Regular customer contact and updates
Newsletter marketing isn’t a new phenomenon – offline versions have been distributed for decades. The cost of writing, designing, printing, and posting a high-quality newsletter has however meant it wasn’t a viable option for many businesses.
Things have changed thanks to e-mail distribution and the emergence of e-mail newsletters (also known as e-newsletters or enewsletters) that can be produced quickly and cost-effectively, and distributed even by the smallest of businesses in any quantity needed.
If you get it right, newsletter marketing can be a highly effective method of maintaining regular contact with your customers and prospects. This can help your business stay ‘front of mind’, so customers choose your brand over another when they buy. A well-produced and timed e-newsletter can strengthen your relationship with customers, encouraging them to like, trust, and remain loyal to your business.
Newsletters are not perceived in the same way that other direct marketing collateral is. They are often perceived as informative ‘newspapers’ rather than sales and propaganda publications. It is important not to change this perception! Newsletters work well because they tend to be read as informationals, making them more welcomed when they are received. As such they have higher readership than other forms of advertising.
A customer newsletter is the strongest marketing and business-building tool available. The magic of newsletters as an effective marketing tool is that customers often don’t realise they’re reading something that has a powerful call to action – if the newsletter is done correctly.
Why choose newsletter marketing strategies?
If newsletter marketing has fallen out of favour at your organisation, overshadowed by other marketing initiatives, there are several reasons to give newsletters another look.
- Different channels for different audiences
Your audience will prefer different means of communication, but newsletters can fight on several fronts. You can send newsletters by post, or e-mail, archive them on your website, serialise them with tweets and Facebook links, and allow customers to find and sign up for them on your site. Print them out and give them as ‘leave-behinds’ at sales presentations or trade shows. - Nurturing prospects into buying customer
Newsletter marketing is an effective way to build a relationship with a prospect, nurturing them until they become a buying customer. - Stay front of mind
The purchase is the beginning of the process, and the relationship will grow as long as you keep nurturing it. Marketing newsletters can do that, keeping you top of mind until it’s time for another – or different – purchase. - Social sharing
People share informative content! A newsletter can provide shareable content, or be the shared media itself. - Build your newsletter distribution list ethically
Sending anything to strangers is spam. In business communications, you are permitted to ‘introduce’ yourself, but build ethical lists through a desire for the information. - Resist the urge for the hard sell
If you just bombard customers with the hard sell, you will turn your customers off, fast. Be informative, collaborative, and social – it may be slightly slower but will pay dividends in the long run. - Let customers tell you what content they want
If you want to communicate what your customer’s want, why not let them tell you. - Be as professional as possible
If your newsletter looks too flashy, it may be regarded as a brochure. Too amateur and it will impact your relationship. - Be ready for a response
Your newsletter marketing campaign should generate comments or feedback, so be prepared for that. There is nothing worse than a long pause between the question/comment and response. - Measure the success of your newsletter marketing campaign
Do you know how often customers open your newsletter? Do you know which subject lines work? Do you know which articles they read? (Tracking works best with e-newsletters, but you can ask in offline communications).
Why not contact Jack Marketing Solutions™ today to maximise the impact of your newsletter marketing campaigns at +44(0)203 397 3557.
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