Proven Method of Boosting Newsletter Subscriptions by 200%

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by Michael Wong

I do envy newsletters with subscriptions in the hundreds of thousands. So, last month, I decided to set about boosting my newsletter subscription rate.

This is the first in a series of promotions I will use to boost subscriptions.

The most effective form of marketing is word of mouth. And the best thing about it is that it is free. So, I thought it would be a good idea to partner with other quality newsletters, in a cross-promotion exercise.

I formed partnerships with two other newsletters. When someone subscribes to my newsletter, they receive a welcome email, thanking them for their subscription. All I did was add a few lines recommending that they subscribe to my partners' newsletters. My partners did the same with their welcome email.

Immediately, I saw the results. Statistics before the partnership:

27 days - 136 new subscribers (Average of 5.04 per day.)

Here are the stats, since the cross-promotion campaign began:

13 days - 204 new subscribers (Average of 15.69 per day.)

That's an increase of 211%. Not bad for a day's work.

Here are my tips, if you would like to set up similar cross-promotion partnerships:

2. Don't partner with more than three other newsletters. If you offer too many other newsletters, it could overwhelm the reader with too many offers.

3. Add your own endorsement to the newsletters.

   e.g. "I also recommend that you subscribe to the following newsletters:"

4. Use 4-6 lines of text to promote the other newsletters.

   e.g. Subscribe to Fawad Ahmed's Goldvisions Gazette for great marketing and promotion tips every month. His articles have been published in Internet Day, Virtual Promote Gazette, A.I.M. and other top newsletters. You'll also get a chance to win a free promotion to 1500 search engines and directories. mailto:goldvisions-subscribe@egroups.com

   . OR Subscribe to "NETzine, Internet Success Stories." Join my friend Phil Clelland, as some of the web's most successful entrepreneurs reveal their success stories. Learn from those who make their living online. mailto:netzine-list-request@wwmall.com?subject=subscribe

5. Hyperlink the email subscription address, to make it easy for the person to subscribe.

   Add "mailto:" before the email address to turn the email address into a link.

   Add "?subject=SUBSCRIBE" to the end of the email address to instruct the email program to add "SUBSCRIBE" to the subject line.

   Add "?body=SUBSCRIBE" to the end of the email address to instruct the email program to add "SUBSCRIBE" to the body of the email.

e.g. http://www.eboz.com

becomes: <a href="http://www.eboz.com">AOL Users Click Here</a>

e.g. mailto:eboz-on@mail-list.com

becomes: <a href="mailto:eboz-on@mail-list.com">AOL Users Click Here To Subscribe</a>

Now, go find your new partners!