Not getting the e-newsletter subscribers you want? Do you feel like the whole thing needs a re-vamp but you don’t have a lot of time, energy or resources?
Don’t fret. Don’t sweat. Here are 10 easy tips to make your e-newsletter better:
Fresh out of fresh e-newsletter ideas?
Try these!
1. Create PDF sample files of your e-newsletters rather than forwarding a sample, ensuring the graphics look right. [Read more...]
Surveys are an important tool in your ad sales tool kit!
In case you haven’t noticed, the business of selling advertising has changed. I remember fondly the days when selling ads meant “print” ads and the most sophisticated question was, “How many readers do you have, and what does it cost?” Now clients say, “I want a data driven understanding of the influence your readers have over the buying process.” Huh? Say what?
In our data-driven world, surveys are a powerful way to gather information to make a successful sales pitch to today’s client. Your advertiser doesn’t want to know how much it costs or how many impressions he’ll get. He is looking for a multi-media platform to promote to people who are proven to have influence to buy his product. He wants to know what your readers consider to be the most reliable way to learn about his products and what convinces them to make that purchase.
First, choose a way to build and distribute your survey. I use Survey Monkey but there are many other services. You can even get add-ons for Facebook and other social media sites. Plumb your various email lists, distribute through your Facebook page, or use your website to reach the target the group for your survey. Keep them simple and short, and make sure to let participants know how much you appreciate their time! Here are some sample questions from a ten-question survey to select e-newsletter subscribers: [Read more...]
Don’t make your editors mysterious! Encourage them to be a face for your publication.
Your editors are already building engagement (or should be), but can they also build your brand? YES!
A brand isn’t a brand until you add a personality to the mix. Otherwise it’s a simple physical representation of your product or service. “Face” editors who are willing – and able – to travel, speak publicly, visit news sources in person, go to trade shows, moderate panels and events, and even give keynote speeches, are worth their weight in gold.
A well known editor drives industry prestige, can make your publication seem “bigger” than it is, can impact digital ad sales and sponsorships, and have a huge impact on your publication. How do you get them started? [Read more...]
Follow these guidelines and media buyers will LOVE you!
Media Buyers. For publishers, those two words stir up both good and bad memories; perhaps even terror! But no matter if they are good, bad or ugly; buyers are the flame to illuminate the path to publishing success. Use them right and they can be a great resource; use them wrong and you may get burned. So what can publishers do proactively to improve their success in the media buyer relationship? We asked seasoned media buyer Ryan Keough to give niche magazine publishers some tips on how to make media buyers love ad sales reps. It isn’t as hard as you might think!
Niche magazines know their niche. But most successful ones don’t just rely on what THEY think they know–they ask their readers what they want.
Niche your Niche! Here’s one real-world example on how a small magazine looked within and found great success.
Thriving niche magazines are also constantly searching for new ways to meet the needs of their evolving audience. These ideas have to make financial sense and make the readers happy a the same time.
How do you benefit your niche community AND create an additional revenue stream at the same time? [Read more...]
The one thing that successfully working a trade show is NOT: Setting up a booth and sitting there, waiting for prospects to come by and talk with you. Find someone else for that job. To get the most out of your time as a sales person at a trade show, you need to be accessible, pro-active, and have a plan to renew contacts with clients and meet new prospects. Here’s how you do it:
Turn working a trade show into big success with these three tips.
3 tips for getting the most out of working a trade show
1. Pre-show planning: Get a list of exhibits—most shows have this posted on their web sites far in advance. Put them into a spreadsheet and sort by booth numbers. Fill in a column for known contacts and leave a blank column for notes. Highlight accounts you really want to see (include new prospects). [Read more...]
Every other Friday the Niche Media HQ gods let me write about any random thing I want to write about.
Raving fans Grand Poobah Carl and daughter Sophie having fun at AT&T ballpark.
So today you are lucky I am NOT writing about my new clams and mussels with linguine recipe, which I am also very excited about.
I went to a San Francisco Giants game on Wednesday, as almost three years ago I swore I would pay attention to and adore this team as part of my wedding vows.
It has occurred to me that baseball could be like running a niche magazine. I know it sounds like I’ve been brainwashed by Carl B. Landau, but bear with me:
It’s about teamwork, accomplishing goals and ultimately being successful, right?
Here’s 7 things I learn at SF Giants’ baseball games that could apply to Niche Publishing:
Eric Shanfelt, Sr. VP of eMedia at HarperCollins
50% of emails are read on mobile devices and 35% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. These numbers are only going to grow, but is your publishing business optimized for this change? What does it mean to be mobile-optimized? Do you just need an app to be mobile-ready? We recently checked in with Eric Shanfelt, Senior VP of eMedia for the Christian publishing division of HarperCollins and a Niche Digital Conference speaker this fall, and we asked him to tell us why a mobile strategy is so important for niche publishers, how mobile impacts readership and revenue for their magazines, and what they can do NOW to be mobile-friendly:
NICHE: What are three things publishers can do right now to become more mobile-optimized?
Eric Shanfelt: The easiest thing niche publishers can do is to make sure their key employees—including their CEO and higher level decision makers—use a mobile device regularly. They especially should use their mobile devices to view their own website and emails…..this will really open their eyes! [Read more...]
Don’t hit “send” on that prospect email until you’ve taken time to research them!
Yesterday I got an email from a hotel salesperson who wanted us to use his resort for an upcoming niche event. His email subject line was “Free Burritos!” And he ended the email message with, “SMALL is the new big!”
Huh?
I totally got it—he had actually read our last blog post about using “Free Burritos” in an email subject line to catch prospects’ attention. And he pulled the “SMALL is the new big!” from our About Us page.
The sales dude actually read our blog and website. This catapulted him to the top of the list of salespeople because he did a little research—BEFORE contacting me—and he totally personalized the email. The difference between personalizing your message vs. sending a generic ad sales message is like Day and Night.
Here’s 3 ad sales personalization tips for more effective email messages: [Read more...]
Each month the team here at Niche Media picks an outstanding niche magazine to highlight. This month’s pick: Primitive Quilts and Projects, a quarterly magazine dedicated to the primitive quilter, rug hooker, and stitcher. It is published by Homespun Media, LLC, a company owned by sisters Jeni Gaston, Gretchen Streeter, and Judy Williamson. 
Each issue features at least 15 projects by some of the most admired designers in the primitive fiber arts world. Patterns and instructions for quilts, hooked rugs, wool appliqué, and other primitive crafts provide most of the content. The look and feel of the magazine truly stands out…high-quality photography and must-make designs printed on on high-quality paper to make their featured projects shine. They also highlight the charitable work that takes place in the quilting world, and their mother, Mary Falcsik writes a fun advice column in “Ask Mom.”
What are “primitive” quilts and projects? Gretchen Streeter explains: “Very simply, the word “primitive” just means un-trained. So, primitive anything is just a very simply done project. It doesn’t mean sloppy or unskilled…it just might not be geometric or proportionate. The words “folk art” are often lumped in, and that brings images of home, hand-made and the simple things. In our first issue, we asked all of the contributing designers to answer that question. It was interesting to read different takes on the idea!” [Read more...]
