Almost every company has an email newsletter, whether a retail/wholesale store, restaurant, salon, or other services. Journalists, authors, singers and bands, comedians, philanthropic organizations, they’re all sending out promotional emails and newsletters. It’s the premier business communication channel of our time.
You’d be surprised how many aren’t very clear of what their newsletter’s purpose is or don’t seem to be using email to the full potential. They have an email newsletter because, well, everyone else has one. This article is going to explore the idea of finding opportunities with your email list.
You can use it as a public relations tool
Want to help shape the image and perception people have about your brand? Maybe the company is trying to go in a different direction and rebrand. Well, your email list allows you to communicate regularly with your audience to help them get a clear picture of the aura, style, allure, and maybe even the mystique of your business.
Believe me when I say that everything, and I mean everything matters here. The fonts you use, the colors, the formatting, and the writing style. A surf shop in Southern California maybe wouldn’t panic if they misspelled a word. The Ritz-Carlton? Wouldn’t be caught dead using slang or using bad grammar. It never hurts to get advice or feedback from a trusted person or specialist before you send out an email to the masses.
You have an open line of communication
It’s not a one-way street. You have the ability to ask questions and get feedback. In fact, asking your readers what they think is great to make them feel like you are interested and care about them. If you aren’t interested and care what they think or what their needs are? Maybe you are in the wrong business.
You can ask your readers for advice or a testimonial. You may be surprised that they would feel pride in being featured in your newsletter. You probably have a whole lot more supporters than you realize.
You can expand your reach
Not only do you reach the people who sign-up to receive the newsletter, but you can reach new people too. Want to know how? Yes, I’ll tell you. Every email should include a couple of things.
First, a way to unsubscribe. If they don’t want to be on the list, you don’t want to keep emailing them. Secondly, links to all of your social media channels. You can expand the reach of your social media because probably many who get the newsletter aren’t following you on, say, Facebook or Twitter.
But there’s a way you can expand the email campaigns’ reach as well: put a simple note somewhere in the email that says “Please consider passing this email to someone you think would enjoy it.” Guess what? Some of those people will want to sign up as well. There should also be a link to encourage new subscribers to easily get on board.
You can show your commitment and integrity
Some email newsletters don’t get the timeliness down. I unsubscribed from a list that sent me three emails on the same day. It just seemed desperate. However, for a lot of email newsletters, the problem is consistency. They send out emails sporadically or, worse, they are forced to send the email that starts with an apology: “We regret it’s been so long, but…”
That’s bad for business because it makes you look unprofessional and uncaring. By getting your newsletters out there “like clockwork,” you’re showing people how dependable and committed you are. In fact, readers will even grow to anticipate your emails. They should come out at regular intervals, such as “every Monday” or the fifth day of every month.
Sending out regular emails keeps your brand in the mind of clients, customers, and supporters. However, to communicate this trustworthiness and dependability it is imperative that you ensure that your email land in the inbox. There are all kinds of low-quality email addresses that have no place on an email list. These include invalid email addresses, catch-alls, role-based (info@, admin@, etc), spam traps, or abuse emails.
To protect the quality of your list, use an email verifier. By uploading your list to the platform of a reputable email validation service, these problematic and invalid addresses will be identified and can be removed. Not doing so will result in the decline of your sender reputation. Your sender reputation is a score Internet Service Providers use to determine whether you are a spammer or a legitimate emailer. Even non-spammers can be classified as spam if they don’t use email validation to protect and maintain the list.
By arriving in the inbox, you show that your company is a constancy. These days, it’s expected.
There’s always an opportunity for those who look
With imagination and creativity, the sky’s the limit. There are yet even more opportunities and uses for your email newsletter. What do you use your email newsletters for? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. The more useful the list is for you and your subscribers, the greater success it will be.