Liveblogged: Engaging with Email Newsletters #typeacon

Speaker: Kelby Carr @typeamom
Session: Engaging with Email Newsletters
Where: TypeAParent Conference, June 23-25, 2011, Asheville, NC

Engaging with Email Newsletters

• Email is a very viable and powerful tool. Kelby thinks we will be surprised by how much email marketing works.
• Email is not dead!! People are heavily sharing via email.
• Email challenges…some get overlooked.
• 93% of online users share content via email newsletters.
• Email primary channel for content sharing.
• 66% of content sharing is via email.
• 28% are using social networking
• Instant messaging

Build Your Email List

• Feedburner: where people can subscribe via email. Can import email subscribers to Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
• Mailchimp is free with a small list. If you have to pay, it is probably since you have built your list.
• Get people to sign up. Collect helpful information from your subscribers. Add a field or two to your email subscription sign up to find out what your subscribers want.  You can ask if someone wants a daily deal, for instance.
• You can make money by adding affiliate links to the email newsletter.

Beware of Spamming

• Look at the Canned Spam Act rules. Cannot email people who don’t want your email. They must opt in.
• If you use MailChimp or Constant Contact, they make you follow the rules. Must only add people who have agreed to opt in.
• Add information at the bottom of an email to “click unsubscribe.” And contact you.
• Google Friend Connect — You can send a newsletter to your contacts.
• Don’t irritate anyone on your list. Think about whether you should send one or two emails a week. You might need to experiment with your list. Monitor your stats.

The Email Newsletter

• Small engaged list is more powerful than a huge unengaged list.
• Is anyone still using “OpenRate” email?
• Can look at links. Which links performed best. Looks at links within the email for how people are clicking through. Signed up for newsletter. Opened your newsletter. Clicked through. Look at level of engagement.
• What about deals? Sign up for newsletter and a free ebook. Some will sign up to get the ebook and then never come back.
• You can send emails to people who only click through on your posts.
• Subject line is crucial. Don’t trick people. Don’t customize with name. Make it powerful, but not corny.
• You can send two different emails to the list: one part will get an email with one subject line and the other will get the other subject line.
• Analyze what works with your audience.
• Play with what works.

Killer Content

• Promote new posts.
• Promote old posts.
• Promote seasonal timely posts. If something breaks in the news, you can revive the post in your email newsletter.
• Spread the word about advertising.
• Use affiliate links to generate revenue.
• Use affiliate links to share about.
• You can create multiple lists. “Do you want to find out when I have ad sales?”
• Companies can buy email blasts on your newsletter.
• Comment from @angEngland: You can set up an auto reply so that new subscribers get a tour of your site for posts, daily deals.
• Another source of revenue — ads, links, affiliates.
• Sign up for sites with Mailchimp or constant contact lists.
• When you start a list always send a test. Always!

HTML and RSS

• Look at HTML coding. Check mobile use with smartphone.
• HTML emails perform very well vs. text email. Set up your HTML email with a header to make it more attractive to click through.
• Kelby says that click through rate from text email is not as high as HTML.
• Kelby gave up on RSS feeds.
• If paying per person, Kelby doesn’t want “junk” people in her list. You want to have a solid, engaged list.

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3. LiveBlogged: Transitioning from Blogger to Social Media Consultant #typeacon
4. LiveBlogged: Transitioning from Blogger to Social Media Consultant #typeacon
5. 7 Steps To Avoid Email Overwhelm