Why Dont My Subscribers Listen to Me?

I received a very good question froma subscriber and I wanted to share it with you:

"I have almost 500 people sigend up to receive my newsletterbut each time I send it 8-9 open it and 1 =3 click onto thewebsite. Now what do I do?"

Honestly, there could a lot of factors involved in the lowopen rate. If 8 or 9 actually open it and then you get 1-3click...that's pretty good. But the problem here, seems tobe with getting people to open the darned email.

Here's a couple things to think about:

1. How much of your email is getting through? Could youremail or the service you're using be blacklisted by certainISPs? I would check and see if you can see how many of youremails are actually going through.

2. How about a compelling subject line? Test out differentsubject lines to see what grabs your subscribers interest.If you're still writing:

"MyDomain.com Newsletter Issue 1 Vol 14"

Then cut it out!:) That's not going to get people to openit. Try to give them a quick glimpse of what's inside andmake it interesting. You'll probably find certain thingsgrab your subscriber's attention than others.

3. What are the contents of your newsletter like? Is there areason for people to open it if they don't have their walletready to buy something? I know that many people who sellproducts only place information about product specials,etc....but if your subscriber is not in a buying mood, theymay not open your email.

Go the extra mile and provide them with VALUE in yournewsletter. Give them special tips and advice related toyour product that will help them solve problems.

For example, if you sell corporate gift baskets - give tipson developing client relationships or anything related tothe goal of corporate gift giving.

4. If you reach a broad audience, customize your mailinglists. I happen to know the lady who submitted this questiondoes sell gift baskets...but she sells all kinds of giftbaskets. What kind of value can you deliver to yourcustomers / prospects if some of them:

- buy new baby gift baskets

- buy corporate gifts

- buy Valentine's gifts

It's tough. I'd look to Amazon as the ultimate model toemulate -- they customize information for you based on yourinterests. They know what you looked at when you visitedtheir website and they also keep track of what you buy. Thenthey deliver relevant products and content to you.You canapply the same plan to your mailing lists.

You can give opt-in subscribers tell you what topics theyare interested in or if you are putting your customers onyour follow up list -- make sure that follow up list isrelated to what they bought.

Keep working at it and learning what your subscribers WANTand deliver it to them. Don't give up...just get better.

About the Author: Alice Seba is a full-time online businessowner that thrives on helping others say good-bye to theirJ-O-Bs forever. Sign up for her "Internet MarketingPrescriptions" to cure what ails your online business:http://www.AliceSeba.com