay on the landing page. Then readers can encounter them after they’ve decided to click through.

Why Should You Use These Techniques?

When an email has a messy structure and no clear objective, “I have to look at and make sense of this, and that is far too much unsupervised thinking,” says McLaughlin.

These techniques give your reader guidance and make it easy for them to engage. You may also want to use them on your landing page – according to McGlaughlin, after your reader clicks through, you only have about seven seconds to convince them to stay.

How do you use structure to make your emails easy to interact with?

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Wine sales have slumped with the economy, and only slight recovery is predicted for 2010. Wineries are dipping into a vat of ideas to increase sales, and email marketing is bubbling to the top.

As a winery, email marketing lets you reach your regular visitors, area restaurants and retailers and even consumers separated by distributors. And it’s worth noting that millenials, the newest generation of wine drinkers, prefer their wine promotions online.

But to email these groups, you need them to subscribe first. Try these techniques for some creative list building that can make your emails just as popular as your gold-medal merlot.

Plant Seeds To Harvest Subscribers

Customers

• Have a name-that-vintage contest. Announce it on your bottle labels for a few months. Require an email subscription and send the entry form as an autoresponder. (Broadcast the form to your existing list so they can participate, too.)
• Rent a booth at a state fair or farm show, like the Pennsylvania State Farm Show. Offer tastings – for free or for a fee – and ask those who participate to sign up for your emails.

Club members

• Web-savvy wine drinkers are turning up on cork’d, a social networking site for oenophiles. Create a profile, connect with users in your area and clearly display a link to your sign-up form on your profile. (Note: If you don’t have a web site, you can now create a web form and AWeber will host it for you.)
• If you sell gift baskets, add a card inviting the recipient to join your club by subscribing to its emails. Direct them to a web form specific to club members.
• Wine expos happen both online, like Wine 2.0′s New York Expo, and in person, like the Boston Wine Expo. Show up with some solid wines and a way to collect email addresses – try raffling off a premium bottle as an exchange.

Area Retailers & Restaurants

The ones who stock your wines:

• If you take orders over the phone, simply ask them. (And keep a list near the phone so you don’t ask twice.)
• If you use a printed order form, include a place for their sign-up information.
• If you use an online order form, host a web form on that page.

The ones you would like to stock your wines:

• Make sure your web site includes updated contact information, lists your wines and has sign-up forms (on every page – you never know where site visitors will land).
• Bring them samples. And while you’re there, ask if they’d like to get your emails. Explain that you’ll inform them when you have new releases, so they can consider carrying them.
• Join networking sites like Global Wine & Spirits. Include a web form in your profile.

Uncork Your Thoughts

As a winery, how do you grow your email lists? Do you email each of the groups above?

If you aren’t a winery, which of these techniques can you translate to your business? Share your thoughts on the blog!

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Photo: Jennifer Vecellio

Trent Reznor, frontman for industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, has earned a reputation as a marketing maverick. He engages fans, building loyalty and watching sales naturally follow.

In the Nine Inch Nails online forum, Reznor tells musicians they can be their own best marketers:

“If you are young and use the Internet, you know more about your audience than [labels] do – for sure. This is a revolution and you can be a part of it. The old guard is dying; if you have good ideas – try them.”

Email marketing is the perfect medium to try out these new ideas. With the following game plan, we’ll show you how.

Your Music + AWeber = Marketing In Tune

In 2007, the band began marketing independently when its contract with Interscope Records ended. Reznor organized an online scavenger hunt to entertain fans. He even scattered free, shareable USB keys loaded with their music at a few concerts.

While these strategies are specific to musicians and bands, the underlying principles hold true for all email campaigns.

“If you have nothing in common with American Idol and you don’t want to be the Pussycat Dolls, then you don’t really want to be on a label.”

To a label, Reznor points out, your vision and your longevity won’t be important. He suggests using new media and modern communication – such as email marketing – instead.

For example, you could use your email list to rally street teams. Segment your list by location and contact your fans in the cities you’ll be playing in.

Offer them free music, show tickets, or band paraphernalia in exchange for promoting you. Email lets you market remotely so the city is ready when you roll in.

“The role of an independent musician these days requires a mastery of first hand use of these tools,” Reznor says.

“Give your music away as high-quality DRM-free MP3s. Collect people’s email info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers.”

Nine Inch Nails The Slip art direction by Rob Sheridan and Trent Reznor.

In 2008, Reznor gave away NIN’s album The Slip in exchange for fans’ email addresses. Coldplay did the same with their album Left Right Left Right Left in 2009.

A new full-length album costs about $14.99. The average fan email address is worth $110 yearly. So these groups scored not only a higher return on their investment, but also invitations into their fans’ inboxes, which are priceless.

To try this with your own tracks, post offers with web forms on your website, to your Facebook profile, in your blog – and link to them everywhere. Deliver the MP3s upon confirmation by including the link on a web page or in a follow-up message.

“Offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions/scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell. Make the packages special – make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan.”

Ghosts I – IV, a 36-track album, was offered in a variety of packages. Although the attribution license let fans digitally share the album for free without penalty, the packages grossed $1.6 million within one week of their release.

These packages can also help if you are interested in growing your email list. Announce beforehand that your subscribers will get first dibs – and make sure to link to or embed your sign-up form!

“There are a lot more bands today, a lot more clutter. Try to identify what it is you’re trying to do. Play up your strengths and present them.”

Your look, your sound, your attitude – what makes you stand out? What resonates with your fans? What kind of an impact are you making with them?

You don’t have to guess what these things are. Your email reports show what attracts your subscribers. Open rates, click through rates and sales tracking all tell a story. Read that story, and follow its advice.

“Engage your fans. …Make cheap videos. Film yourself talking. Play shows. Make interesting things. …Be interesting. Be real.”

Though common in social media outlets, these ideas translate nicely to email.

Pearl Jam’s official fan group, Ten Club, rewards their fans with ticket upgrades, member giveaways and a community forum. To top things off, they send members a vinyl single of a live or unreleased track every spring.

Make your email list your official fan club. Include exclusive content: slice-of-life video clips, backstage passes, presale concert tickets.

And when you create this content, remember: be transparent. Stay relevant to your fans’ interests. Be yourself, and have fun building relationships with your followers.

We’re In This Together

We enjoy when you share your feedback with us and each other, so let us know:

Have you seen bands market in these ways? Has your own band used any of these strategies? What other ways have you seen musicians market?

If you are not musically inclined, do you still find this advice useful? What ideas will you take away with you?

Share your thoughts on the blog.

Note: all images in this post are Creative Commons-licensed. Click on the images or photo credit lines.

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Every subscriber is a beautiful and unique snowflake.

Each one belongs to your list for different reasons. For every email you send, some might just not care. To avoid subscriber fatigue, each reader should be sent only the content they want.

But how can you find out what they want?

You can ask them. You can send them surveys or add fields to your sign-up form.

Or, you can use the following method to harness the data you already have.

Use Ad Tracking to Determine Subscribers’ Interests

Ad tracking shows which web page each subscriber signed up from. That page reveals their interests.

Segmenting by these interests lets you send each reader the emails they want most.

For example:

• Your clothing store is having a sale on children’s clothes. You want to advertise the sale, but only to those readers who would be interested.

  So, you search for subscribers who used the web form on your site’s children’s clothing page. You segment that group, and send the broadcast to that segment.

• Your toy store is having an event for children with special needs.

  You want to target subscribers who signed up through your special needs toys page, so you search by that ad tracking name and email only that segment.

• You post your exercise blog on the same site as your nutritional supplement e-store. Your subscribers from both pages are added to your main list, which gets your weekly fitness newsletter.

  When items in your e-store go on clearance, you email the segment who signed up there. Your blog readers may only want helpful information, but your store visitors are probably prepared to make purchases.

Easy as 1, 2, 3…

Segmenting by sign-up form is easy to do. Just follow these ABCs…

1. Apply Ad Tracking Names

First, apply an ad tracking label to each of your web forms. (You can also do this for people who subscribe by email.)

Click the “Web Forms” tab in the control panel navigation

After designing your form, click on the settings tab

Click “Show Advanced Settings” and create an ad tracking label for your form

2. Track Your Subscribers As They come In

As people subscribe, the form they sign up with will be noted. To see who came in where, search your subscribers by ad tracking category.

Select “Search” from the subscribers menu

Search by “Ad Category” and type in the ad tracking label you gave your form

3. Target Subscribers Based on Each Segment

Then, decide which forms you want to segment by and name each segment. Now when you send your messages, you can select the segments you want to target.

Name and save the segment created by searching a specific Ad Category

Create a broadcast message and select the segment from the drop-down menu

If you want to compare your web forms’ effectiveness and are not planning to segment, check out the ad tracking report for your list.

How do you segment?

Do you segment with ad tracking? What kinds of messages do you send to the different segments? Have you found that sending targeted messages affects your unsubscribe rate?

Your stories, as always, are valuable – to us and to your fellow readers. Please share them on the blog!

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Although emails from AWeber customers like you are already whitelisted on an ISP level through us, your emails may be filtered on an individual level.

Each subscriber has the opportunity to whitelist you within their own inbox. This can prevent confusing messages and keep inboxes from filtering you out.

So how do you get your readers to give you their stamp of approval? You ask, of course.

Ways to Ask

You can ask in two ways. Your choice depends on how long you want your request to be and if you have a site to host an instruction page on.

Ask Subscribers to Add You to Their Contacts or Safe Sender List

That way, each subscriber can take the appropriate action for their ISP.

This is quick to implement, and a simple message (like this one from Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment) indicates that the process will be easy.

Ask Subscribers to Whitelist You, and Offer Complete Instructions

Subscribers may appreciate a custom guide for their ISP. You can build your own or use a template from sites like CleanMyMailbox or EmailDeliveryJedi, then host it on your site.

This example makes it easy for subscribers to find custom instructions to whitelist and email address

This method offers flexibility: you could use a simple “whitelist us” link as Marketing Experiments does, or include a full paragraph on why you’re asking your readers to take this step.

Marketing Experiments provides a simple text link

If you need help putting together an instruction page, feel free to borrow from our examples.

Something to avoid: If you include an email address in your whitelisting request, make sure to disable the link. Otherwise, subscribers may assume that clicking the link will help them whitelist you, and be frustrated when that is not the case, like in this request from Steve Spangler Science.

Places to Ask

The places you make your request are going to depend on your preferences, your campaign history and your readers’ reactions. You may also want to put requests in place for both current readers and new subscribers.

• The thank-you page.

  Alert your new subscribers before they ever get an email. If you’re using a custom thank-you page, not only can you make your request, you could even include the full set of instructions. Whitelisting you at this point ensures that readers will get every one of your messages.

• The welcome email.

  Request an exchange: you promise to send your readers important updates, special deals and the best content you can provide. In return, you ask them to whitelist you. Make sure to point out how they benefit: they won’t accidentally miss out on those deals or updates.

• A paragraph in a broadcast.

  Did some subscribers miss the whitelist request on your thank you page or welcome email? A polite request in a regular email might be the best way to reach them – especially if you include other interesting content in the broadcast.

• An entire broadcast.

  This option requires careful consideration. On one hand, you can include instructions directly in the email without creating or linking to a separate page. On the other hand, such an email may annoy subscribers. Think about your readers. Are they likely to unsubscribe if they get a request instead of the content they are expecting?

• The preheader.

  This keeps things subtle. Listing a simple link at the top of each email reaches current subscribers without bothering them with an announcement. It also keeps the option of whitelisting you available for those who overlooked or ignored previous requests.

Keep in mind, while whitelisting can help you reach the inbox, you won’t stay there long if subscribers don’t like what they get from you. So keep striving for the most relevant, useful content possible!

How Do You Ask?

Do you ask your readers to whitelist you? How do you go about doing so? We’d love to hear your results and ideas!

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Winter is here. All things green are hibernating and garden center sales are dipping as low as the temperature. No matter how many promotions are emailed, those seeds and spades just won’t move off the shelf.

Many businesses have off-seasons for their sales. There’s almost no reason to sell sometimes.

So don’t.

Don’t stop emailing, though! This isn’t an off-season for your campaign. Instead, it’s an opportunity to build respect and trust through relationship marketing.

Create value with your subscribers by sending them interesting content they can use now, nestled in their cozy houses while their garden waits for spring.

Cultivate Respect With These Content Ideas

What can you write about that your readers will give a green thumbs up? While you’re digging for ideas, you might want to try these:

What should your readers do to keep their gardens safe until springtime? They may not be aware of all the steps they should take, so let them know!

Research gardens like those at The Grow Spot. Present them to your readers as pure entertainment, or include ideas on replicating them at home.

Are economics affecting the gardening landscape? Is a new technique catching on? Give your readers the inside edge, and you’ll be one of the trends they follow.

Do you know any gardeners with years of experience and a following of their own? Ask them for an interview. Get the dirt on how they like to garden, and share their fresh perspective with your readers.

Keep your readers busy with wreaths in December and windowsill herb gardens. Include photos and instructions for a complete lesson.

Marie Ianotti, master gardener and author, presents important details to consider. Check them out, then create your own guide for your readers.

When early spring arrives and the rush for lilies and loam begins, your subscribers will be used to getting emails from you with content they appreciate.

So tell them what tools will be useful and what flowers will flourish. Link to products on your web site or provide your store address and hours to complete the sales.

Your readers will already respect what you have to say and expect your information to be helpful, so they’re likely to follow your suggestions.

Laying the groundwork now while the soil is frozen just might help your sales blossom when it thaws in the spring.

What’s Your Winter Strategy?

What content do you send during your business’ off-season?

What kinds of emails earn your loyalty – and your purchasing power?

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