By Hostway
Sending an electronic company newsletter is a great way to build customer loyalty and keep your brand top-of-mind between purchases. Here's a checklist to help you get started with your enewsletter.
Content
- Set a regular distribution schedule.
For most businesses, sending a newsletter once a month is a good idea. Your customers will come to expect the newsletter each month, and you will have enough time between newsletters to prepare for the next one. - Find or write informational content related to your industry.
A newsletter requires a soft-sell approach. This is your chance to position yourself as an expert in the field and someone who wants to share knowledge with customers. It's not the place to openly tout your products and ask for the sale. Gather content that is informational, useful and practical for your readers. - If you use outside writers, edit the newsletter for style and tone.
Each writer has his or her own voice. But your newsletter should be cohesive and flow smoothly from one story to the next. Appoint an editor to pull all the pieces together into a single, unified newsletter. - Offer a special promotion for newsletter readers.
Nothing encourages readership growth like a special promotion that can only be found in the company newsletter. It's a great way to keep customers reading from month to month and a nice way to subtly encourage sales. - Use a professional designer or a good template for your HTML version of the newsletter.
After your subject line, the design of the newsletter will make the biggest impression. A professional design enhances your image and gives your newsletter more credibility. If you can't afford to hire a designer, find a newsletter template that fits your company's personality.
Deploying
- Customize the subject line for a better open rate.
Studies show that people have a stronger tendency to open an email customized with their information. If you have a large list, you can insert code to pull the customer's first name from your database automatically. - Review your subject line for any words that might trip the spam filters.
Some of the worst offenders are free,” “$$$,” “guarantee, “affordable,” “cheap ” and “apply now.” Because your enewsletter is a soft-sell medium, these words are probably not a good fit anyway. - Make sure your have a clean list.
Double check to make sure that everyone who has unsubscribed in the past has been removed from your list. Also, make sure all new sign-ups are included. - Do a final review of all the content.
Read through the entire newsletter and click all the links to make sure they're working. This is your last chance to catch any mistakes. - Send your newsletter.