It’s no secret many savvy business owners have a regular free e-newsletter that educates and informs their customers, business partners, suppliers and others. This ongoing communication goes quite some length in keeping you top of mind with the people who help support and grow your business. It’s a necessity for many these days, and there are some easy ways to optimise the effort put in.
As someone who recently set about changing her contact email address for all work and play related e-newsletters—and there were plenty—I was surprised to find a number of businesses didn’t offer the option of doing so easily.
Over half provided only an unsubscribe option, so several lost my subscription because I didn’t have time to resubscribe and was keen to downsize where possible. It’s also surprising how many hide their e-newsletter subscription area in the dark depths of their website.
Check if you’re making it easy for your e-newsletter subscribers to simply change their contact address. If not, one small amendment could mean many more leads and a greater awareness of your products and services among your key consumers, partners and other interested parties.
Looking further into making your e-newsletter as accessible as possible, let’s explore avenues you can consider promoting your e-newsletter through in 2012 (whether by a simple mention or by giving the URL for the subscription facility on your website). You may as well make the most of the time and money you put into creating it.
Promotional avenues:
- Mentioned at the bottom of articles you submit to websites, such as Dynamic Business
- As part of your email signature
- On your Facebook page
- In a tweet
- At the bottom of your media releases
- In your business partners’ e-newsletters or websites
- A newsletter/ezine directory
- Right at the top of your website’s homepage and on other pages throughout your website
- A dedicated newsletter area of your website, where you store the current and past editions.
As for newsletter content, that depends on your audience and what they want or need to hear about. When creating copy and visuals always put yourself in your reader’s shoes and ask ‘So what? What’s in it for me?’ Content could encompass anything from news about your business or industry through to your opinion on industry relevant trends and tips to better their lives in ways relevant to your area of interest.
The best strategy for keeping your e-newsletter readers returning for more is to provide interesting, easy to consume information that they can’t get anywhere else or in the one spot.
Here’s to more effective e-newsletter communications in 2012.
