Email newsletters are powerful tools for any business. They allow you to connect with your customers, build relationships, and keep them informed about your products and services. In this day and age, they are the single most important marketing channel for your business, large or small, mostly because you have complete control of the entire experience. Here are some reasons why you need an email newsletter as part of your marketing strategy.
You Control It
One of the main benefits of having an email newsletter is that you have complete control over it. Unlike other forms of marketing, such as social media or search engine optimization, where algorithms can change and affect your reach and visibility, an email newsletter is a direct communication channel between you and your subscribers. You have the ability to decide what content to share, when to send it, and how frequently to send it. Then, your subscriber is the one that decides whether or not to open it (not Facebook or Google). This gives you the power to tailor your messaging to your audience and ensure that your message is being delivered directly to their inbox.
Stay Top of Mind
One of the biggest benefits of an email newsletter is that it keeps your business at the forefront of your customer’s minds. When you send out regular newsletters (and it should be regular – you want a pattern to your communications), your subscribers will be reminded of your business and what you have to offer. This can be especially important for businesses that have longer sales cycles or sell products or services that are not purchased on a regular basis. We cannot emphasize this enough – an email newsletter isn’t just for selling little widgets; it’s also for selling the machinery that makes the widgets. Staying connected with customers who make irregular large purchases is more important than ever. The worst thing your business can do is be forgotten by happy customers, or if you’re a non-profit, you’re donors.
Build Relationships
Email newsletters are also a great way to build relationships with your customers. By providing them with valuable information, you can position yourself as a thought leader and expert in your field and establish trust with your subscribers. This can lead to increased loyalty and repeat business. If you make the newsletter conversational, then your subscribers will feel like they are personally connected with you and your brand. That’s why we advocate putting a personal message at the top of every email newsletter.
Drive Traffic to Your Website
An email newsletter can also be a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. By including links to your website in your newsletters, you can encourage subscribers to visit your site and learn more about your products and services (or read your great content). This can be especially effective if you use your newsletter to promote new products or services. One South Shore PR client sends out a weekly digest of their website articles and gets tens of thousands of hits on their website (almost instantly once the email is sent).
Increase Sales Or Donations
Email newsletters can also be an effective way to drive sales. By including promotions and special offers in your newsletters, you can encourage subscribers to make a purchase. You can also use your newsletter to promote your best-selling products or to highlight new products or services that you offer. You can also use a special offer to entice people to sign up for your email newsletter. A common tactic is to offer a 10% off coupon for new subscribers. It’s a marginal discount, but it makes new customers happy and makes them think they’re getting a deal.
Cost-Effective
Even though you have to pay for an email marketing platform, Email newsletters are still a cost-effective marketing tool. Unlike other forms of marketing, such as direct mail or print advertising, email newsletters can be sent to a large number of people for a relatively low cost. This makes them a great option for small businesses or non-profits with limited marketing budgets. It also provides almost real-time, almost priceless data on how your customers interact with your business. It’s very easy to see how many sales you get from an email newsletter send (if proper tracking has been set up – something we would make sure to do for SSPR clients!).
If you want to stay top of mind, build relationships, drive traffic to your website, increase sales, and do it all in a cost-effective way, then an email newsletter is the way to go. By providing your subscribers with valuable information, you can position yourself as an expert in your field and establish trust with your customers. With the right strategy and approach, an email newsletter can be a powerful tool for any business. Start your newsletter yesterday.
Looking to create an effective email marketing strategy? South Shore Public Relations can help you with this—we can help you build your list and make the most of it. Don’t believe us? Sign up for our email newsletter here.
Examples of Successful Email Newsletters
SSPR Client – Anglotopia – Anglotopia sends out a weekly digest newsletter to 36,000 subscribers. Here’s a recent example.
The Marginalian – *The Marginalian* has a free Sunday digest of the week’s most mind-broadening and heart-lifting reflections spanning art, science, poetry, philosophy, and other tendrils of our search for truth, beauty, meaning, and creative vitality.
Now I know – Now I Know is a free daily newsletter; you’ll learn something new every day.
The Browser Newsletter – Every day, they read hundreds of articles and recommend five outstanding stories for you to enjoy, so you’ll always have interesting things to ponder and fascinating ideas to discuss at dinner.
The Hustle – Have you heard about The Hustle? It’s a daily newsletter that provides you with the latest updates on business and technology in just 5 minutes or less. While there are several other newsletters out there that offer similar content, what sets The Hustle apart is its unique tone that blends information with humor.
Why We Buy – Katelyn Bourgoin’s “Why We Buy” is a newsletter that’s published twice a week. It aims to help marketers better understand the psychology of buyers by sharing insightful tips. The newsletter is presented in an engaging and fun manner, and includes relatable real-life examples and scenarios from popular brands.
