Registering for newsletters???

[Russ]

Hi

I'm thinking of adding a "quick registration" section to my website www.appointdirect.com so that people not really interested in full registration can register with just an email address and name to receive a newsletter and useful information on a weekly and monthly basis.

As website visitors have you come accross anything that has been effective in getting you to sign up, i'm not keen on the win an i-pod idea but would do it if it was felt beneficial. Also, what about pop up windows or something static on the site???

Not sure what is the best way to go at the moment so any thoughts, comments pr advice would be welcome and appreciated.

Cheers

Russ

[Rob Holmes]

Russ,

The most wanted response on your website is to sign up clients and candidates I suspect?

IMHO the newsletter should be used as a backup response should they visit but are not 'hot' enough to signup but would be interested in making less effort at the current time.

So I think the incentive for candidates who are not ready for a full blown signup but are getting there would be..

"Skip the signup process and receive all our jobs via email each day" then it's the job of the email to send them back to the site to signup when they see a job they like.

Rob

[Russ]

Rob

Thanks for your response. We already have a jobs by email section so I wouldn't want to duplicate information but I can see a benefit in providing a weekly bulletin on related issues such as things like developments in the thames gateway, new companies, employment figures, boom industries etc It would also be beneficial if we could split the news in to 2 sections news for employers could include new health and safety policy or employment legislation whilst we could provide practical job seeking advice and preperation to potential jobseekers and things along that vain...

Russ

[fastfences]

Hi Russ, I used to get a few newsletters, but I think now that they're treated as an invitation to spam. Aren't people wary of them?
Cheers, Nigel

[JamieC]

I have to admit that I sign up for newsletters all the time! The key feature for me would be whether I trusted the company or not. I probably wouldn't sign up for a company that emailed me about it, but if I had gone out of my way looking for a company, and liked what I saw, then I would definitely sign up.

I have a memory like a sieve, so if nothing else, newsletters at least keep the company in my mind! I would guess that that might be true for quite a few people, so I think providing a newsletter is an easy way to build up your client base.

[Sarah-Ink Promotions]

I would sign up if it was of interest - a lot of people have signed up to mine because I put special offers and new products in before anyone else sees them. I advertise mine on the home page of my site

:)

[clairemackaness]

I sign up for newsletters, but only when they explain the frequency. I've been stung too many times by daily or every other day newsletters!

An unsubscribe feature is also essential.

[Russ]

Cheers people

[directmarketingadvice]

I'm signed up to a number of free newsletters.

The key factor in whether I sign up (and also whether I remain signed up and whether I actually read it rather than just delelting it) is the content.

If the content is useful and interesting, then I'm happy to continue to receive it.

If it's just selling stuff to me all the time, I'm not interested .

The second factor is whether there's an inducement to sign up i.e. some sort of bonus, particularly a report or ebook (free prize draws don't interest me).

There are a couple of things I did with my newsletter (plug, plug) that you might want to consider:

(1) Have a copy of a newsletter on your site so visitors can see what it's about and see that it is content driven rather than "salesy".

(2) Offer a free report. Something like "The 10 keys of successful online job hunting", which would no doubt interest the people who came to your site because they're job hunting online.

Also, Claire's comment is a good one - you should let people know how often you plan to put it out.

Steve

[coxadmin]

I sign up to newsletters if the subject matter interests me. At the beginning of the year I reviewed which ones I actually read and unsubscribed from the rest. My inbox is lighter and I have more time for those I read.

I have found that I have seasons of being interested in something

[fridayteam]

If I am interested in the site, then I always sign up for newsletters. If anything, it reminds me about the site, which I am often glad of, because I had forgotten about it.