Category: Top Tips

Why Email Marketing Software Will Keep Your Blog Readers Coming Back For More

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

blog traffic

There are few things more frustrating for a blogger than to write some amazing new content but fail to get the views it deserves. On the other hand, being able to see lots of hits as soon as it is posted is just about the best feeling in the world.

The problem is that blog readers, even the most loyal readers, won’t keep returning on the off chance of finding new content. This is why something as important as blog readership can never be left to mere chance and bloggers must take the initiative to encourage their readers to keep coming back for more.

Obviously your content is well-written, relevant, up-to-date, informative and highly targeted to your particular niche, but that alone is not sufficient to maximize traffic to your blog.

Even if your blog theme looks great, the images are eye-catching and the entire blog is engaging and exciting, you could still be missing out on traffic to your new posts.

Using RSS Feeds (Rich Site Summary, but often also called Really Simple Syndication) has traditionally been one way of driving traffic to your blog and ensuring that your new content gets seen.

When a user subscribes to a site’s RSS feed, their browser does the regular checking for new content and sends out an alert when it finds some.

RSS is also not without its drawbacks – it has been rapidly declining in popularity over the last decade, has always been seen as rather nerdy and does nothing to help build up relationships between blogger and blog readers.

A Google Trends search for the term “RSS” shows the huge decrease in popularity for this search term since its height in 2005. Google searches for “RSS” have declined by around 90% in the past 10 years and are forecast to drop even further in the year ahead.

Google Search Trends data for RSS

Thankfully there is a more mainstream, far less nerdy and really simple solution to help bloggers engage with their readers and send out alerts each time new content is posted.

The solution is email marketing software such as RocketResponder where, instead of getting alerts from an impersonal RSS Feed, blog subscribers receive an email directly from the blog owner informing them of new content. In addition, subscribers can reply to these emails, allowing the blogger to receive instant feedback, alerting them to problems or suggesting ways their blog could be improved.

Using email to automatically send new content alerts has another powerful advantage for the blogger as it allows clicks to links within the email to be tracked. Now bloggers who use targeted email lists to send new content alerts can easily see which content is most popular and which is not so attractive to their subscribers.

An email address list alert system actually does far more than just send out alerts. Bloggers can ask for feedback, build anticipation by providing information about upcoming blog posts and provide additional content which is exclusive to their blog subscribers.

RocketResponder has been specifically designed for use by bloggers to alert subscribers to their new content. See how easy it is to set up as an alert tool for new blog content:

RocketResponder Blog: How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog With RocketResponder

Five Top Tips To Ensure You Write Better Emails

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

being clearWhen you write an email for your subscribers are you clear about what you want to say?

Hopefully the answer to that question was ‘yes’ because that is half the battle won. If the answer was “no” or ‘sometimes” or ‘mostly” then please read this post before you write another email.

Unless you are clear about what you want to say each and every time you set out to say something then you really are wasting your time.

The second thing you need to ensure is that you are clear about how you actually present the message. By that I mean that the words you type onto your keyboard must accurately reflect the ideas you are trying to get across.

It is not good enough that you can read your email and say “It could be better but at least I know what I mean,” because this approach will have subscribers heading for the unsubscribe button in huge numbers.

So here are my five top tips to ensure that you write better emails and that every email you send actually says what you want it to say:

  1. Have a plan – Work out what you want to say before you start writing. Unless you are totally clear about what you want to say then you stand no hope of explaining this to others in an email.
  2. Build a structure – make a list of bullet points or brief notes for each of the points you want to make and spend some time putting them in a logical order. This will ensure that you don’t miss out anything important and that you don’t include information that is irrelevant and confusing.
  3. Get writing – Now get to work on the email. Flesh our your points and check it over for grammar and other mistakes. If things don’t make sense then take time changing things around until it does make sense.
  4. Read it aloud – Don’t even think about sending it yet. Read your email aloud because this will instantly highlight any problem areas. Words or phrases that you stumble over will need to be rewritten to make it easier to understand. It is often at this point that you might read a sentence and think “That’s not what I wanted to say at all,” and if this happens to you then go back and correct as necessary.
  5. Get someone else to read it – This is the icing on the cake and will confirm whether or not you have got the other steps right. If someone else reads your copy and says they can perfectly understand what you have written, then you have done a good job and can hit ‘send’ with confidence. If they are confused then you need to work on the part(s) that are causing confusion.

In summary, before hitting the ‘send’ button when you write an email to your list you need to be clear about what you want to say and be clear about how you say it.

How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog With RocketResponder

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

blog traffic

 

When you write a blog post you want it to be seen by as many people as possible.

Whether you are writing to inform, entertain, amuse, educate, influence or persuade, you will need an audience to make it all worthwhile.

Ideally you will want people to come back every time you write something new and share your words of wisdom with their friends.

Back in 2005 RSS feeds were the preferred method of alerting people when your blog had been updated, but since then they have rapidly declined in popularity.

Thankfully there is a modern, email-based solution which works to drive targeted traffic to any blog in any niche you care to name.

RocketResponder allows your blog subscribers to be alerted by email every time you write a new post so that your most avid fans never have to miss anything you write.

The results can be immediate with your blog getting a surge in traffic as soon as people get to know about the new content. Combine this with social media links, where your blog readers are encouraged to share your posts, and your traffic statistics can really be dramatic.

RocketResponder is a versatile and affordable tool which allows you to communicate with your subscribers. You can use it to:

– send out alerts when you post new content

– build relationships and boost engagement with your readers

– send exclusive email content directly to your subscribers

– give your best subscribers bonuses or exclusive access to you

– provide help and support

– ask for feedback and much more.

How it works.

1. Sign up to RocketResponder

2. Follow the simple steps to add a new list. It is just a matter of filling in a few lines of information.

adding a new list with RocketResponder

Don’t worry if you have never done this before as there is line-by-line help available to guide you through the process.

Step by step help when adding a list to RocketResponder

Next you will need to add subscribers to your list – these are the people who will receive an email from you each time your blog is updated.

Now here is the really clever part…simply creating the list will automatically generate a unique URL from which people can subscribe to your new list.

So, for example, here is the link to the URL to sign up to this RocketResponder blog.

Click it for yourself and see what happens…you can even sign up the blog if you want to and you will be alerted each time new content is uploaded.

Subscribe to RocketResponder blog list screenshot3. Next you need to enter your blog information so that RocketResponder knows when you post new content. Click on “Manage Blogs” and “Add A Blog” and provide the information required.

Adding a blog to RocketResponder and linking it to your list

With RocketResponder you can have several different lists on the one account. You can choose to inform as many or as few lists as you want about your blog updates. Or if you have several different blogs you can use the one RocketResponder account to manage your subscriber lists for each one and keep them all informed of new content.

RocketResponder will also let you to embed a sign-up form directly to your blog so that new visitors are promoted to subscribe as soon as they land on your site.

There is no complicated code to learn and you can have the entire process completed in just minutes leaving you more time to work on producing awesome content.

There are also two short video tutorials to guide you through the process listed above and the videos can be found below.

Video Tutorial: How To Create A List With RocketResponder

Video Tutorial: How To Add A Blog With RocketResponder

Don’t miss out on blog traffic any longer. Join RocketResponder today and your subscribers need never miss another of your blog posts again.

 

RocketResponder Is Email Marketing Software Made Easy

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

writing emails for your subscribers Traditionally email marketing software has a reputation of being a little hard to understand and a bit of a minefield for the non-technical.

However at RocketResponder we believe that using email marketing software should be about as easy as sending a regular email…it is just that the message is going to more people, that’s all.

The problem with a complex system is that the longer it takes to master the less time people will actually spend using it and that just doesn’t make any sense at all.

An email marketing platform is designed to be used and used regularly, so it makes sense for it to be simple, intuitive and fast. Log on, open the email editor, select the list(s) you want to contact, write your email and press send is the kind of complexity that we should be talking about here.

If you have to spend hours studying a manual or struggling to interpret what the complex video tutorials are trying to get at, then the software is far too complicated.

Surely it far better that this is a simple “on demand” tool that you open up and use when you need it and get on with running your business when you don’t.

There is another thing that we passionately believe about at RocketResponder and that is that email marketing software is not just for email marketers. In fact you don’t even need to work online to be able to make great use from such software.

RocketResponder is designed to be as useful for those working online as it is for those working offline…in fact if you have a group of people you need to contact by email on a regular basis then it could be the best email marketing solution for you.

Churches, restaurants, political groups, small businesses, non-profit organizations and charities are all groups who may not traditionally be associated with email marketing, but which could all benefit from it.

In fact the list is virtually endless. Clear communication is vital both in the online and offline communities and email is a great way to get a message across in a clear manner to the very people who want to hear that message.

Today’s email marketing technology means that is now easier than ever before to handle your vital communication yourself, without having to hand it over to an expensive third party.

You really don’t need any great technical knowledge to manage subscriber lists and send them regular emails about things which are important to them and to you.

However you do need to consider whether you are currently using the best email solution for you and whether you are using email marketing effectively for communication.

If you have not considered using email marketing technology like RocketResponder until now, then this might be an ideal opportunity to discover just what it could mean for you.

Why You Must Engage With Your Email Subscribers

Patrick Griffin Leave a comment

writing emails for your subscribersIt is a great feeling whenever someone signs up to your auto-responder list because it means that you have captured their attention.

You put something out there which was sufficiently appealing to a complete stranger that they said “I want to hear from you again.”

The more you put the word out then the more people you will get to sign up and at RocketResponder it is easy to keep track of your email subscribers and of how much they engage with you.

In email marketing it is the engagement factor which is key to your online success. Once someone has joined your list it is important to begin building up a relationship with them so that they will be encouraged to engage with you.

Your job is to get them to like you and, to this end, you want to share information about yourself when you communicate by email.

Encourage your subscribers to follow you on Twitter or Facebook or to check out your blog or YouTube channel if you have one.

If they do this then follow them back and thank them for engaging with you.

In your emails actively ask for interaction, for people’s thoughts, opinions and feedback where it is appropriate to do so.

You want to get people used to clicking links in your email so they can check out your latest offers and go on to buy from you when you want them to.

Email is fun and the more that you can get to engage with your list, the more fun it becomes.