Newsletter Marketing
Electronic newsletters are a great way to build relationships with potential/existing customers. Here is a summary of some eNewsletter components and some suggestions on how to get started.
Electronic newsletters are a great way to build relationships with potential/existing customers. Here is a summary of some eNewsletter components and some suggestions on how to get started:
Content
Develop your content offering. The most important thing to consider is what value your eNewsletter brings to subscribers. Offer information that will help your subscribers become more knowledgeable, enabling them to use your content to run their businesses more effectively.
Avoid using your eNewsletter to overtly sell your product or service - it won't take long for subscribers to figure out whether or not your eNewsletter is really a glorified brochure.
Once you have established the theme of your eNewsletter it's time to think about the process of creating content. Start slow with respect to newsletter frequency - publishing one issue every two months is a good way to avoid getting overwhelmed with respect to content development.
It's great if you are able to write your own content - but this can be difficult for many people, particularly from a time perspective. Think about gaining permission to use other people's content (making sure you properly reference their material, of course). There is no shortage of good online contributors that would be more than happy to have their thoughts published in your newsletter. Don't be tempted to "borrow" other people's ideas - I always ask for permission to use content and have never be declined. Try using the following email request letter...it should help you start gaining permission and building your content library:
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| Help Build Relationships Using eNewsletters |
"We would like to request permission to use content from your (article, website, press release, etc) in some of our upcoming online newsletters. We will list the source information within the newsletter and provide a link back to the original article on our website.
About Us
(Your Company Name) is a public/private company that provides (list your product or service offering) to the (list your industry). Our eNewsletter provides concise industry centric content that is aimed at helping (your target market) manage and market their business. For more information please visit our website at (your website address)
Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at your convenience."
Unfortunately, online plagiarism and content theft are a common occurance - my experience is that writers are so surprised that you are actually asking for permission, that they will be more than happy to grant it.
Email Management
Sign up with a web based email marketing strategies service provider. It's an easy and inexpensive way to get a quick and professional start. There are a number of email marketing strategies programs to choose from - many of them offer similar features such as email templates, subscription list management, CAN SPAM compliance, double opt-in, opt-out, forward to a friend, email bounce back management, email metrics, etc. I have worked quite extensively withiContact and find it provides great functionality at a reasonable cost.
The first thing you will need to do after signing up is design a subscription form - basically, a field for your website where people can sign up to receive your eNewsletter. The email management strategiesapplication you select will walk you through this process and provides you with the HTML code to paste into your website - if you are not comfortable with adding this code to your site, consult your web programmer for help.
Newsletter Design and Strategy
The next step is to design your newsletter and consider a strategy for driving traffic back to your website. Don't get over-ambitious with respect to article quantity - I suggest three articles per issue in the main body of the newsletter. You can "sprinkle" some product/service/company content in the sidebars - remember, the content that provides value to your subscribers should take centre stage, but it doesn't hurt to have some relevant company information in the background.
Consider just including the introductory paragraph to your article within the actual newsletter and providing a FULL ARTICLE link back to your website (where the complete article is posted). This serves two purposes - it helps create new strategies website content on an ongoing basis and it draws people back to your site. After they read that great article you have provided, they might just take a tour around the rest of your website.
One last thought on eNewsletters - it takes time to cultivate a permission based list of subscribers. Be patient - it's not the number of subscribers that's important, it's the quality.