Does Your Business Need a
Newsletter?
If you are not yet using a
newsletter as a part of your marketing efforts
then you are missing out on potential and
existing customers becoming valuable long-term
buyers.
Newsletters provide an effective
tool for collecting interested visitors' email
addresses and converting them into buyers. They
also are a great vehicle for keeping in touch
with your most valued contact - previous
customers. How?
Newsletters keep customers
When you have a customer buy
from you, but no newsletter to follow up, than
you are virtually handing him or her back to
your competitors. Of course, if the service was
good and the product memorable they may come
back, but what if you have a new product that
your existing customer may wish to buy and they
do not know about it? What if they lose your
website address? What if they just forget about
you? A newsletter will prevent these things from
happening.
How Often?
That depends on various factors.
Some businesses contact their subscribers as
often as every day, others as infrequently as
several times per year. What works for you
depends a lot on what you are selling, what
information you can give them, how often your
subscribers will want to hear from you, etc.
A good rule of thumb for many
businesses is once per week. Twice a month if
you really feel that is the most you can do.
More often and the customer may unsubscribe or
routinely delete your messages. Less often and
you're allowing your competition the chance to
win over your potential customer.
What Do I Write About?
Are you very informed on the
product or service? Do you have a lot of
contacts? Can you point out related products or
services they might be interested in?
You do not need a long
newsletter. A sale alert or announcement of a
new service or product can do just as well for
some businesses, while others find a tips format
more suitable. Industry news or 'How to...' and
'Top 5...' topics are a good idea and always try
to make a connection between the newsletter and
your product or service. Subscribe to several
competitors' newsletters (they will surely be
subscribing to yours). Use a free email account
to subscribe and see what they are providing
their customers.
Keep it Consistent
It's amazing the amount of
newsletters that abound online. Because of this
subscribers can forget which ones are legitimate
and which are spam.
Keep your format consistent so
your newsletter becomes visibly familiar. Also
indicate that the subscriber requested the
information and provide an unsubscribe link on
EVERY issue. You must do this if you want to
limit complaints or spam reports.
Your newsletter deserves time
and attention - it is the voice of you and your
business and will help you to build
relationships with your customers (and potential
customers) in a way that no other tool can.