Emails are still as relevant as ever
In the days of SEO marketing, mobile marketing, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, it seems like email is ancient. Of course, the trusty email is still very relevant and it is still a great marketing tool to reach your clients and customers directly. There are several reasons why email is still a popular mode of communication and advertising.
Firstly, sending an email to potential customers is like sending them a letter. If you’ve bypassed the spam folder, you’re going directly into their inbox and that means that if you’ve created a good newsletter, they’re very likely to read it.
If you follow a few rules, you can create a great newsletter and engage your potential customer directly. This allows for a more personal interaction between you and the customer.
Newsletters can also be a good way to keep existing customers engaged and developing a good relationship with them.
#1 – Know what you’re getting into
Newsletters are brochures. They need to have good content of good length on interesting subjects. In most cases, your customers sign up to receive your newsletters so they expect them to be delivered regularly. That involves a level of commitment. You need to send out newsletters on a regular basis without fail. If you don’t, the client would get the general impression that you just can’t be botherd to put in the effort.
#2 – Mind the length
As mentioned earlier, a newsletter isn’t a brochure; it needs to have relevant content. However, the content itself shouldn’t be lengthy or complicated. The general rule of the thumb is to limit yourself to 1000 words. The reader shouldn’t need to invest more than five minutes to read the newsletter.
Have a set pattern that you would be able to routinely follow. You can have a brief overview of about 100 words, a good article of about 600 words, the key points of the article in bullet points which would be about 150 words and your business and contact information, which would be about 150 words.
#3 – Be open and friendly
The intention is to establish good communication with customers. It would be best to keep the tone friendly. Be willing to share a few tips and tricks or research and insight. This encourages trust. It gives the readers the general impression of honesty and openness that they would respond favourably to.
#4 – Focus on the customer instead of the company
Focusing on the customer and how your service would help them sets a good tone to your newsletter. Moreover, if you use ‘you’ more than ‘we’ in your newsletter, it would seem more personal and friendly instead of sounding like a pompous advertisement.
#5 – Encourage them to spread the word
If your content is great, your customers are more likely to share it with their friends, colleagues and relatives. Great content would encourage them to subscribe to your newsletter and therefore gain you more exposure.
Newsletters are a great marketing tool and can take your small business and your products directly to new potential customers.
