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KEEPING IN CONTACT

There was a song we used to have to sing at the end of summer camp that went, "make new friends and keep the old; one is silver and the other's gold." Those of you who grew up in the United States probably have the tune of that folk song now ringing through your head--and for that I apologize. But I'm sure that even those of you who don't recognize the tune are still able to recognize the underlying wisdom of its meaning. The song is simply another way to express the notion that it's cheaper to keep a customer than to gain a new one. So how did we youthful, song-inspired campers keep up our friendships after we dispersed back home? Well, since it was still the dark ages we wrote letters. No doubt kids today send email. Which is good advice for staying in touch no matter what your age or relative level of camping expertise.

Communicating with your web site visitors through an email newsletter is one of the most effective ways to hold onto and increase interest in your web site. According to StatMarket.com, nearly half of all web traffic is comprised of first time visitors. Only one in four viewers are second time visitors with the percentages of even more frequent surfers plummeting down from there. New content is of course the biggest attraction for securing repeat traffic but even your web site's most ardent fans have no way of knowing in advance that their return visit will be rewarded with fresh material. You can have all the "continually rotating features and "What's New?" buttons that you want but they won't" impress people that aren't looking. This paradox is easily solved by maintaining a mailing list which keeps interested customers up-to-date, informed and, well, interested.

Dozens of free, web-based services that allow you to easily create and manage newsletters have seemingly cropped up overnight. "Opt-in" marketing strategies are all the rage now and mailing lists, or "listservs" as they are sometimes called in deference to the software behind them, are the number one player in this field. User participation is voluntary. Because people choose to receive your email they have essentially targeted themselves as being your market and are therefore far more likely to read your letters than they would read unsolicited spam. Basic mailing list capabilities that are offered for free are usually ad-driven similar to the manner in which free, personal email accounts work. Like free email accounts the free mailing list service features differ slightly from each other. You can poke around on your own to weigh the benefits of various providers.

There are some basic considerations you'll want to weigh when shopping around for a mailing list service. Does the service provide you with signup forms that you can include directly on your web site? Does it allow you to collect customer demographics? Will it track the click through rate of the URLs in each correspondence? Can you archive messages and customize automatic welcome announcements sent to new list subscribers? How well does it handle bounced mail messages? Are you able to add, delete and otherwise control individual subscribers by hand or is that all off limits and controlled by the remote system?

The content you create for your newsletter should be unique and not simply a regurgitation of material on your site. A newsletter gives you the opportunity to speak to your visitors in a more familiar tone. My favorite newsletters, the ones I actually read, are those that have an identifiable personality. Always start your newsletter with a "Letter From The Editor" section. If you don't quite know what this means just open up a few print magazines and check out their editor's columns for inspiration.

Most web sites don't have an appropriate forum for talking directly to visitors and a mailing list is the perfect venue for this type of communication which provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse for subscribers. Make note of any new content on your site and always provide inline links to take readers directly to the referenced material. Announce backend news that you think might be of interest such as personnel changes or hardware and other service improvements that let your visitors know your site is constantly evolving and improving. Since it's a 'news' letter you might consider providing actual news, perhaps paraphrasing current events of related interest, listing links to pages on your site that can provide further information. Even if those pages contain links to actual news articles that lead offsite, you've still increased traffic and some of that traffic is likely to stick.

One of the real advantages of mailing lists is that the personal tone you're allowed to take in the letters fosters a sense of community that can strengthen your branding and recognition. A step further in community building is the mailing list that goes beyond being a one-way newsletter and actually provides dynamic participation. Free two-way mailing list services are gaining popularity and one strong provider is eGroups.com. Remember that if you go in for a forum-style mailing list discussion you're likely to want or need a moderator in order to weed out spam advertisers and keep the conversation both lively and pertinent.

Because newsletters will bolster your name recognition you don't want that notoriety to be negative.  Don't waste your subscribers time with heavy link-ladden letters lacking original content or voice. Don't inundate them either. A monthly newsletter is reasonably frequent for all but the largest most dynamic sites. If you've promised to adhere to a timely schedule, don't deviate or come out late unless you want to risk your reputation for reliability and quality. You'll want to keep your subscribers on the mailing list as much as you want to keep them coming back to your site so try to reward them with special offers or insider tips.

Lastly, don't forget that sending out a newsletter hinges on actually having some news to share. So now that you have an outlet for your newsy updates why not go out and make some news of your own.
 

SAVVY SUBJECTS

So, you have decided that creating a regular newsletter would be beneficial to your Web site visitors, but what content should you include? Here are some ideas to include in your newsletters:

• Product or service specials:
  You can offer special discount or a free sample just to your online clientele.

• Special promotion:
  Sponsor a special give away or content, naming the winner (s) online.

• Special events:
  Tell your list if you or your company is involved with a special appearance or event.

• Newsworthy events:
  This may be a new product release, a recent award that was won, new appointment on staff, the recent partnership or even moving or expansion plans.
  

INTERNET USERS AND EMAIL USE
Web Site Journal, Copyright 1999 by Netscape.

According to Yahoo!, 97% of Internet users correspond by email, an astounding 84% of Internet users say they can't live without their email, according to a study by GVU. This phenomenon propels an opt-in email list to be one of the most useful and cost effective ways to communicate with your visitors.

On the contrary we found:

More than 90 percent of the US households with e-mail said they prefer regular, postal mail to e-mail when receiving bills, bank statements, or other financial reports at home. According to a recent survey commissioned by Pitney Bowes and conducted by International Communications Research (ICR) in March of 1999. The survey was conducted among 1,013 random US households, 34 percent of which had e-mail access.