Emails That Sell

An opt-in list can be quite crucial to any site or internet based company. Even for a small venture such as a niche profit site an opt-in list can make a world of difference and also add some extra income for your pocket. Rarely would you see an e-commerce site, big or small, that is without an opt-in list.

You see, an opt-in list enables a company to market themselves and their site via email. Its a bit like direct marketing but with an optin list your visitor asks for you to contact them. With an opt-in form, the subscriber consents to you sending them a newsletter from your company. Which means you can keep in contact with them and let them know what is available on your site as well as whatever is coming up.

And because you subscribers asked to receive your email anything you send can not be considered or called spam. There is a great number of successfully read promotional materials such as catalogs, newsletters and such that are sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up for them, meaning, they do want to be sent those items.

Building a customer list is crucial to the success of any business. And with only a small percentage of visitors actually subscribing for an opt-in list you need to do it smart. Many people find promotional mails annoying but if you always work to adding value to your subscribers you will see your list build up and grow. You can also achieve this by having valuable content on your site. When your visitors like what they read on your web-site the will more than likely want more. Having a 'Subscribe to my Newsletter' box you will have a new way to invite them back to your site. A little teaser or appetizer if you will.

A list of subscribers can also be used to earn extra money from other means than just marketing your wares and your services. You should first start with building a nice big list. Making sure you always are adding value to your subscribers and then you can start looking for ways to make money from your list. The more subscribers you have, the easier it will be to make money. Here are some tipes for how you can make money with your list:

1) Advertisements. There are loads of companies that are always eager to pay to put their ads in newsletters. But this is where it comes tricky. If you are just using plain text you wont be able to put in banners but if you have a html email you can. Also, I would not recommend renting your list out ever. But you can send a promotional email as part of your newsletter. A bit like the advetorials you sometimes see in magazines. Remember your newsletter could be placed with many ads and each one spells money.

2) Pay For Performance - Set up little Joint Ventures with other companies that have are related to your niche. If you are selling Dog Bowls you might like to work with a Dog Clothing company. Here the other company will provide links and brief descriptions of all their products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This P4P or pay for performance.

3) Make deals with other companies by asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list. With every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter, the other company will pay you a small percentage of your sales. The more people who buys from them, the more earnings you get.

4) Consignment - Some business will let you take products without paying for them until you sell them. This is called 'on consignment basis'. This is good when you are starting out but is hard to come by as there is a lot of trust given to you. All you then need to do is place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your newsletter.

5) Information products - People are always interested to shell out money to gain knowledge. So why not sell e-books or a compilation of your articles on your list. Manuals and how-to articles are in great demand. Your subscribers will obvioulsy trust your expertise so you could easily offer an ebook to them.

6) Create a network out of your list. Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list is, the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.

7) Make your subscribers your partners. If you have an affiliate program you should promote this to your list. If they like your products they are more likely to tell their friends or even the visitors to their website. So tell them about your affiliate program.