This story appears in the
December 2003 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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Question: Our company has
built a large following for our subscription-based monthly
newsletter. How can we use this forum to generate more sales?
Answer: I'm a fan of
direct mail and e-mail newsletters, particularly ones rich in
content. To maximize this communication, why not encourage readers
to go to your Web site? There, you could offer to e-mail them a
special free report. This lets you perform valuable market research
as you learn which topics are most enticing to clients and
prospects.
Auto-responders can be incorporated into products on your Web
site to continue conversation with interested parties.
1ShoppingCart.com, for example, allows you to preset e-mails to be
sent to visitors one, three or seven days after they buy or ask
about a product. This is an effective practice that lets businesses
up-sell related products to new customers.
You can also save money and build your database by offering the
newsletter online with a viral component, so visitors can send
friends a copy- an automatic online subscription form.
Finally, create a separate pullout section of the printed
newsletter for folks who may be interested in buying your product
or service. If they're not interested, they can pass. If they
are, give them a way to contact you in the medium they prefer, such
as fax, phone or e-mail.
Nancy Michaels is president of ImpressionImpact.com, a
marketing consulting company. She can be reached at nmichaels@impressionimpact.com.