Maximize your marketing: distributing articles beyond the newsletter

This is the third article in a three part series on newsletters written by Pandia Guest Writer Garrett French

(October 2004) Once you've gotten your email newsletter rolling there are a few more ways of maximizing the work it takes to develop content on a regular basis.

First and most importantly you should create and distribute a press release that announces your email newsletter.

Optimize this press release with applicable keywords and be sure to use a distribution service that provides a permanent link from an archive page. The press release must focus on the news, advice, tips and resources you'll be providing to your industry.

Also, be sure you're familiar with your industry's reporters. Let them know about your newsletter and make yourself available for answering specific industry questions.

The same goes for your industry's bloggers. Know them. Love them. Get links from them by providing articles or other types of content of substance.

There may be non-competitive email newsletters that would be interested in republishing your articles - this is a fantastic way to draw in more readers to your newsletter and receive links to your site from the archives of others.

Yahoo has an article announce service that's another excellent way of blasting your content to interested editors. This is a quick and easy way of distributing content, but it's not nearly as valuable as actually contacting editors directly.

At the end of your article be sure to include your sixty or so words of author byline at the end of the article, a couple of links from relevant link text and an invitation to others to republish so long as they give proper credit and links.

Finally, make all of your articles available via RSS syndication and XML feeds. Only include the first paragraph in the feed though.

Subscriber Management Best Practices

Spam. I don't have much to say here besides don't do it. Be sure that those who receive your email newsletter opted in at least twice.

You've probably got a few in-house email lists already. You can email them once, announce your newsletter and invite them to join. Reassure them that they won't receive your newsletter without opting in twice.

If this seems a little too forward for your customers, have your sales staff append an invitation on the bottom of all the emails they send out.

A sign up form on your website is another great way to collect addresses of interested parties, but be sure to double check these subscribers with another email.

To keep your email newsletter legal be sure and read more about CANSPAM here.

Some email marketing solutions providers include:

• Constant Contact
• EmailLabs
• MailWorkZ
• ExactTarget

The Pandia team is using an online solution from Ezinedirector to distribute its newsletters.

Be sure to check with each vendor to see if their email newsletter templates are designed to be search engine friendly or not.

See also: How to code HTML email newsletters, by Tim Slavin, Sitepoint.

Garrett French is the Marketing and Communications Manager for MarketSmart Interactive and the Managing Editor of Search Engine Lowdown. He drives MarketSmart Interactive's web presence - and thought leadership - through search industry participation. Call 919-433-3139 or email Garrett.French @MarketSmartInteractive.com to discuss how MarketSmart Interactive can build your business.

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