Nine Reasons to Consider Email Newsletters
I spend a lot of time talking about why davemail is a great alternative to online, do-it-yourself email marketing services. Lost in my enthusiasm, however, is the simple truth that there may be one or two of you out there who are not yet sold on the value of an email newsletter in the first place.
So I am putting away the sales hat and speaking from the heart. Whether you do it yourself, assign it to a competent staff member or outsource it to a highly trained, experienced, creative, dependable writing and design team (let’s call them davemail for purposes of illustration), email newsletters are worth a look.
Here are my top nine reasons why:
9. Let’s start strong. Email newsletters can save you tons of money over traditional printing and mailing. Tons.
8. Speaking on tonnage, sending 100,000 emails instead of printing traditional newsletters saves more than 2 tons of paper (and a lot gas and postage-stamp glue).
7. It is more important than ever to strengthen relationships with existing clients, customers or members, and regular communication is the key to building those bonds.
6. Legitimate email newsletters are a form of permission-based marketing, which means you send only to people who want to receive them. Spam is always a no-no.
5. Email newsletters are timely and interactive, allowing instant feedback and action.
4. Well-written email newsletters provide a good balance of useful, reader-centric content (80%) and appropriate sales-based information (20%).
3. Professionally designed email newsletters provide seamless branding and cohesive elements that drive readers to action.
2. Senders can track results, with access to detailed reports on cool stuff such as open rates and click-throughs.
1. With davemail, you don’t have to worry about any of it. We can do it all for you. Seriously.
thanks dave. it just seems to be a question that continually pops up these days. as online becomes a more valuable medium with a ton of options, i think it’s important to help businesses understand the difference between permission-based and SPAM. i know you’re a straight shooter and are up front about guiding clients in the “honest” direction, but there are too many “just buy a list” companies out there that may be creating more of a liability for their clients than an opportunity for a sale. great info. looking forward to your next post.
Hey, Michael. Great question. I think the first thing for businesses to recognize is that this tool is built for strengthening existing relationships. It is about communicating with those you already know and who have granted permission to participate in a dialog. That fact alone makes using a purchased list a bad fit.
As for building a list, that can take some time. I would start with asking for the email address at every point of contact (calls, in-store, etc.). I would have a sign-up sheet on my retail counter and collect as many cards as possible through face-to-face networking. I would use an intern to call current and past clients to ask for their address. I would ask for addresses through your Web site, paper newsletter, regular emails (make it part of your signature) or anything else you use.
The key, though, is to be completely up-front and honest about why you want their address. Don’t enter them into a drawing for an iPod and then start sending them newsletters. Tell them why you want it, and let them decide.
I know you already know all this, but I get on a roll! I would love to hear your ideas as well.
Thanks again for the question. Take care.
hey dave. regarding email lists and the overwhelming push (and rightly so) towards employing permission-based strategies, how do you suggest businesses begin building their lists so that they don’t have to resort to list-purchasing?
thanks — hope you’re well.