I am sure you all read AQUA magazine faithfully. It is an incredibly well written industry publication, and I am not ashamed to admit that I am rather addicted to it.
The January issue has a fantastic article about eNewsletters. If you would like to read the whole thing, you can jump right on over to:
http://aquamagazine.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=1997&zoneid=34
As you can tell, I myself am already a dedicated fan of writing emails to keep in touch with my customers. Reading that article was a great affirmation of my efforts.
For the most part, I agreed almost entirely with the article. However, I do think that it is important that everyone who is writing to a market conducts their own tests and trials, rather than accepting as gospel truth the word of ANY other authority. What works for me may not necessarily work for you. What works for Phillip E. Perry (the author) may not work for you.
For example, I 100% agree with point #1: Make it useful. If you don't have a purpose for connecting with your audience, don't waste their time.
Point #2 I have a few alternative comments. "Make it Attractive" only works so far. First of all, with email programs like Constant Contact or any of the others mentioned in the article, there are pre-made templates you can use so that the writer can get away with having exactly NO design talent and still be able to send out a pretty, colorful email. In my experience, however, just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I used to send out emails that looked more like print newsletters, with columns, and pictures, and the whole she-bang. Since I switched over to a plain design and just text, my statistics have skyrocketed! It really depends on your audience, I suppose.
The article also recommends you "Stay Newsy", Point #5, and that you shouldn't send out a newsletter more than twice a month. Again, I think it depends on what you have to say and who you are saying it to. For some markets, twice a month may be too much. In my case, I have found that the more often I write, the better reactions I get. You may be surprised to hear that I have THREE weekly letters that go out to three entirely different markets. I have found that my readers like what I am sending, and they are happy to hear from me more often. I have more than doubled my response rate since I increased my send-outs. (By the way, if this is NOT the case for you, and you think I email you way too often, you can opt out using the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this message. No hard feelings, I promise!)
The article is definitely a great read, and you should think long and hard about your connection and relationship with your clients. Find out what works for you, and do it!
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