Sometime I start wrtting and feel that some real extra quality has come this time.

I’m so excited I email my list straight away and often turn the post into a PDF and add some images.

That level of contact I feel is quite important.

Anyway, it’s good to hear everyone’s thoughts on this subject. Thanks.

Best,
Erin Kennedy
Professional Resume Services

There’s nothing wrong with email marketing in general. Yet, it is a slowly dying medium for marketing. Fewer and fewer people are signing up for newsletters and those that are are being quite a bit pickier. And if you follow the trends, email is becoming less and less viable of a marketing option. So we need to look for alternatives.

That said, I’m not suggesting that we all dump our lists. Nor am I suggesting that email won’t be a viable option for some time to come. It will be. Just be aware that the times are changing. That’s why I asked the question the way I did.

I am quite new in the online marketing arena and I cannot discuss this question based on my own long experience as many others here certainly can.

Nevertheless, I would actually ask this question the opposite way:” If you have a large targeted list of newsletter subscribers, do you need blogging ?”

Why the opposite way? Well, email marketing existed long before online marketers started to use blogs as traffic and marketing weapon. “Money is in the list” existed long before “blog your way to the bank”. That’s why I think that the majority of online marketers still use blogging as traffic generating tool, while their main focus is on list building. Now, blogging is very good way to build relationship with readers, but why not have a list of, say 20 000 subscribers, send them 1 promo email and make a minimum of $1000 from one mailing ?

I think that running a newsletter and blogging is perfect combination for building strong relationship with readers while making awesome money from both.

It was written when I was just started blogging (in earnest) as an Internet Marketer. Of course it is still all relevant, timely, and I would probably have been more succe$$ful, had I just stuck with that direction, instead of letting my personality take over .

Hey! I was waiting to hear when Internet Marketing and Successful Blogging would collide. Liz mentioned it wisely – it really depends on your motives – to offer your readers an alternative way to enjoy your content, or to ‘build a list’ to market.

I entered this whole game via the ‘latter’, and have been trained to follow that Rule – ‘The Money is in the list!!’. Heck, I was buying product after product, so I know the system works!

This model should still work and be pursued in niche markets, since us Internet Marketers are pretty much skeptical and jaded (when you receive daily pitches, no content, and regurgitated copycat promo emails.. it doesnt take long). Which is also great, since now I see through everyone else’s pitches and am saving some money (which is 2nd best to earning some).

I am not sure I am finishing this comment with how I intended to, but I guess to just answer your question.. if you are successful at blogging then a list may seem unncessary and I agree with Lorelle. If, like most other bloggers, you need alternate means to bring home the bacon.. you should have a list, that offers something different, more, and could hopefully lead to other potential income, assuming it (the list, your blog, etc.) is in the right market, you know how to offer content and market, and not too much of a time suck. Wow.. how is that for a run on sentence?

You are right — marketing is changing. But I think that means we’d better offer more choices, not fewer.

I think much of the negative “sales gimmick” stigma attached to ezines is bunk. It’s not the wand, it’s the wizard.

We both know bloggers who are all about selling their services (or books)and make no bones about it. We also both know ezines that are filled with incredible content and very little sales pitch, if any.

It’s all about intention, not the delivery mechanism. So why limit the delivery mechanisms?

It’s been very insightful to read people’s take on this issue. Thanks for raising the question.

Drew

Carol,
Sure, without a doubt – for now. And as social media continues is massive growth, you’re going to see people rely less and less on email. For now I think e-newsletters are good. And as consumers understand that they can have full control over how they’re marketed too, fewer and fewer people will want to be on lists.

Easton,
May sound odd considering my stance on this topic, but I’d suggest building a list. Ride the wave while it’s still viable.

Joanna,
Respect…how’d Aretha put it – R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me. Very important to understand what your audience expects so you can respect them, I feel. Thanks for a great point.

Erin,
Thanks.

Joann,
My, I think we’re all learning – at least I would hope so.

Great point about the comments…as you can see there’s some great information you can find in the comment box. And that conversation is something we can’t find in a newsletter. Yet it’s that very conversation that really helps us build the relationships we’re trying to build through our newsletters.

Thoughts?

I question putting new content in the newsletters tho, that doesn’t appear in your blog. I’ve thought about that myself, but it sort of defeats the purpose of providing the best content to all your readers.

I will admit I’m completely new at this, and so I’m still learning. I note that I am taking the advice of Joyful Jubilant Learning blog, and reading on the blog themselves rather than just reading the feeds. She was mentioning how much more information shows up in the comments, which don’t show up in the feeds.

I do have an e-mail sign up list and I write out to everyone who’s signed up about once every 4-6 weeks. I wouldn’t call it a newsletter as such, but make it a very simple, easy to read e-mail with some highlights of what’s been discussed and learned on my blog, and an update on any business developments.

I try to be totally upfront about what I’m writing and why, and how often people can expect to hear from me. There’s also a clear option to unsubscribe in every e-mail if they don’t want to get any more.

I’m guessing (but don’t know and maybe should try to find out) that signing up signals some kind of interest in a more direct communication from me. I write as if I was communicating with a group of supporters and friends.

I think the key is respect for people’s e-mail addresses and inboxes. My guiding principle is only to write when you think you’ve something of value – to them, not you – to say.

Joanna