Viral marketing and e-mail newsletters

Viral marketing is one of the fastest, cheapest, and easiest ways to get more subscribers to your e-mail newsletter or visitors to your blog or website.



While not every blogger supports the concept of e-mail newsletters, and arguably an RSS feed is a more useful information dissemination tool, many websites continue to use e-mail newsletters.



Many site owners use both blogs and RSS feeders, along with an e-mail newsletter.



Newsletters require subscribers, and one of the best ways to increase subscriber numbers, is by getting other people to spread the word.



That word of mouth, or word of keyboard technique, is called viral marketing.



Here is one tip for getting the subscribers to help your newsletter subscription levels rise.



Make sure you take advantage of viral marketing opportunities presented by the newsletter itself.



For example, place a "forward to a friend" section at the bottom of the e-mail. It will let your readers know that you want them to send the e-mail along to their friends. Of course, you will want use some nice language like, "If you found the contents/information/tips [found in] this newsletter helpful, be sure to forward it to your friends and business associates."



Or similar type wording.



Many people want to share the e-mail with their friends, but are occasionally reluctant to do so. Let them know that forewarding the newsletter is not only alright, but is encouraged.



Be sure to remind your subscribers, on every edition of the newsletters, that forwarding it to their friends and business associates is desirable.



Some newsletter publishers provide small incentives in return for forwarding the e-mail to potential new subscribers. A simple tracking code can verify forwards and new subscriber enrollments.



A unique landing page is helpful here, as the traffic to that page from the newsletter is extremely easy to measure.



Be sure to place a link back to the sign-up page on your blog or website, for new readers to add their name and e-mail address to your subscriber list.



Use the power of viral marketing, and make your e-mail newsletter perform better for your business.