Good idea Dave... I have thought about that as well.  Do you have the feed subscribers to warrant a newsletter though?  This is the reason I hold off... as soon as I start seeing some roll in then I will create one.

I don't have enough to warrant one now.. I feel like I can increase my subscribers if I have a newsletter and promote it on the blog though.  I'm not sure if my theory is right, but I think it's worth a try.

Wojo said:

Sunil from The Extra Money Blog said:

i have a newsletter implemented and i can tell you that if you want it to work you must have unique/exclusive content that people want to hear about.  simply sending a recap of blog posts will cause many to opt out and instead subscribe to your RSS.  the newsletter idea is superb however, the sooner one starts the better IMO

Based completely on personal and anecdotal evidence, I've found the opposite to be true on my own blog. People seem to like the weekly summaries much better than getting RSS delivery. Maybe it has something to do with the frequency...weekly seems much less intrusive than (nearly) daily.

i have a newsletter implemented and i can tell you that if you want it to work you must have unique/exclusive content that people want to hear about.  simply sending a recap of blog posts will cause many to opt out and instead subscribe to your RSS.  the newsletter idea is superb however, the sooner one starts the better IMO

Unless you tell people upfront that they'll be getting your posts via email, some people prefer it that way. I do think though that having unique content is much better.

i have a newsletter implemented and i can tell you that if you want it to work you must have unique/exclusive content that people want to hear about.  simply sending a recap of blog posts will cause many to opt out and instead subscribe to your RSS.  the newsletter idea is superb however, the sooner one starts the better IMO

Based completely on personal and anecdotal evidence, I've found the opposite to be true on my own blog. People seem to like the weekly summaries much better than getting RSS delivery. Maybe it has something to do with the frequency...weekly seems much less intrusive than (nearly) daily.

So you wouldn't necessarily send out all of your new posts in newsletters every day.

But instead, you would have the 5 auto responder posts and then just send out the round-ups of your other posts like once a week or something.

I think that's a good idea, especially because sometimes I know getting newsletters every single day from one source can start to seem like a lot to some subscribers.

I use Feedburner to send out my posts as a newsletter each day, plus people can subscribe to RSS and other feeds through Feedburner, and it has tracking. It's pretty convenient and popular.

 

What did you mean by "a 3 or 4 auto responders" exactly, I was trying to figure out what that meant exactly?

 

I think having a newsletter is essential though, you've got to at least give people the option to keep track of your posts.

 

I personally prefer email subscriptions over RSS as well for my own use.

 

I say go for it, and let me know when you do, I'll try to be your first subscriber.

 

What I meant by the auto responder is a series of messages (can be a series of articles like 5 steps to take to increase your net worth) that every new subscriber will receive in specific intervals (maybe a week between each).  That way the subscriber will get some unique content to get them hooked. After that, I could do weekly roundup newsletters to get them to keep coming back to the site.

I will let you know when I get my newsletter started! 

What did you mean by "a 3 or 4 auto responders" exactly, I was trying to figure out what that meant exactly?

I think having a newsletter is essential though, you've got to at least give people the option to keep track of your posts.

I personally prefer email subscriptions over RSS as well for my own use.

I say go for it, and let me know when you do, I'll try to be your first subscriber.

I was thinking maybe a 3 or 4 auto responders and then a weekly roundup of my posts.  I imagine this is a good way to get people to keep coming back.