Email Newsletters are back!
Laura Bell
Why the newsletter renaissance? Well, according to Tokensub, “the current resurgence we’re seeing of email newsletters can be largely explained in how it fundamentally offers a solution to many of the problems that plague social media.” As people become more distrustful of social media as a means of gathering our information and controlling what content we are exposed to, it seems web users are turning back to ye olde email again. The perception may be that email is a more honest platform which no one company controls. At Deearo Marketing, it’s super important to us to stay up-to-date and in the know about modern marketing trends and to find out what they mean for our clients. So, here are our top tips to ensure your e-newsletters are in vogue and fulfilling their purpose.
This is all about knowing your audience. Who is your target audience, your ideal customer? Does the wording on your website and online content engage with them? If you don’t know, then find out.
You need to know what sort of people are going to be likely to want your products and how to talk to them. Manobyte say that “When it comes to marketing of any kind, […] you must know your target audience to be effective”. It’s no good marketing to teenagers with slang and emojis in your emails if you have a babywear boutique. No matter what the teenage pregnancy rate is in your area, they are not the slice of the market with expendable income for premium price baby accessories. So, get to know your demographic and engage with them.
Plan:
If you don’t already do a company newsletter for your email subscribers, then there’s no better time to begin one. However, if this is new to you, you’ll need to consider a few things before you start. Things such as who is going to write it? Will it always be a single person’s job, or will you share the workload? How often will it go out and who will proofread and approve it? If the head of the company has enough time to write the newsletter, even if only sometimes, that can be a very positive thing. It shows that the head of the business knows what’s going on in their own company and that they care about having a respectful, yet personal relationship with their customers. If you want to get various people to write the newsletter, that can work well too, since it gives the opportunity for different perspectives from different departments. Variety is the spice of life after all. However, it’s a good idea for the same one person to approve and sign off the newsletters every time for the sake of continuity and to keep the company values front and centre. As with any written promotion material, you need to make sure it is on brand with your company image and ethos.
Inform:
We’ve said it before about sharing content, but we’ll say it again: If you haven’t got anything to say, don’t say anything. The same goes for your newsletter. If you don’t have anything new in your business to report that week or month, then don’t. Newsletters are valuable spaces to promote your brand, business and products. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t congratulate Jen from accounts on her wedding in the newsletter, in fact if ‘small’ or ‘family-run’ business is on brand for you then go for it, but definitely draw the line on announcing Jen’s cat’s third birthday. Unless of course you run a business who provides pet portraits or custom-made pet party hats, in which case, that’s on brand too.
Our point is that you need to consider what your audience is going to care about and want to read, rather than what you have to say. If it’s a slow news month, fine. Then, say less. It’s better than losing people’s respect by wasting their time. Impact advises that “email newsletters allow companies to share valuable content and updates, and in doing so, create trust with their audience.” You are writing to inform and give value, so focus on that as you write.
Focus:
Some businesses make the mistake of publishing a small novel each month instead of a succinct and concise newsletter. According to Impact “people want things fast and concise. A good newsletter is able to deliver this to its readers.” It’s great if you’ve got lots to say about your company, but if that’s the case you may need to streamline the information or be selective about what items are the priority to mention. If your newsletter takes more than two and a half minutes to read, then your audience will likely lose interest. Of course, you care about the news in your company, hopefully so do the people on your mailing list. But just in case they need persuading to care about your company enough to actually read something you send them, don’t put them off with lengthy essays. Starting a new book is a commitment, they shouldn’t feel the same pressure when opening one of your emails, so stay focused and snappy.
Share:
Newsletters give you more content to share on your social media pages for your business. This is handy, because there’s never a bad time to show you are relevant and present as a company. Some companies can find knowing what to share on social media confusing, but if you’d put it in a newsletter, then you can put it in your post, or even just share it as a picture or link. Where possible, use it to encourage people to click through to your website through it. Increased web traffic is always a good thing and usually results in an increase in enquiries and sales.
Hopefully you are excited to re-embrace email as a form of connection with your customers and subscribers. Just because email has been around since the 70s it doesn’t mean we should overlook it. This resurgence in e-newsletters means that people want to have a choice in what content they see. Facebook and other social media giants use algorithms to determine what content you should see first on your feed with a motive to glue you to the screen long enough to watch an advert or two which they then get paid for. Email is simpler and people are clearly realising this. With email, you receive an email, you choose to open it or not and read it, or not. It is the decision of the user. The emails are listed in the order in which they arrive, not in the order that benefits someone with shares in the software. It is simpler and it is more honest to be sure. Now we just have to figure out the best way to utilise email communications to benefit your business and your customers.
If you want more information on how to create a great newsletter or how to set up an effective automated email service, get in touch with us today. At Deearo Marketing, we’d love to chat about how we can help you grow your business and make your marketing more efficient.
