Let's Talk Newsletters! for Bloggers and Authors

Surprise, surprise! I don't have a newsletter that I send out biweekly or monthly. I do, however, receive such emails and on a regular basis. Most of them are from indie authors. Emails are an effective marketing tool! If you need some persuading about the value of emails, just check out this article: Is email marketing still relevant? I have to be totally honest with you, not all of the emails that I'm subscribed to are as well received as others.

Main reason why I unsubscribe from a newsletter: Emails are Too Frequent

Main reason why I don't open a newsletter: Boring Subject Line

3 examples of October newsletter subject lines that caught my interest:

1. On pumpkins, coffee, and other ways to celebrate October - by Author Ron C. Nieto

2. 👑 Pre-Order Highland Queen 👑, Freebies, and a 👻 Halloween Giveaway! 🎃 - by Author Melanie Karsak

3. [New post] IMAGINATION is Powering a BIG “Quiet Ship” Book/Prize GIVEAWAY! :D - by Blogger Donna at Writer Side Up!

Email Marketing Resources

My Emma

5 ideas for creating good subject lines from

8 newsletter subject lines that aren't just "October Newsletter"

The hallmark of a great subject line
Great subject lines have certain attributes that help pique a recipient’s interest enough to get them to open the email — and that’s the goal.
Let’s look at some of the characteristics of phenomenal subject lines.

1. They’re personal.
Personalization in emails is key. In fact, personalization is shown to increase conversions by 10% and click-through rates by a whopping 14%.

2. They’re urgent.
Urgency is powerful, but you have to exercise restraint so your subject lines don’t come across like a ShamWOW infomercial (“Act now, before they’re gone!”).
That being said, urgency can encourage those opening clicks, as long as you’ve taken the time to tone down your language and phrase things creatively—like these do.

3. They’re mysterious.
Subject lines that are mysterious can pique curiosity, and that’s a good thing — as long as what you’re delivering is in line with your brand.

4. They’re relevant.
Normally, if you’ve subscribed to a list, you’re interested in timely, relevant news pertaining to that company or industry.

5. They contain an offer.
Who doesn’t love an offer? You can craft email subject lines that include this tempting morsel but be careful to deliver what you promise.
Also, don’t use the words, “free” or “rich” in your subject lines—those may land you in the spam folder.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored Guest Post in collaboration with My Emma and Campaign Monitor. I created the images for free and effortlessly with FotoJet. I have included my own thoughts and opinions. The rest of the content is from My Emma.

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It’s My SITS Day!

It’s My SITS Day!

I’ve been waiting for this day

for a long time and it’s finally here!

“Who are The SITS Girls?” you might ask. The SITS Girls are a community of over 40,000 members who support one another in various ways. We share stories, ideas and tips as well as visiting the featured blogger of the day and leaving a comment on both the SITS blog and the featured blogger’s blog.

I prepared something extra special for this day. I’ve created a video of myself for the very first time! I couldn’t have done it without the help of my girls. I’m singing a portion of my favorite theme song. It’s called, “Where is it Written?” from the movie Yentl. It’s my first “duet” with my favorite vocalist, Barbra Streisand. Hehehe!

By the way, I’m Tina, an American mom raising 4 kids in South Africa and I love blogging. I am not much of a crafty blogger, nor much of a recipe blogger. So, why do I blog and what do I blog about? Check out My About Page to find out!

Here's what one lady I met through the internet said about my blogs, "Well, I'm not much of a blog reader. Really the only blogs and sites I follow are other photographers lol. I believe your blogs were the only ones I actually enjoyed reading and looked forward too! You're honest, sweet, and your family seems to be such a loving family and I think that's why I stuck with yours and only yours...hehe." By Karen M.

One of my most viewed posts, which is also one of my favorites, contains a number of awesome collages of my family that I put together just after the Christmas season.

I hope you stay a while and come back often. And, every time you visit, I hope it feels like a breath of fresh air and gives you the strength to carry on.

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Pinterest 

Twitter 

Facebook 

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Which Comment System is Best for Your Blog?

When I first began blogging with Blogger, I had the usual Blogger comment system that came with my Blogger templates. I realize some of my blogging friends use WordPress and not Blogger. There is a link for you too at the bottom of the post, so keep reading.

I wasn’t very happy with the limited way that this system worked, so I looked into Disqus and IntenseDebate to see what features they had to offer. In the end, I chose to go with IntenseDebate, mainly because they had the CommentLuv plugin that allows bloggers to immediately access their most recent posts’ permalinks with titles by just typing in their blog’s URL.

I have set my IntenseDebate comment system so that it doesn’t completely override my Blogger system. This way, it won’t erase any previous Blogger comments that were on my blogs. That means that my Blogger system is still set as the default system. It seems that, occasionally, IntenseDebate is off-line, because I will suddenly find my Blogger comment system activated. This is not ideal.

Recently, I had a hiccup with my comment system on my $20 Gift Voucher Giveaway post. I was really peeved. All the lovely comments disappeared that were on my IntenseDebate system and my Blogger default comment system has taken its place. My guess is that IntenseDebate must have gone off-line for a moment and when someone wanted to comment, the Blogger default system automatically kicked in.

So, I began to question again whether or not to install the new Google+ comment system instead. I have decided for the second time not to go this route, because I will lose all the comments that I’ve accumulated with IntenseDebate and because Google+ requires your readers to have a Google+ account before they can leave a comment. This is not flexible. This is forcing people, in a way, to open Google+ accounts who never wanted them before.

I suppose finding the best comment system for your blog is like finding the right spouse. You will hopefully fall in love with one system over the others, but it will come with the good and the bad. So, choose carefully, because you will have to live with your choice.

Here is more information on this debate:

Pros and Cons of the Google Plus Commenting System

Complete Guide to the New Google+ Comments on Blogger and WordPress

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