There are many different marketing tools you can use for your small business. From social media to content creation, there are so many different ways that you can spread information about your business and what customers can expect from your services. One of the best tools, that can often be overlooked, is the humble newsletter. Let’s take a look at whether you should create one for your business.
What is a Newsletter?
A newsletter can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. It is simply a short document that tells you more about the world around you. Many local communities put together a short newsletter to talk more about things that could be happening around them. It is not as detailed or as investigative as a full newspaper in this context, but it can definitely offer you plenty of content to think about.
For a business, a newsletter could be used slightly differently. It is primarily used to promote the business in some way. You will still have a short news section that will be utilised if there is a big announcement to make. Perhaps you have just won an award, or it is the company’s birthday. There are lots of reasons why you might want to celebrate something. A newsletter is a fantastic way to ensure that this is indeed celebrated.
For businesses, however, a newsletter is also primarily used for promotion. If you need a way to send out promotions to your customers without splashing them all over your social media constantly and taking out a load of ads, an email newsletter might be exactly what you are looking for.
How Easy Is It to Create a Newsletter?
Many people can be hesitant to create a newsletter if they aren’t entirely sure what it might entail. However, it is easier than you might think to make one. Even if you have no idea how to create a newsletter, there are plenty of guides out there that can put you on the right path.
Creating a newsletter is easy once you have your template in place as you then just have to write the copy and choose pictures for the design of each one. You get to choose how frequently you want to send out your newsletters too. Big brands may send out at least one a week – with additional ones coming out if they have a big sale or something else that needs to be addresses – but smaller brands like yours can probably work well with just a newsletter each month.
Will Consumers Open the Newsletter?
Of course, there is no obligation on the behalf of the customer to open your newsletter. This is why you have to make the content that goes into them so enticing. Why should someone take a look at what you have to say if you are not going to offer them something compelling?
Creating the right content for the newsletter might take some time, and you may have to conduct a little market research. A newsletter tends to be very short and snappy. Even if your brand is known for long and very wordy, detailed descriptions, you cannot do this in a newsletter. You can always throw in a “click here for more” with a link to your website if you want to go further into what you are talking about in the content of the newsletter itself.
Another great way to ensure that consumers open the newsletter is to only put promotion codes in them. People love to knock a little bit of money off their purchases where they can. Whether it is a 10% discount or something as simple as the chance to grab free international shipping, you can get a good open rate from your newsletters simply by stating on the website that all promo codes can be found there.
Signing up for the newsletter is a simple integration to make with the sign-up process for your site itself. All it takes is a tick box next to the terms and conditions. Some sites even set up their newsletters so you have to actively opt out of them at sign-up or they will be sent out automatically.
What Platforms Can Use Newsletters?
There are so many different ways you can use newsletters. The most traditional is still the print newsletter. Any customer who opts in to this method will be sent a copy of the newsletter each month through the mail. Younger, e-commerce brands may not want to offer this style of newsletter, but it can be a fantastic option for those with older clientele.
More modern methods include email and text marketing. With the latter, you really can’t put in anything more than a quick deal and a few lines of text. However, an email can be a great choice. It gives you a little more space and also allows you to integrate graphics and other details. Most brands will have some form of email newsletter if they choose to use this option.
Finally, many brands are also beginning to use social media to push out newsletters. In particular, Facebook Messenger is a brilliant platform to use for pushing out short and easy messages, similar to those that can be used in texts. If you want to use your newsletters for quick and snappy promotions, you should look into what can be offered by Facebook Messenger and other social media platforms.
Get Creating Today
That newsletter isn’t going to craft itself! If you think this is just the thing you need to connect with your customers, you should start making a newsletter today. There is so much information you could spread through these, as well as the chance to run competitions and push out unique promotional codes. It could be one of the strongest marketing tools you bring into your arsenal. If you do not yet have a newsletter as part of your main marketing strategy, it is high time you thought about adding one.
