{"id":12816,"date":"2013-02-14T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2013-02-14T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.shareaholic.com\/?p=12816"},"modified":"2014-11-14T16:26:54","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T21:26:54","slug":"email-newsletters-for-your-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/email-newsletters-for-your-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Email is for Lovers: Why You Need An Email Newsletter for Your Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: Sendgrid Blog<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

These days, there\u2019s such an emphasis on gaining new audiences for your blog through social sharing that it\u2019s easy to forget about how to continue to engage the readers you already have. It goes without saying that creating consistent, high quality content is the most important way to keep your readers around, but you also need to get it in front of them in a way that\u2019s memorable. How do you get your readers to come back day after day? How do you make sure that your readers never miss a piece of content and start to truly understand you? How do you convert a reader from a once-in-a-while speed dater to a madly obsessed raving lover?<\/p>\n

Valentine\u2019s Day metaphors aside, this is all to say one thing:\u00a0as you\u2019re trying to build new audiences for your blog, don\u2019t forget about the ones you already have.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Photo Credit:\u00a0Rahxy<\/a>\u00a0via\u00a0Compfight<\/a>\u00a0CC<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Driving people to follow you on your social channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest is one way to do this, but when people have thousands of followers on each service and a barrage of never-ending content streams, it\u2019s easy to get lost in the mix.<\/p>\n

The answer to our problem lies in the unsung hero of the social sharing world: email newsletters. Call me old fashioned, but the fact of the matter is that\u00a0people still spend over 50% of their day on email<\/a>. Knowing that, don\u2019t you think it only makes sense to reach them where they already are?<\/p>\n

If you leave this post with only one thing, let it be this:\u00a0starting an email newsletter for your blog is one of the most effective ways to deepen engagement with your existing readers and convert passive visitors into active visitors.\u00a0<\/strong>Let\u2019s dig a little deeper to see why.<\/p>\n

Did you know that most of your visitors are passive?<\/h3>\n

As you dive in and try to understand your blog\u2019s analytics and traffic sources, it\u2019s easy to get lost in the nitty gritty. So\u00a0let\u2019s take a step back. At the end of the day, I like to divide my readers into two categories: passive and active.<\/p>\n

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  1. Active visitors<\/strong>\u00a0are the holy grail of blog followers. They come to your blog without asking and without prompting. You\u2019re one of their first stops when they turn on the computer. They rave about you to their friends, actively engage with comments, and share regularly. In your analytics, the only source that can truly be called active are Direct visitors.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Passive visitors<\/strong>\u00a0are finnicky. They may be new or returning readers but typically require some sort of \u201cprompt\u201d to visit your blog. They may stumble across your blog through a Google search or perhaps follow you on a social channel. They\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0see a new post pop up here and there and occasionally click on something. They may come back…or they may not. It\u2019s all about chance. In your analytics, this is everyone else except Direct.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      If we look at the comprehensive data from\u00a0Shareaholic\u2019s October 2012 Traffic Sources report,<\/a>\u00a0only about 20% of visitors to publisher websites are\u00a0coming directly to their sites.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"October<\/a><\/p>\n

      This means that\u00a0the majority of your visitors are passive!\u00a0<\/strong>So wait, you\u2019re telling me that I\u2019m spending most of my time promoting to people who may not even come back?<\/p>\n

      Unfortunately, yes.<\/p>\n

      So let\u2019s fix things. If active visitors are the most valuable type of reader but we have significantly more passive visitors coming into the top of the funnel, we need to figure out a way to convert our visitors from passive to active.<\/p>\n

      There are a lot of way to do this, but\u00a0an email newsletter is\u00a0the hidden gem in your toolkit to engage passive visitors.<\/p>\n

      Why Email Works<\/h3>\n

      With Facebook and Twitter feeds moving at the speed of sound, it\u2019s easy for one of your followers to miss a post. Email bypasses this problem by taking all of the chance out of the game. Whether at work, at home, or on the go, most people are checking their email frequently throughout the day. By putting your content in your reader\u2019s inbox, you ensure they never miss a thing.<\/p>\n

      They don\u2019t have to log in anywhere else. They don\u2019t have to remember to visit another website. They don\u2019t even have to be thinking about you.<\/em>\u00a0It all comes to them without having to lift a finger.<\/p>\n

      Over time, however, you can build this relationship into something much more. Your emails, whether daily, weekly, or somewhere in between, become a small (but constant) reminder that you exist. It\u2019s like that little birdie whispering into their ear saying, \u201chey, remember me?\u201d The once casual relationship turns into something more serious as your email readers start getting exposed to more of your content over time. You start to cut through all of the noise and become a trusted, go-to source in your niche. You become the one they remember.<\/p>\n

      You become reliable. They become active.<\/p>\n

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      Photo Credit: ZakVTA<\/a> via Compfight<\/a> CC<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

      Sound a little like dating? That\u2019s because it is! It\u2019s all about developing a relationship with your reader, and email, above all other channels, gives you the most direct line to do that.<\/p>\n

      But with an invitation to someone\u2019s inbox also comes great responsibility. For many people, their inbox is a sacred place and as publishers, we need to respect that. Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n

      4 Ways to Creatively Use an Email Newsletter<\/h3>\n

      Once you\u2019ve\u00a0set-up your email newsletter\u00a0and figured out\u00a0how to grow your list<\/a>, it\u2019s time to decide what to do with it. Here are a couple of ideas and examples (please excuse the fact that they\u2019re mostly food blogs – that\u2019s what I do!):<\/p>\n

      1. \u00a0The most basic use of an email newsletter for a blog is to\u00a0convert your RSS feed into an email.<\/strong> There are\u00a0a number of ways to do this<\/a>, but the basic idea is that every time you publish a new post, it triggers an email to your readers like\u00a0this one<\/a>\u00a0from Shareaholic publisher Kristen from\u00a0Dine & Dish<\/a>. Depending on what service you use, you can have the email sent automatically or you can manually format it yourself. Kristen does it manually so she can control the content on the sidebar.<\/p>\n

      \"Picture<\/a><\/p>\n

      2. A\u00a0weekly digest email<\/strong>, like this one from\u00a0Food52<\/a>, is a great way to remind your readers of everything they missed over the past week or to highlight certain posts. This requires a bit more manual work, but with a good template, you can crank it out quickly every week.<\/p>\n

      \"Picture<\/a><\/p>\n

      3. If you have a product, like a new e-book, you can\u00a0use your email list to promote and sell it!<\/strong> Kevin from\u00a0Closet Cooking<\/a>\u00a0occasionally (and I repeat,\u00a0occasionally) will intersperse his auto-triggered emails with something a bit more promotional. If done thoughtfully, this is a great way to get your convert your now active readers into revenue!<\/p>\n

      \"Picture<\/a><\/p>\n

      4. Looking for feedback? Asking your email list to\u00a0take a survey<\/strong>\u00a0(like\u00a0Bonobos<\/a>\u00a0did) every few months is a great way to get their thoughts on what you\u2019re doing. Looking at analytics is great and all, but hearing feedback from the horse\u2019s mouth is far and beyond the best way to know if you\u2019re on the right track. Consider asking about the frequency of posts, the types of posts they want more of, and what they love. Do this, and you\u2019ll\u00a0discover your blogging niche<\/a>\u00a0in no time.<\/p>\n

      \"Picture<\/a><\/p>\n

      At the end of the day, setting up, growing, and running an email newsletter is another item on your to-do list, but I hope that I\u2019ve been able to prove to you that it\u2019s worth your time! With a some up-front work and a little creativity, an email newsletter can quickly become one of the most valuable tools in making your blog even more successful. Grow your readership then convert those passive visitors into\u00a0active, raving fans<\/strong>.\u00a0After all, email is for lovers.<\/p>\n

      Vijay Nathan is the Co-founder of NoshOn.It<\/a>, a curated content network and daily email newsletter that brings hand-picked recipes and expert cooking tips from the world\u2019s best bloggers and chefs straight to your inbox. To talk about email newsletters, food blogging, or content networks, you can contact Vijay on Twitter at @VijayRNathan<\/a> or via email at vijay@noshon.it<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      These days, there\u2019s such an emphasis on gaining new audiences for your blog through social sharing that it\u2019s easy to forget about how to continue… 
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