How do I recommend Merchavio in my newsletter?

Who can you write to?

Only people who agreed to receive your newsletter beforehand. This is a firm rule in the partner terms: emails without the recipients’ prior consent are forbidden, and so are purchased or third-party address lists.

• Allowed: your own list of people who signed up themselves.
• Not allowed: a mass email to clients or contacts who never subscribed to your newsletter.
• Not allowed: purchased lists, addresses from directories or contacts you collected from websites.
• Not allowed: a partner’s or client’s list whose people never agreed to hear from you.
• Not allowed: details of your referred sellers from your Shopspotter area. You use those only to check your statements.

Which formats fit?

A section of its own

A short block in a regular issue, for example “Tool of the month” or “What I work with”. It is clearly separated from the rest of the content and labelled as an ad.

A how-to

A whole issue on a question from your readers, such as “How to start selling your workshop as a recording”. Merchavio comes up at the point where a system is needed.

An experience report

Only if you use Merchavio yourself or have helped a seller with it who agrees to you telling the story. Tell readers what worked and what bothered you, and make clear that it is your personal experience.

How do you label it in a newsletter?

The label goes where the recommendation starts and once more directly next to the link, in the language of the issue and easy to read on phone and desktop. If the whole issue is a recommendation, the label goes at the top of the issue. Two examples:

• “Ad: I recommend Merchavio as a Shopspotter and receive a commission if you use it through my link.”
• “See Merchavio (ad)”

An asterisk at the link with an explanation at the very bottom of the email is not enough, because the explanation isn’t next to the link. Put the word “Ad” right beside it.

Example: a section in your newsletter

A good section follows a simple order:

1. Label as the first line.
2. Occasion: a question readers have asked you, or the topic of the issue.
3. Your answer in two or three sentences, with what Merchavio offers for it, as stated on merchavio.com.
4. An honest note on who it suits.
5. The link, labelled again.

How often makes sense?

Your readers subscribed for your content. If every issue contains a recommendation, they eventually tune out. There is no fixed number. A good yardstick: mention Merchavio when it fits the topic of the issue or readers ask about it, with issues of pure content in between.

Keep it honest, too: no promises of income or success, no false urgency like “today only”, and prices or promotions only as they appear on merchavio.com. Perks for readers who sign up through your link, such as a discount on your own services, require Merchavio’s prior consent in text form. Only mention coupon codes that Merchavio has provided to you in text form.

Your next step

Look at your next few issues: where would a recommendation fit naturally? Write that one section, labelled at the start. How to explain Merchavio well is covered in how to recommend Merchavio well. If you are a creator with your own reach, you’ll find more ideas in Shopspotting for creators.

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