You guys have probably seen tons of marketers having a newsletter or a mailing list. Many asked me if Balkhis will ever have a newsletter, and I simply said NO. The reason was “Balkhis is my personal blog”. People tend to get an idea that this is a Make Money Online site, but it really is not. This is a blog where I share what I know with my readers and myself. There are valuable articles on Balkhis that I use as a reference for myself. In this post, I actually want to talk about the Good Ol’ Newsletter technique. I will focus on what services you should use, how you can create a huge list, and how to interact with your newsletter audience.

Why Newsletter?

Newsletter creates a love bond between you and your readers. It allows you to really connect with your audience. No matter how often a reader visits your site, there will be times when they miss something crucial. That is when the newsletter comes in handy. People check their emails REGULARLY, so newsletters are a more reliable source of communication. Second, the newsletter allows you to distinguish between the average reader to your loyal and valuable readers. Your loyal readers are the ones who really care about your site, and they want to support you. I think they deserve something better than everyone else.

Advantages of a Newsletter

For you as a blogger, you can expect a better turn around for any product that you promote through a newsletter. If you are launching a new product, the best place to get started with the promotion is through your newsletter. Your newsletter subscriber actually opted-in to see what you are offering. They want to hear what you say. You can’t get a better connection with your reader than this. They trust you!

How to get Started?

There are tons of newsletter delivery services. Heck you can even use the combination of WordPress and Feedburner to create a Free Email Newsletter. But if you are thinking about this more seriously, then I would recommend:

Aweber
Mail Chimp

Don’t even consider any other companies. I have used both of them and I am more than satisfied. MailChimp has better email designs, so for a design blog, I recommend them. Aweber is very efficient and easy to follow.

The reason why you want to go with these paid services is because they are more Reliable then feedburner. The statistics you receive from them is no where comparable to the free newsletter tactic.

How do I create a huge mailing list for myself?

This is the biggest question that everyone asks. The answer is simple. Simply create something that other people would find useful. Then you want to give it away for free in an exchange for their email address. If they really want your product, then they will enter the email. The more often you do it, the bigger your list will be. There will be times when one of your product will do very very good and others it won’t. So its a matter of feeding the hunger. Give people what they want, and they will give you what you want.

Lastly, I want to apologize to you guys if you think that I am ignoring you here on Balkhis. I have a huge project going on at WPBeginner which is taking a lot of my time. Also Uzzz Productions is doing great. So I am having a really hard time keeping up with Balkhis. I want to say to you guys if you want my tips on marketing, blogging, and WordPress in general then consider subscribing to WPBeginner’s Newsletter. I send out weekly emails with resourceful articles that I am certain that you guys will find useful.

Don’t worry, I hate SPAM just as much as you guys. So this newsletter will not be spammy. I will NOT be using it as spamming tool like a lot of other marketers do it. These newsletter will have useful tips that are exclusive just for my A-List users. P.S. I will treat your emails like my own email so I won’t sell, share, or lease it to anyone.

Oh by the way if you sign up, you get the powerful Smart Sharing Plugin for WordPress that my team at WPBeginner developed. This plugin uses Skinner’s positive reinforcement theory and it is proven to work. It will add a floating share box that you can see on anyone of WPBeginner’s post. (Example)

If you have created a newsletter and want to share your experience then feel free to do so.

This past week Syed was given an opportunity to attend Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar 6 as one of the Young Moguls. This event brings together the top online marketers in the industry. The event was held at Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The speakers shared a lot of valuable information, but unfortunately we cannot share it on the site. Every attendee had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Some speakers got the cameras to be turned off, that is how important some of the strategies were.

As the title says, here is the video for my hotel room. The pre-day start tomorrow in the morning. I will keep you guys up to date as the conference progreses.

Sponsors for this Trip

Buy Sell Ads

Romow Web Directory

So not so long ago, I was informed by Michael Dunlop of Retireat21 that I was one of the lucky winners who won the Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship to go to Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar 6 in Washington D.C.

Why am I excited about this event?

The main reason is networking. I will get to network with top guys in the industry like Gary Vaynerchuck, Matt Mickiewicz of Sitepoint, Yanik Silver himself, and many other top entrepreneurs in the industry.

I will keep this post short as I am writing this while sitting at Orlando Airport, but there will be more news about this event on Balkhis through out this week.

Even though I got the conference ticket through the scholarship which was a big expense, a lot of other expenses needed to be covered such as airfare, lodging, food etc. I am very happy and thankful to the two companies that stepped up and they are sponsoring my trip to D.C.

Sponsors for this Trip

Buy Sell Ads

Romow Web Directory

If you guys do not know, I used to be very active in the Web Directory business. Back in 2006 when I entered the directory industry, some of the big names were Yahoo, BOTW, Aviva, and Romow. Recently I was asked to do a review of Romow Web Directory and their affiliate program at Balkhis. [...]