Even though Web 2.
0 has come and gone, the social media sites that skyrocketed to popularity during that decade are becoming increasingly important to the future of the Internet.
From social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to social bookmarking sites like Digg and Delicious, e-mail marketers are learning that social media is a gold mine for finding prospective subscribers.
Below you'll find four lessons from social media experts about how to get the most from these online communities.
Lesson 1: Use your profile page to promote yourself and your business.
Make your profile a hub of activity and information.
Whenever possible, you should incorporate videos, pictures, and links into your page.
Be sure to include a link to your squeeze page, along with a brief pitch for the newsletter.
Lesson 2: Find friends.
The best way to find prospective subscribers on social media sites is to go where your customers are likely to congregate.
Look for groups relating to your niche or search for discussions about your field that are happening right now.
Lesson 3: You get what you give.
If you aren't contributing value to the community, you can't expect to reap the rewards.
Join the discussion and show people what you have to offer.
It's not enough to hype your newsletter through status messages and links to your squeeze page (although these things are important too!).
You must show people what they're missing.
Tease tidbits from your newsletters and share interesting/funny facts or stories relating to your industry.