8 Utterly Unsexy Keys to Astounding List Growth
Thank you for joining me for these calls! I’ll post each call’s audio recording here. You’ll also find recommended resources for each group of keys.
Call #1: Publish, Publish More Often, and Say Something Amazing
Resources:
- http://www.crazyegg.com: The statistic tracking program I mentioned on the call.
- The Artist’s Way: A 12 week program that will help you become a more prolific artist–whether your art is creating a regular newsletter ;-), or anything else. Offers excellent support for Key #2: Publish More Often.
- The Story Factor: Great guide to telling stories in a business setting. Offers excellent support for Key #3: Say Something Amazing.
Download the Call:
To download the call, right click (PC) or control-click (Mac) on the link above and select “Save Link Target As… ” or “Save Target As”
Listen Online:
Press the play button to listen to the call (stream the call) online without downloading it.
Call #2: Let Go of the Reins, Make Unreasonable Requests, and Make Friends
Resources:
- http://www.photojojo.com: Great double opt-in process.
- Call to Action: Book about online marketing. Their section on “scents” is especially relevant to Making Unreasonable Requests. Great glossary.
- The Aladdin Factor: This book guides you through the process of asking for what you want. The stories about other people getting what they want might just inspire you to ask away :-).
Call Worksheet:
Download the worksheet on Unreasonable Requests.
Download the Call:
To download the call, right click (PC) or control-click (Mac) on the link above and select “Save Link Target As… ” or “Save Target As”
Listen Online:
Press the play button to listen to the call (stream the call) online without downloading it.
Call #3: What Are You Up To?, and You Gotta Have Heart
Resources:
ConZentrate: Sam Horn has written an outstanding book on getting and staying inspired in professional and personal settings–it’s one of my all-time favorites.
The Joy Diet: Beck’s book on finding joy in everyday life offers a whole life approach to staying focused on whatever you do (including your newsletter).
Your Best Year Yet: Fresh, fun guidance for what you’re up to in your life and your business. You’ll have lots of answers to “What Are You Up To?” to share with your readers after you’ve worked through these 10 steps.
Two Weeks to a Breakthrough: I participated in Lisa’s challenge two years ago (as she was writing the book) and found it to be a really excellent way to make significant progress on any goal in just two weeks. Especially relevant is her requirement that you tell people what you’re doing and ask for help. For me, personally, this is the hardest part of publishing a newsletter, and I know that if you try it out for yourself, and practice asking, you will absolutely love the results. (I can’t promise it’ll ever get easier, though :-).) Lisa’s book offers great support for getting into this habit.
What If: A great book of prompts for writers.
Andrea J. Lee is a great example of being up to things in your business. She’s always up to something new, interesting, and inspiring, and what’s more, she’s a big proponent of “unwork” which means she isn’t constantly in a frenzy, but is rather fully engaged with what she’s doing. (Why does this matter? Because it’s not “good enough” to be up to things for the sake of being busy–it’s really important that the activities you engage in matter to you.)
Maya Talisman Frost offers real world mindfulness resources and a great ezine.
When You Ask Readers to Forward the Newsletter
If you run a “Tell a Friend” contest, you can expect 5-15% of your readers to participate. Depending on the size of your list, you can administrate this type of campaign by asking readers to cc you on any emails they send out. (This is a great way to know what readers like about your newsletter, but it will take some tracking work on your part.)
You can also set up a Tell a Friend script on your site, if you’d like to just offer everyone who tells a friend a gift. We use BigNoseBird’s Tell a Friend Script when setting up this type of campaign for clients.
Your email distribution program may offer these statistics for you–some do, some don’t. Check there first, though, so you’re not duplicating information you already have access to.
If it doesn’t, check your shopping cart, many of these offer an option to have readers tracked as they make recommendations.
Barring that, your easiest choice is to use a distribution program that tracks forwards automatically like Savicom.
Download the Call:
To download the call, right click (PC) or control-click (Mac) on the link above and select “Save Link Target As… ” or “Save Target As”
Listen Online:
Press the play button to listen to the call (stream the call) online without downloading it.
Further Resources from The Write Exposure
51 Fun Ways to Energize Your Newsletter: Suggestions for getting started with your newsletter writing. The prompts work for all writing, but are written with newsletter publishers in mind.
The Newsletter Spa: You can network with like-minded publishers, get feedback, and support directly from me, and you’ll get access to the 12 principles themselves which will make a big difference in your newsletter.