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Publisher's Note: October 24 2002
Before I jump into the conference highlights, I just want to note the announcement that Netpreneur will be closing it's doors at the end of the year. The future of the Ad-Marketing section is up in the air (they are looking for ways to keep it going), but you may want to check out the site and take advantage of the free resources and the discussion list archives while they're still there. Goodbye Netpreneur, we'll miss you.
Highlights: Email Newsletter Publisher's Profit Workshop
It's hard to know where to start, there was so much good information exchanged. One of the first things host Anne Holland made clear was that this day-long workshop was all about the business of publishing e-mail newsletters, not focused on the marketing side. That said, there was lots of good information for anyone involved with e-mail newsletters. As the day wore I, I kept thinking of people or organizations that really would have benefited from attending. Oh well, there's always next year.
One real draw of the conference was that the speakers were all folks who are actually DOING this. They weren't professional speakers. And they weren't the folks you see on the 'circuit' who do conference after conference. Enough with the introduction! Here are my top five highlights from the conference:
1. The guys from TheFridayThing.co.uk
Not only were they funny, they had the best success story of the day. They converted 20% of their free e-mail newsletter recipients to paid subscribers and now have a paid base of over 10,000 people. Quite an accomplishment in this economy, especially for an e-mail newsletter that is satirical rather than serious and seeks only to 'say things about stuff.' One key to their success is their content: it's personal, chatty and intimate and they take personalization to new highs -- or are they lows -- by fabricating letters to the editor and making them appear to be from the person receiving the e-mail. It's hard to fully describe here; hopefully it will be clearer in the transcript.
2. Barbara Feldman from SurfNetKids.com
Wow. This powerhouse woman got up there and did the best presentation I've ever seen on making money with e-mail newsletters. She's tried it all -- Ads, e-books, subscriptions, syndication, consulting -- and is continuing to fine-tune and massage her efforts. Biggest success for her? Ads. While e-mail newsletter sponsorships are stagnant, classifieds and co-registrations are growing. Hot buttons? Newsletter ads (rather than website) and CPA (rather than CPM). A great overview of the terrain, with helpful road signs.
3. Alexis Gutzman's (MarketingSherpa) Questions and Comments
It was all I could do to bite my tongue when one of the speakers recommended a software product he was using to harvest e-mail addresses; when he went on to recommend that we all include the infamous 'Bill S.1618' language in each e-mail we send I thought I would burst. Thank goodness for Alexis, who piped up to let the speaker know that the bill language will trigger many spam filters (since it's primarily used by spammers) and that harvesting isn't considered a best practice. Later she gave a great non-technical presentation on how spam filters work.
4. Rebecca Morgan from SpeakerNet News
Rebecca has taken to heart the idea of doing something once and getting paid for it again and again. In addition to her e-mail newsletter she does teleseminars; they are basically interviews with people and in addition to charging admission to the live seminar they sell the taped transcript after the fact. Another great presentation on getting creative and finding ways to make money from your e-mail newsletter.
5. Andrew Palmer from Agora Publishing
So how does an old-time print publisher use e-mail to make money? By creating an e-mail newsletter with engaging content that 'soft-sells' the company's print publications. Smart, very smart, and obviously very successful. A great model if you're a bricks and mortar company looking to leverage the power of e-mail.
As I mentioned, MarketingSherpa did their own overview of the conference; you can also purchase the full transcript. And don't forget to mark your calendars for next year's conference, October 2003; I'll be there!
Thanks for reading. Feel free to contact me with any thoughts or questions.
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The
Jennings Report
