You have a company newsletter (if you don’t, you should!). You check your stats every time you send it out but are you seeing the results you want?
Newsletters are a fantastic way to tell your potential clients about what your business has been up to. You can direct more traffic to your website and get new clients… but only if you do it right.
A client recently told me that her 10% open-rate was good. I told her that we have a 40% open-rate every time. She was stunned. Why was she settling for mediocrity when she could get interaction & business from something she spends so much time on? She didn’t know any better.
Here’s how you can get your newsletter opened & interacted with:
Make it From You
Your customers know who you are. Your newsletter should come from you personally, not your business. People will know it’s your business when it comes from you. It also looks more personal. Businesses don’t do business with people. People do.
Create an Eye-Catching Subject Line
Your potential clients get a lot of email. In order for your email not to be deleted as they scan through subject lines, it has to be catchy. Using “ABC Company’s Newsletter, Edition XII” will not get them to open it. MailChimp.com has an A/B Campaign setup so you can test different emails based on your subject line.
Stop Selling Your Company
Do you tend to only toot your company’s horn when you send out your newsletter? You know from experience that listening to someone do that is a turn-off. Many of Sisarina’s competitors send out ‘newsletters’ only talking about the websites they’ve just launched. Who cares?
You’re a subject matter expert (SME) so share your knowledge with your customers. Send out links, blog posts, and other useful information. Add in a bit of horn tooting, but don’t make that your main focus.
Give Snippets, Tell a Story
Never paste an entire blog post in your newsletter. Paste the first paragraph or a teaser with a ‘read more’ link to the actual post on your website.
People like to skim information and go to what intrigues them. Giving them information overload will give them nothing & cause them to delete your email. Tell your readers a story that will make them want to go to your website, where they can find even more information.
Have an Action-Invoking Call-to-Action
Why should someone contact you? Tell them why! Is it for your services? Are you selling something? Are you doing a contest? Give them a great reason to contact you & make sure that it’s easy. Don’t be afraid to tell them. “Sign up here today.” “Enter our holiday giveaway here”
Always Use a Mailing Service
NEVER send out a newsletter in PDF form or from your email account. Always use a newsletter service. Some great choices are: MailChimp, Constant Contact, Emma, or iContact. MailChimp offers free accounts up to 500 email addresses so you have no excuse not to use one.
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Put these into practice and see your open-rate go up. Check out some of our newsletters to get ideas. We'd love to hear how this has worked for your business. Send us your feedback or comment here.
