WordPress › Subscribe2 « WordPress Plugins

We like the sound of this plugin.  It’s a basic, limited version of Constant Contact or Aweber, sending plain text or html (pretty) emails to subscribers by means of posting on one’s WordPress blog.

Does not have the analytics that Constant Contact, Aweber, or the other many bulk email systems have.

Is a limited substitute for FeedBurner’s email delivery.

WordPress › Subscribe2 « WordPress Plugins.

WordPress › Email Users « WordPress Plugins

Looks like a good plugin for email communications (or email newsletters) with your WordPress blog users.  Once a reader registers with your blog, you can email them.  Great for email marketing and building traffic to your blog and site.

We haven’t tested it yet; have you?  How’s it working for you?

WordPress › Email Users « WordPress Plugins.

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Brought to you by the Honey Bee Buzz Marketing Blog.

Buzzinar Tomorrow – Sign Up!

Hello All,

We’re holding another of our famous free HoneyBeeBuzz teleseminars tomorrow at 11:30 am Eastern Time.  Last month’s Buzzinar included companies ranging from holistic service providers to music non-profits to eco-consultants.  The Buzzinar will fly by in the 30 minutes we have, but it gives everyone on the call an opportunity to get free targeted internet marketing questions answered.  We look at each person’s site and explain what they need to do or change in order to meet their goals.  It’s fun, fast, and will leave you with a marketing action plan.

We cover SEO, SEM, web design, copy, blogs, how to build more traffic, increase sales, and more.

Use our contact form today to send us your phone number, website address, and top 2 or 3 questions, and you will be included in tomorrow’s call.

Can’t make it tomorrow but would like to be notified for the next call?  Please sign up for our newsletter – it’s how we keep in touch with everyone – and we’ll pop off an invitation to you when the next call rolls around.

Need a one-on-one marketing consultation?  Get a BuzzBlast.

HoneyBeeBuzz

Membership Site Software

A growing way to monetize a site is to create a membership site where people pay to participate, learn, and create their own online presence.

Here are 12 member site software packages:

EasyPayPal

WordPress plug-in.  Sounds limited.

AMember

Fairly robust, integrates well with WordPress, but some complain that it does not adequately handle affiliate and joint venture administration.

MemberGate

They don’t allow just anyone to use their software, which they install, they pre-screen their clients.  They also don’t state their price.  Reeks of “control freak”.  We have heard of sites that are pulled down overnight, with no warning, by companies like this.

Click here to read about the remaining 9 plugins and software packages; there are some great options available: More »

Email Marketing Software and Programs

A fundamental part of marketing is direct mail.

Used to be that companies would spend tens of thousands of dollars snail mailing sales letters and teasers and postcards and the like.  They still do, but much less frequently, because now there is email marketing.

You can just send out a simple, plain-text email.  It works.  But it’s much more effective to use graphics and to use privacy safeguards for the people who have entrusted their emails with you.  And the more sophisticated programs adjust themselves for certain limitations that different email providers like Gmail and Hotmail have.

Below is a list of email softwares and programs.

As always, use at your own risk and after determining which ones will best address your company’s needs.  Two that have been in business for years and which are proven to be both reliable and have integrity are ConstantContact and Awebber.  Let us know what’s working for you or any questions you may have!

There is a free, limited version of G-Lock, AND it has a plug-in for our favorite CMS — WordPress:

WordPress Double Opt-In Manager Widget

or get it directly from WordPress: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/g-lock-double-opt-in-manager/

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SendBlaster, besides having just about the cutest ever animated logo, has several important features:

• opt-in lists
• blacklisting (exclude people who don’t want to receive your email so that they don’t blacklist you, exclude competitors, etc.)
• duplicate email prevention
• multiple lists (for different topics, ie: Caribbean vacations, European cruises, America’s National Parks)
• HTML emails and text emails
• personalization (Dear Charlie)
• visual editor for HTML emails
• there’s a free version, as well as an unlimited pro version for about 75 Euros.

SendBlaster’s downsides:

• no click-through tracking, which is really the whole point of email marketing – you want to track who is looking at what, and even when!  You want to know who is forwarding your emails.  You have to analyze to make the best use of things.
• the free version is limited to 100 recipients at a time.

We’ll be adding more to this list over time.  Please feel free to leave links to your favorites or cautionary tales in the comments section!

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HoneyBeeBuzz