Email List Guidelines

Hey Julia - so are your members already on an email list or are they subsribed to an RSS feed?

An easy way to get people to sign up would be to place an Optin form on your site, offer a valuable free gift as an incentive to sign-up. This may be a free ebook or video series that your visitors would be interested in.

You could make a blog post advertising this and you will see people starting to sign up.

However, as far as I know, you can't add your already registered members to this list - they'll have to sign up for themselves. But if you have some sort of database of contact details you could easily get around this by dropping them an email thanking them for all their support etc. etc. etc. and offer them the free gift after they sign up to you exclusive members area....

You get the idea?? All this can be done quite easily through a reputable AR company like Aweber, Get Response. Hope that helps

Are your "registered members" paid memberships?
If so, you'd want to place them on a "buyers list" because they have already purchased from you.
If not, you might still want to have them on a separate list so the other list can promote becoming registered members without annoying the existing registered members by asking them to do something they have already done.

Because email marketing is permission based, it is better to simply inform those with whom you already have an existing relationship with that you are starting a newsletter that could greatly help them in their fitness efforts. let them decide whether or not they want to join.

Think about it from their perspective. Is it better to have a personalized request from someone they already trust asking them to get even more help and benefits from them, or to receive an unwanted email from which they have to unsubscribe? I know which I would prefer.

It doesn't necessarily have to be an email either. If they are used to getting information from you/ your site, then put a link to your so called "squeeze page" where they would normally look.

I think that if you focus more on helping and on letting them make the choice to join your newsletter, you will be perceived in a much better light. In IM, your reputation is everything, so you don't want to start out by giving them a bad experience.

I hope this helps,
Jim

Thanks retsced and Jim. Of course, the last thing I want is for people to feel like I'm spamming them, that's not what my site is about at all. Really appreciate the advice on that.

Jim, do you think it is important for me to create a squeeze page for the newsletter? I was just going to put it in a box on the homepage, but I suppose something like that would give me more of a chance to explain what people will be getting.

I think a squeeze page would give you a chance to better explain as you mentioned, but it would also allow you to offer an "ethical bribe" in exchange for their email.

In case you're unfamiliar with an ethical bribe, that would simply be a free report or something similar they might find useful. In the fitness niche, it could be something like a 31 day fitness journal they could print out to track their fitness progress. You could have things like:
Exercises I completed today_________________
Number of Sets_______________________
Approximate calories burned ___________________
What I ate for breakfast ______________________
What I ate for lunch ________________________
What I ate for dinner ________________________

You get the idea. It wouldn't take much to flesh out something like that, and the perceived value could be high if it is useful. You could also throw in things like their weight or measurements on a less frequent basis. You could also pepper in things like motivational quotes or affirmations related to fitness. The main limits are your imagination.

By having an ethical bribe, you open the door to OTOs (one time offers) cross sells, up sells, affiliate products, etc. It will also most likely increase your subscribe rate. All of that can lead to more buyers, which is your goal in having a list in the first place.

Another thing about a squeeze page, if you choose to put up a video, it could lend you credibility as a real person and as an authority on fitness. You don't have to go sales page crazy on your squeeze page. Just keep it simple.

You could still put a small signup form on your main page if you want, but make sure it is "above the fold" meaning they don't have to scroll to get to it. (Maybe above your vlog)

Do what feels right to you and your site. You have lots of options.

I hope this helps,
Jim

Thanks Jim. That's a really great suggestion. I think I might do just that!

Do you have any recommendations for good Email Marketing services? Someone recommended Get Response, which looks good, but doesn't look like it will integrate with Drupal (my site's platform).

...Actually, I'm starting to wonder about Drupal and am considering switching to Wordpress, but that's another thread!

Most marketers consider aweber to be the best autoresponder usually followed by Get Response. I have an account with rapidresponsebot, because I got it bundled with some things I bought a while back. I also have a free account with listwire, but I'm moving away from that as I'd prefer not to have their advertising distract from mine.

Just about any of them should integrate fine with your Drupal site, you just would need to use the HTML version of the form. If you understand HTML and form structure, you can tweak the signup form to your liking. It isn't really hard, but it can be confusing at first.

As for switching to WordPress, it is a very easy to use platform, and it is very versatile due to the plugins available for it. There are also a lot of different themes that you might enjoy using. However, if you're happy with Drupal, and it is easy for you to use, then you probably don't need to switch. It all comes down to being your choice. :-)
That's the beauty of internet marketing, you have a lot of flexibility. The challenge is you have to figure out what works for you.

I hope this helps,

Jim

A database is useful,
but a subscriber list is even more so!

It is easy to get in touch with subscribers
because you only have to use the
follow ups with the auto responders.

A database meanwhile,
if you send in bulk,
is considered a spam,
and could land you in hot soup !

Excellent. Thanks very much Shaun.

Hey Julia, fellow londoner here!

You've had some great advice above, and agree a squeeze page is the best way to go to send to your existing customers, but remember to put an opt-in form on your home page too, to capture all new visitors!

If you get stuck there are plenty of people on the forum to help and so you know aweber also has a good support and training to help you set up!

Best of luck with it! gonna check out your site now!!!

..............Just had a look round your site! as an ex fitness instructor I think its a great site! Definately would suggest adding an opt-in form, also by including sections on diet and nutrition and supplements (whey protein, creatine etc etc) you could easily monetise by adding affiliate links for online protein stores (can be very lucrative, and cheaper than the high st shops) and freebies can include dieting plans, high protein, low carb recipies etc, just by adding those two you can create some good income streams!

Good luck with it but already looks a great site as it is!!