How To Pick A Hot Newsletter Topic
In order to make money with an email opt in list, you definitely need some sort of product. This could be something which is you can download such as an eBook or software, or a physical product such as a book or CD.
If you run your own business your “product” will ultimately be what your business does and your newsletter will be centered around the purposes of your business.
When it comes to your newsletter, your newsletter topic should be something that appeals to as wide an audience as possible. Also, it helps if your newsletter topic is in an area in which you have personal interest or expertise. If you can put your passion into your marketing material, people will be able to tell that you believe in what you’re selling. This builds trust and sales.
In this tutorial we’ll talk about how to choose a newsletter topic that covers both these areas: widespread appeal, and your personal interest or expertise to back it up.
Your personal interests and areas of expertise
People who like their jobs are happier. Their enthusiasm spills over into their work, and they often find themselves receiving promotions or raises and attracting customers without even trying.
If you are comfortable talking about your product, and you are passionate about the subject, your confidence will permeate every area of your newsletter campaign. You will receive unsolicited comments from buyers who are pleased with your service. You’ll be able to build consumer trust because people will know that you endorse your product 100 percent.
One aspect of developing your personal interest in a newsletter topic is to actually use the information you’re offering yourself. That way, when you discuss the benefits of buying your product, you’ll be able to get personal about the experience.
Another important part of choosing your newsletter topic is identifying your area of expertise. This doesn’t mean you have to be an “expert.” It just means that it will be far easier for you to sell a product you know a lot about—and far easier for buyers to part with their hard-earned money when they know they are purchasing from a knowledgeable source. Think you don’t have an area of expertise? You may know more than you think you know. The newsletter topics you’re familiar with don’t have to come from a job or college courses.
Take the following quiz to help you determine your hidden interests and expertise, or develop and hone in on the areas you already know you’re interested in.
QUIZ: What Do You Know?
Answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible to discover the newsletter topic best suited to you that will help you succeed in your newsletter campaign.
1. Who are you? This sounds too simple to be useful, but you’d be surprised how seeing your personal demographics laid out in black-and-white can provide insight into what topics are best for you. Write down the following information about yourself:
- Your name, age, and gender
- Where you live: House or apartment? City or suburb? New or old neighborhood? What area of the country?
- The rest: Blue collar or white collar? Religious or not? Any other identifying statistics you can think of?
2. What have you done?
List every single job you’ve ever held. Leave some space between them, then go back and detail all of your job duties. Be creative—give yourself the best-sounding titles you can think of. For example: if you once worked at a fast food restaurant, you might have been a customer service specialist, a food service technician, or a sanitation facilitator. These might sound extreme or over-the-top, but no one will see them but you. This is just to help build your self-confidence.
3. What else have you done? Brainstorm any hobbies you have been into, groups you’ve joined, topics you researched for school or work, or any subject you might have taken a personal interest in and acted on.
4. Where do you go? Are you more likely to spend time at the park or the mall? Do you travel a lot, or do you prefer to stick close to home? Where have you gone on vacations, and where would you like to go?
5. Who do you hang out with? Your choice of friends can tell you a lot about you and the way you relate to others. Are most of your friends the same gender as you, or opposite? Older, younger, or about the same age? Where do they live and work? Think about the activities you and your friends enjoy together. You can even include online friends – people you might have met in chat rooms, groups, or forums with whom you exchange regular correspondence. Any common interests you share with your friends can help point you toward a newsletter topic you’ll be comfortable promoting.
NOTE: Building Credibility — When What You Have Isn’t Enough
Most of the time when working with newsletters and opt in marketing, you won’t have to worry about credibility. Your well-developed product will speak for itself. However, if you don’t have background experience that relates to your chosen topic and you would feel more confident with credentials, there are several simple ways to position yourself as an expert in your field.
Testimonials. Testimonials are statements from customers about their satisfaction with your product. These can range from short blurbs to full-page letters, and can be used for a variety of purposes, including establishing credibility. Make sure they are real testimonials though – don’t make them up!
Article Marketing. If you choose a newsletter topic that you’re interested in but haven’t had much experience working with, you will have to do some research. As you find out more, you can write short, informative articles on your subject and publish them on the internet to establish yourself as knowledgeable in your field. There are hundreds of thousands of web sites looking for content that will be happy to publish articles with your byline and a link to your web site. Look for sites relating to your topic, or try these general article submission sites to spread your name around the internet (no, really; that’s a good thing):
- iSnare.com: Maintains a database of over 200,000 free articles. Add your own, and get great content for your web site while you’re there.
- ArticleBeach: A search engine directory of articles. Submit your article for inclusion in their expert database.
- EzineArticles: Allows e-zine or e-mail list publishers to post informative articles free for use on other people’s sites or in their e-zine or newsletter.
- IdeaMarketers.com: Free articles and web content for web site owners. Submit your article and showcase your work, and get more content for your site.
- ArticleCity.com: Another database of articles for free use by the online public.
Marketability: Will they buy?
We’ve mentioned that the newsletter topic you choose has to not only be of interest to you, but also have widespread appeal. This is the marketability factor. You will have to be able to make your product interesting and attractive to buyers. So you’ll need a subject that a broad audience can relate to.
How can you tell if your topic will interest enough buyers to make your opt in list marketing campaign successful? The following quiz will help you determine the marketability factor for your product.
QUIZ: The Marketability Factor (it’s fun – don’t worry!)
Answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible to help figure out whether your topic has mass-market appeal.
1. How often do you hear your topic mentioned in the news? If the news media considers your subject important enough to report on with regularity, it’s probably something quite a few people are interested in. Televisions, magazines and newspapers are looking for ratings, and they get them by drawing large audiences with the information they present. The broader the audience they feel can be reached with a topic, the more often they will seek to cover it.
2. How many products are available on the market relating to your topic? Finding out you have a lot of competition is not necessarily a bad thing. It simply means there is a large enough consumer base to support products that deal with the topic—and that will include your product.
3. What is the approximate age range of people who would find your newsletter topic interesting? The best topics have broad demographical appeal. If your subject can interest anyone from teens to retirees, you have a great shot at creating and selling a successful product.
4. How fast would you act on a great deal for a product relating to your newsletter topic? How about your friends? Would you jump at a bargain if it related to the topic you’ve chosen? And how about the people you hang out with—your easy-to-reach target market? The sooner you can hook people into a sale during the buying process, the more likely your email marketing campaign will be profitable.
5. What are the benefits of knowing more about your topic that customers would gain by buying your product? People want to know they’re getting what they pay for. Your topic should be able to provide buyers with some tangible knowledge or skill they would not otherwise have if they hadn’t purchased your product. Being able to list the benefits of your product will also help in your marketing, which will be discussed further in this book.
The Marketability Factor Quiz: The Quickie Version (even more fun!)
Ready? Answer yes or no:
1. Is your topic in the news a lot?
2. Do you have existing competition?
3. Does your topic appeal to several age groups?
4. Would you or your friends buy a bargain product related to your topic?
5. Does your topic have useful benefits?
If you answered “yes” to at least four of these, congratulations! Your topic is marketable! Proceed with confidence; you’re on the right track.
JUMPSTART YOUR NEWSLETTER TOPIC DECISION
Still have no clue where to start? Here’s a partial list of newsletter topics to choose from that have high marketability factors:
- Making money
- Building a List (!)
- Investing money
- Saving money (on consumer purchases)
- Starting a business (online or offline)
- Running a profitable web site
- Dieting and weight loss
- Time management
- Relationships and dating
- Finding a dream job
- Working from home
Remember, these are only a handful of successful newsletter topics that you can choose. With a little research you should be able to find a good niche for yourself.
Great, so let’s review where we are:
- Tutorial1 – An Introduction to OptIn List Building
- Tutorial2 – How to Pick a Hot Newsletter Topic
- Tutorial3 – How to Research Your Newsletter Topic
- Tutorial4 – Before You Build Your List – Build your Site
- Tutorial5 – An Intro to Autoresponders, How to Market With Them, and How to Monetise Them
- Tutorial6 – All About Newsletters and How to Put Them Together
- Tutorial7 – Ways to Get Your List to Follow You Eagerly
- Tutorial8 – All About Squeeze Pages, How They Work and How to Write One
- Tutorial9 – Driving Targetted Traffic to Your Squeeze Page
- Tutorial10 – Surefire ListBuilding Tactics
- Tutorial11 – Advanced Tactics on Improving Your OptIn Conversions
- Tutorial12 – Generating a List Through Information Products
- Tutorial13 – Investing in Advertising
- Tutorial14 – Generate Subscribers Through Giveaway Events
- Tutorial15 – Offline Methods to Generate Leads
- Tutorial16 – Online Businesses That Have Flourished Using eMail Marketing
- Tutorials 17 to 20 – More Traffic Tactics
Look out for the link to your next tutorial tomorrow…….
Andy Thompson
Expert List Building Tactics
Farndon, Chester, UK
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