No matter what type of business you have … you are losing money if you don't have a rockin' list.

I have a resource I think you'll like. Kelly McCausey put together a holiday report with an audio about how to increase your profits with a mailing list this holiday season –
Make Money with your List
It's very affordable and it comes with a worksheet. It's definitely a great buy for anyone looking to increase their holiday profits.

Plus, here is my favorite article that I wrote about Common Newsletter Mistakes. Enjoy..

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Nobody Signing up for your Newsletter?
by Nicole Dean

Question: Why is nobody signing up for my newsletter? I know that's
where the money is, but I just can't get anyone to sign up. What
can I do?
Signed – Yoo hoo… Anyone there?

Dear Yoo hoo… Anyone there?
Please don't feel badly. I actually get this question a lot in my
consulting business. It's a very common problem and, fortunately,
one that you can start improving today.

Here is the short version of the checklist I go through with
clients when examining ways to fix this problem.

1. Where do I sign up?
The first thing I do when I'm helping a client is to play the game
called “Where's the signup box?” If it takes me more than half a
second to find the newsletter signup form, then we've got work to
do.

Your signup box should not be a challenge to find. If it is, it's
defeating the purpose. So, put it front and center in the top third
of your page. It's not even a bad thing if you have it on your page
… gasp… twice.

Also, most people have pop-up blockers now, so don't rely on a
pop-up to get you a parade of traffic. Pop-ups and pop-unders are
great, but they can't be the only ways to get people on your list.

2. What am I signing up for?
The next thing I check is the copy in the signup box. If your best
sales pitch is “Sign up for my mailing list” or “Sign up for our
newsletter” – then forget about it!

It used to be years ago that's all you needed to say, but now
people need a little more explanation and encouragement. Will you
be providing tips, ideas, freebies, coupons, resources or advice?
Let me know what I'm getting into before I'll hand over my email
address…. And it better be good.

3. Why should I sign up?
A little bribery can go a long ways. Will I get a bonus for signing
up? Do you have a special report or a freebie for me? No? Well, get
to work. There's a lot of competition out there, so don't be afraid
to offer a little extra to your visitors.

4. How do I sign up?
The last item on my checklist is the sign-up procedure. If you're
using a service that makes me jump through too many hoops, then
I'll probably give up and move on to something else. Yes, double
opt-in is good, but programs that make you join and jump too many
times are just ridiculous.

Plus, if you're asking for too much information (like my telephone
number), I'll likely pass. There's no email list worth me getting
phone calls during dinner. It doesn't matter how good your mailing
list is.

So, there you have it. Start with this quick checklist to see
immediate improvement in your sign-ups. As far as getting traffic
to your site to see your signup box – that's another article in the making.

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If you need enticements (bribes) to get people to your list, grab some free e-books here http://www.free-ebooksonline.com

Have a great day!
Nicole

PS. Don't forget to check out Kelly's Holiday Report at – Make Money with Your List

Nicole, you asked for a question so here goes: How do I know if what I'm writing has any impact? I very rarely get any feedback even when I ask for some. How do I know if this is my target group?

Hi, and thanks for replying to my newsletter. Here are some tips I can give for making your newsletter list more responsive…

1. Try sending a text version instead of an html version, if appropriate. If you have a professional business, of course that wouldn't work, but if you're trying to build a relationship where you're recommending products and services, then it may get better results. One thing I learned from Alice Seba's email tips is that friends write in plain text, so people may tend to read that as if it were written by a friend, rather than as written by a business.

2. Write to one person, when appropriate. Rather than saying “Hi everyone” or “to everyone reading this” — act as if you're writing to just a friend.

3. When you ask for feedback and don't get it, offer an incentive next time. Say “as a thank you for replying to this survey, I'd like to give you …” or “send me your #1 question and receive …” That can help get people to act.

4. Track your links in your newsletter to see if what you're sending IS hitting the mark. If you do a redirect, you can check your stats to see how many people clicked through the link. That'll give you an idea if your offer was appealing to them or not. Then, tailor your future mailings to what is attractive to your readers.

For instance, in this post, I linked to http://www.showmomthemoney.com/email-tips.htm 
Now, in a few days, I can go into my stats to see how many of my readers were interested in receiving newsletter tips from Alice Seba. See how easy that is?

I hope that helps. Please keep the questions and comments coming!
Nicole

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