A lot of software developers have abandoned their newsletters
Many mISVs have abandoned their newsletters because a low percentage of their customers signed up as subscribers.
By contrast, the percentage of people who respond positively to invitations to subscribe to this newsletter is in the mid-80s.
Here are my Top Five Tips to get people to subscribe to your newsletter
These proven techniques worked for me. They'll work for you, too.
Tell customers and prospects immediately why you're writing to them
Get their attention. In my invitations to join my subscriber list, I start with something like, "As a follow-up to our press release emailing last week,...". You can accomplish the same thing by starting your email with "As a follow-up to your purchasing Widget on December 2, 2004...".
People want to feel good about the things they've purchased. They're in the right frame of mind to hear from the publisher of a neat app that they've recently purchased. Email them, and tell them about your newsletter.
Give people a sample of the kind of material that the newsletter contains
Tell them something about your program that they likely don't already know - something that they'll want to hear about. Make them say to themselves, "The idea in this email is going to benefit me by making me money (or saving me money, or making my life easier, or letting me relax and enjoy life more, or whatever it is that your software does for your customers). If I subscribe to the newsletter, I'll receive this kind of benefit every month. Free!"
If you're selling a game, tell people that you just released a new, exciting level. It's free to registered owners, and they can download it immediately, and enjoy a new gaming experience in just a few minutes. Give them the URL, and invite them to download their free bonus.
If you're offering a Windows utility, tell them about the incredibly innovative time-saving idea that one of your other customers mentioned to you. Impress them with how easy this new idea is to implement, and how it will make their lives better.
If you're marketing educational software, offer customers a tip or trick that lets them get more out of the program. Remind them that your software is giving their kids the life skills that they need to succeed.
Tell people in a single sentence what your newsletter is all about
This sentence has to tell them how they will benefit from subscribing. The basic message has to be, "If you like the idea I just sent you, you're going to love getting the newsletter every month."
Give them anti-spam assurances
Make people comfortable signing up for your email newsletter by saying that you'll only use their email address for sending them this newsletter, that they can unsubscribe at any time, and that you'll never sell, trade, or give their email address to anybody else.
Ask them to subscribe
Make it easy. Invite them to click "reply" and say "yes". For example, I tell developers that they can read back issues of my newsletters on http://www.dpdirectory.com/articn01.htm or subscribe by sending a note to al@dpdirectory.com
Customers subscribe to your newsletter because you promise to make their lives better. Your newsletter has to deliver on this promise.
It's easy to lose subscribers. People are always looking for ways to simplify their lives, and unsubscribing from useless newsletters is a great way to get rid of clutter. You have to send people usable information every issue. Your newsletter has to be 95 percent usable information, and five percent gentle selling.
Start selling more software with your newsletter
I'm convinced that newsletters are an incredibly effective way for software developers to support customers, generate referrals, create cross-selling opportunities, and find new clients. It takes quite a bit of work to create and sustain a newsletter, but the results can be outstanding.
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Information: free newsletters, press release FAQ
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Press releases generate sales. Period.
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Press releases increase your software's visibility with the buying public.
Start your press release campaign today.
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News you can use about selling more software.
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Al Harberg's Software Marketing Newsletter delivers fresh ideas on creating website sales messages.
Subscribe today, and watch your software sales go up.
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