SEO: We have been working with various clients to deliver SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) outcomes for their websites. One our clients Elite Project Group provides project management, interior design and construction for the health care industry across Australia. As a result of the implementation of our SEO recommendations they have had success in achieving first page ranking on Google for several of their key words.

Increased website traffic: Another client, Settle Petal has seen significant results by using our newsletter service to direct traffic to their website which has an online shopping facility. On the day the newsletter was published, they saw their website traffic double. This shows just how beneficial it is to use your newsletter in conjunction with your website. It should all be part of your marketing mix.

Newsletter: Propell Valuers has had great success using our system to send internal newsletters to their staff. Aaron Parker, their company research manager, makes these comments. "The UTN newsletter system has enabled us to maintain a constant contact with our staff whether they are office bound or on the road. We have received tremendous feedback through the statistics as to what interests the staff and keeps them reading. It beats ordinary email hands down."

Email newsletters are one of the two most important sources for business management information and advice for small and medium businesses (SMBs), according to a recent study released by Bredin Business Information.

"Optimizing Email Newsletters for Small/Medium Businesses" is based on a survey of more than 300 SMB executives to determine which types of email newsletters they are most likely to open and read, and what they look for in an email newsletter from their vendors. In the study, SMB executives were asked to judge the relevant importance of different media for business management information.

• 83% of respondents indicated that email newsletters were either very important or important sources
  
• putting it in a near statistical tie with print media (84%) and ahead of corporate/media websites (71%)
  
• At the bottom of the list were many of the "new" media distribution methods, including webcasts/podcasts (40%), RSS feeds (39%) and blogs/wikis (34%).

SMB executives also knew the kinds of articles they wanted to see in their vendors' email newsletters.

• "how to" information (40%) was the preferred form of content
  
• followed by company product information (26%)
  
• management overviews on topics such as strategy or leadership (21%)
  
• company news (19%) and case studies (17%).

Your 'in-house' mailing list is a very valuable asset. This list represents your existing customer base and those who are potential future customers. These are the people you need to cultivate thru a targeted and consistent newsletter service. In building this list quality is much more important than quantity. One hundred interested, interactive readers who open your emails are a thousand fold more valuable then having 100,000 "who are they?" email addresses on your list.

Here are just a few ideas for companies actively seeking opt-in subscribers for their newsletters:

• Have Sign Up links on your website - these links can be placed at various points throughout your website. They should include a brief description about your newsletter and how often they will receive it. Don't ask for too many details. The more questions you ask, the less sign-ups you will receive. Unless you have very specific reasons why you need detailed information from subscribers, and are ready to accept a lower subscribe rate, then a good rule of thumb is to keep your form to no more than 1-3 relevant fields.
  
• Include a link to the subscribe form in your email signature file.
  
• Take advantage of transactional emails such as bills, acknowledgements, invoices or statements and include a link to your subscribe box.
  
• Have a 'forward to friend' feature in your newsletter. Have it next to each article to encourage sharing. Do not ask them to provide the friend’s address to you, simply offer an automatic forwarding function. The recipient of the forwarded newsletter will sign-up if they wish to subscribe.
  
• Promote your newsletter online - Use meta tags, inserting meaningful keywords to help search engines catalogue your content. You might even consider have a subdomain of your business address for the newsletter to further brand it. Look into pay-per-click search engine advertising to capture anyone actively searching for information relating to what your organisation offers. This will be a highly desirable subscriber.
  
• Promote your newsletter offline - Include subscribe instructions in your voicemail and company hold messages. Callers on hold might be sitting at their computer and sign-up.
  
• If you send out printed material to customers, such as direct marketing material, bills, invoices or statements, ask them to send in their email address if they wish to receive your newsletter.
  
• Capture addresses in an opt-in manner at your reception desk, at your events and any conventions where you have a stand or a sponsorship presence. Have a sign up sheet at trade shows and at any presentations your company gives - make it very clear what they're consenting to receive. When sending your newsletter include text welcoming new readers, reminding them where they signed up. Have your unsubscribe function prominently noted.
  
• Set up Cross Promotional relationships - this involves working with a complementary business sector or company in gaining new subscribers by promoting each others newsletters.