Last week I posted 10 reasons why pets sitters need to grow a list of prospective clients so that we can keep in touch, grow a relationship, and build credibilty.
I use a program called Aweber.com to place a sign up box for my online newsletter or ezine on my pet sitting website. I offer visitors to my site two free gifts as an incentive to fill out their name and email in the sign up box – a pre-travel checklist and a local pet services guide. (You can see my sign up box on the right side bar of http://www.protectingmax.com)
Once people fill out the box their name and contact email are added to a subscriber list inside my Aweber.com account. Every other week I go into my account and write my newsletter and then Aweber sends it out to everyone on my subcriber list.
The Aweber system is one example of an autoresponder program. An autoresponder collects lists of names and then allows you to send emails to this list whenever you choose to. The program also allows you to send out automatic welcome emails as soon as visitors fill out the sign up box (this is how I deliver my 2 free gifts) and also allows you to set up and deliver a series of email messages to subscribers at pre-determined intervals – such as a 5 day e-course.
There are many other autoresponder systems that you can use such as Constant Contact, GetResponse, and those contained in shopping cart systems such as Wahmcart and 1Shoppingcart – but Aweber is the most widely used.
You can send out your ezine or newsletter either in a plain text format or in HTML format. The HTML format lets you use graphics and a background template. You can get a customized template designed with your logo by a graphic designer or web specialist.
Let me know what questions you have about setting up your own ezine by leaving a comment.
Are you currently delivering an ezine or newsletter to your clients or prospective clients? I’d love to hear about how you deliver it and what types of content you use – eg articles, coupons, competitions, pet of the month etc. Share by leaving a comment!