Is sending Newsletter still a good strategy?

Am I reading this correctly? You are advising people not to create a mailing list?

If you are that is the worst advice I've seen given out here.

Just because you appear to be making assumptions on spam filters and failing to get people to open emails, certainly doesn't mean it doesn't work. Incidentally are you talking about the site in your signature? If so are you basing this advice just on the IM niche?

Hardly a comprehensive test on whether or not peoople should build lists.

Seriously, maybe you need to write better subject lines and copy so more people open it and buy things from you, instead of blaming it on spam filters.

I agree with Richard and in addition to what he said, I would point out that if your newsletters are truly good quality, you will benefit from a viral effect when people start referring their friends.

Will

My experience is based on 8 years of list building.

Based on that experience, your advice is BAD, BAD, BAD.

If you're going to give out bad advice, then keep it to
yourself and don't get spreading it here.

For the record, my open rates vary between 15-40%
typically but for some segmented lists with highly relevant
offers I can get to 70% opens or more.

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

Are your newsletters going to the same people as before? May be it's a case of been there, done that, on thousands of other similar format sites. Maybe you could post a copy of your email you sent out.

A 12.5% open rate on the most targetted communication you can send (bar a phone call) is better than 2000 visitors to a webpage that do nothing.

Wow. I've been building lists for three years now and that's a first. I've been taught to build email lists since I started marketing online. It's been the best thing I have ever done. Despite spam filters, Social networks are still growing by the thousands through email. Just look at facebook!

The trick is to send them stuff they want to open. They will hint through the spam folder to find your email if it is valuable. Also use aweber or get response for a better delivery rate than possible with the free alternatives.

I do apologize for making such a post, sorry warriors. I just modified the post little bit so that it may not be misleading. Once again my apologies.

One thing to keep in mind is the way "open rate" is usually calculated.

Most of the time, a 1x1 pixel graphic is included with the email, and the open rate is based on the number of server requests for that tracking graphic. At best, that number will give you a minimum number due to a number of other factors.

Some readers use a preview pane in their email programs. Even though they read your message, they do not 'open' it.

As a security measure many email clients (including Gmail) do not download graphics. If the reader opens the email, but does not download the graphic, they are not counted as an open.

I'm going to swim upstream here, but I do believe their are some niches in which a traditional, ongoing newsletter type list is a waste of time for most folks.

Mostly, I'm thinking a of very tiny, very specific micromarkets in the 'desperate buyer' topics. They have a problem they urgently want to solve, but once they solve that problem, they have no further interest. Many people would tell you that you can always start pitching related products, but in my eyes, that leads to spray and pray marketing. Which leads to endless threads ranting about email marketers marketing.

Even in those markets, I do believe that you should capture email addresses from people who don't buy immediately. Use a defined email follow-up sequence to help some of them decide to purchase your product. But generating an ongoing newsletter with any relevance will be difficult.

of course, we always use newsletters to get the new orders from old customers.I think if you send the newsletter to the real subscribers with your store.thus, they will open your email mostly.Even though they don't have the intention to buy.But a clinking will happen for the actual subscribers.if you spam the non-subscribers,sure, the emails will arrive into the junk mail inbox mostly.

Yes but keep them short and concise. People don;t want to have to read a lot. Also make sure you have a dynamic subject line--something that makes opening your newsletter irresistible.

My weekly newsletters did not convert that well either. So I bundled 2 week in on letter, basically bi-weekly newsletters. Conversion raised with 8% after doing that. Worth looking into!

I send emails out every single day. And I make a lot of money on my lists.

I honestly don't care about openrates, CTR, etc. The only thing I care about is cold-hard cash in my pocket. And I tested many things. The most profitable thing is still mailing something every single day.

When you do it right, you won't get that many spam complaints. In fact, I saw less spam complaints after I started doing that.

Please note:

I am not talking about sending short, spammy messages.

If we have to talk openrates and all that funky jazz:

Last time I tracked, mine were between 10% and 50%. CTR as high as 70%.

Is email dead? I do not agree. In fact, I think it's more alive then ever. And the really savvy marketers will only thrive during these tough times. As they'll be the ones standing out from the rest.

Just my 2 cents.

I still send newsletters, don't call them that, I prefer to call them reports, but yes as long as the content is solid and promotes good offers it is still a very effective strategy.