subject: How to Make Sure Your Small Business Newsletter is Well-Received [print this page] How to Make Sure Your Small Business Newsletter is Well-Received
One thing I've noticed in working with service-oriented small business owners is many of you are weary of sending out email marketing, such as newsletters. You're worried people with think you're a pest.
You may be concerned that your small business newsletter will get overlooked, deleted, or sent to the spam folder.You may also worry that people will open it and be less than impressed, or worst-of-all, ask to be removed from your list.
If you are worried your email newsletter will be an unwanted nuisance, here are some things to consider:
Frequency
There is no magic number as to how many or how few emails you should send out in your marketing efforts.The number of emails your customer base will welcome or tolerate depends on the industry you are in and the expectations you have set.
If you are in the internet marketing world, your market may tolerate or even welcome more than one email regularly per week. But as a general rule, you simply don't want to bombard your list with emails. On the other hand, you don't want to go for such a long stretch of time that they've forgotten who you are.
A month between email contact is likely too long. If you publish your email newsletter once per month, you may want to considerincreasing the frequency or sending an email in the interim a discount coupon, reminder, or quick tip.
Opt-in
If you want your email newsletter to be well-received, make sure the people on your list opted in to your list.Spam laws regulate this, and it is your responsibility to comply. Laws aside, though, why would you want anyone on your list who did not ask to be included?
The way or reason the subscriber opted in to your list may factor into how well-received your marketing messages are. If she entered a contest, she may be less interested going forward than someone who signed up out of general interest on your website.
If she signed up at a workshop, she might have completed the form only to be polite. If she purchased services or products before receiving your first newsletter, she is likely to be more responsive when the newsletter or marketing campaigns arrive.
I point these factors out simply for you to keep such variables in mind. Once a subscriber is on your list, it is your job to keep them interested with useful, relevant, and compelling information.
Enticing
Be sure to introduce your email newsletter with a recognizable and enticing subject line. Avoid labelling it "Carrie's September Newsletter," for example. Instead, indicate that it is from your company, and then use an attention-grabbing notice than compels your subscribers to open the email.
It is also a good idea to send it from an email address with your name attached to it. Your list subscribers will be more inclined to open it if they recognize it as coming from you than they will if it says newsletter @ your-company . com.
Remember, the idea is to get them to open it. Then, hopefully, they will like what they see inside.
Beware of Spam Filters
We can all appreciate the regulations and software that prevent our email boxes from becoming cluttered with spam messages. We would never think of ourselves as someone who would send spam. But unfortunately, our well-intentioned marketing emails are likely to end up in our subscribers' spam folders if we are not careful.
Some email marketing programs will scan your message for spam triggers, but you should also do your own check. One of the most common words, sure to land you in the junk pile is "FREE" so you will want to intercede by typing "F*REE" or something similar.
Quite simply, if your emails are not getting into the inbox or being labelled as junk, then obviously fewer people will open the email and even fewer will respond.
Overall, getting your open rates and click-through rates up takes time and effort. People are busy and the fact that they didn't open your newsletter this week is not necessarily a reflection of how they feel about you.
Of course you should take the time to analyse and adapt, however don't get discouraged if you feel like too many people are neglecting to open your newsletter. Instead, focus on fostering strong relationships with those who are actually reading it.
