Read all about it...in an e-mail newsletter
Many small businesses are starting their own email newsletters. When done right, they can help:
- Maintain relationships with current customers
- Find new customers with “Forward to a friend” links
- Spread the word about new products or services
There are some important things to remember when putting together your email newsletters. I recommend a service called MailBuild for managing email lists and sending newsletters, which not only takes care of a lot of the technical considerations, but also has a lot of helpful info on their website. Here are some of the things to keep in mind…
Get permission, and provide a way out
The number one rule in email marketing is to get explicit permission from your recipients. A close number two is to give recipients an easy way to unsubscribe.
Consider your motivation
Before you send a single email, establish what your objectives are for your newsletter, and make sure that all the content you include is in line with these objectives. If your purpose is to establish yourself as an authority on a certain topic, for example, don’t write up a story about your pet fish.
Send a welcome email
Send an email to new sign-ups that welcomes them, thanks them for signing up, and describes what they can expect from your newsletter. Here are some more great tips for your welcome email
Keep design consistent
Customers will be familiar with your website, so your email newsletter template should be visually related. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that many people may view your email without images, so al the content should be accessible without them.
Top load
As with newspapers and websites, put your most important content at the top, and provide an easy index to the rest of the content.
Consider your subject line
The right subject line may make the difference between the recipient trashing your email or opening it. Make it catchy and to the point, and be sure to avoid “spammy” words like “opportunity,” “guarantee,” “free,” “bonus,” “amazing”…even “help” or “reminder” can flag your email as spam. Check out a full list of spammy words. Also, don’t use all caps, or a lot of exclamation points.
Make a “call to action”
I’ve seen this in a lot of “do” lists for email newsletters, and though it seemed at first like a stupid marketing phrase, I think it is something you should incorporate in your content. Think broadly about what a “call to action” might be; if you’re not selling a product or service, but are simply providing information, your call to action might be a request to contact you with questions, to visit your blog for related posts, or even doing something concrete in the real-world (gasp!) like acting on a piece of advice you provided.
Track your stats
MailBuild provides several reports that allows you to see how many people have opened your email, and what links they have clicked on within it. This can be really helpful in planning your future content.