Do I need an Email Newsletter?

Question: Do I need an Email Newsletter for my blog?

Yes. 100% yes.

I put off doing this for a really long time.  I set up an RSS feed with Feedburner (out of date, get off Feedburner…NOW!) and thought that should do it, but that doesn’t do anything!  All that does is give people a heads up when you post.  But what you really need is a way to communicate with them…a direct way that you know will go into their email box.  You need to have an email list of people who you can talk to.

And here is why…you can’t just rely on social media anymore.  Everything changes.  And lately, bloggers have been through a HUGE shift in their engagement and traffic because Facebook decided that they can control and decide what people see in their newsfeeds.  And there is not a darn thing we can do about it.

The only guarantee that people will know you have something to say (even if they decide to delete the email), is to get them on your email list.

I finally got on the boat and I am so glad.  It is actually really nice to send a nice email to people to shoot the breeze, letting them know my latest content and other tidbits I think are important.

I decided to use Mailchimp.  There are other providers.  I thought at first that I would try MadMimi, because it was suggested by another blogger.  I think it was because of the Popup Domination plugin I have, that I decided to go with Mailchimp instead (I think that was the reason).  At least at the time, the integration seemed to work better.

I use Mailchimp to manage my lists and campaigns, and I use Popup Domination (paid plugin) on my sites to pop up and encourage people to sign up.

Don’t know how to hook it all up?  Just check out this post on my other blog, JL Photography, for an easy tutorial! (just click on the image below)