Two money making website archetypes for online publishers
Online publishers and editors are always looking for ways of growing their audience. For most, this involves increasing the number of email subscribers on their email marketing lists.
It is, of course, very important to be continuously looking for new audience members. Or better yet, be visible to audience members who are searching for the content you provide. That’s why SEO, social media marketing, link building and distributing press releases are important marketing strategies within the online environment.
But what about all of those loyal users who already subscribe to your free email newsletter? It’s much easier to sell products or services to people who have already done business with you. They have a level of trust and the relationship you share is not a new one. They know you, even if you don’t know them as personally as you could. There is also more of a chance of to offer a paid newsletter that includes added content.
Email Newsletters
Newsletters, by definition, are designed to serve subscriber needs. They are regularly distributed publications about topics of interest to a particular group of people. Historically, we have thought of email newsletters as free products and print or PDF newsletters as paid products.
However, some publishers, like Phil Ash of InvestingDaily.com and BusinessManagementDaily.com are now offering paid email newsletters. Stocks on the Run is a paid email newsletter published by Ash. It has no website component. So for $5 a month, once a month, every month, a subscriber will receive an issue by email until they cancel. They will also receive email alerts and 2 bonus picks during the calendar year.
Whichever route you take, be it paid newsletter or a free email newsletters, or both, there is value for the recipient as well as the sender. It’s a chance to communicate directly with your audience, and a chance for the audience to do the same.
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3 best practices for free email newsletters
The first step in creating a valuable free email newsletter is to know your audience. This will typically require research so you can properly define the needs of your online audience. Do you currently know all of the terms your audience searches for online? Do you know what your audience values pertaining to content? If you don’t, then you have some more research to conduct.
Secondly, make sure you align your email newsletter with the overall goals of your publishing business. If your goal is to sell more subscriptions, then your free email newsletter has to be filled with the best content available, so that anyone who gets a glimpse of it will be willing to pay.
Lastly, send a welcome email to new email newsletter subscribers. This is the place to truly begin the relationship. Welcome them to your world of content, thank them for subscribing and make them realize they will only be receiving emails from you, and not some third-party spammer. The email should include the person’s name and may point to specific sections of your website that will be of interest to them.
Portals
A portal is a website that syndicates content from its satellite websites. Portals are specifically designed for SEO, email marketing list building and lead generation.
Portals are intended to build and feed an audience, while email newsletters are intended to enhance relationships with an audience and maximize revenues.
Do you want to learn about other website archetypes and different subscription website models? There are a number of different archetypes for subscription websites, all of which can be very successful when created correctly. To learn how to correctly build successful subscription websites, join Phil Ash and Don Nicholas for their Building Subscription Websites webinar on October 12.
