You’ve heard it before.
You need to keep in touch with clients and prospects to keep on their radar. Email marketing and email newsletters, in particular, is one way of doing this.
But isn’t everyone doing it and isn’t email a bit old hat?
Turns out email is still one of the most effective ways of communicating with your clients. According to the Australian Direct Marketing Association, email marketing far outperforms social media by miles.
It’s especially effective for B2B (business to business) clients because they’re used to being contacted by email every day.
I’m not saying everyone will open your emailed newsletter. However, as long as you’re offering valuable information to the right audience, you can expect open rates of 20% and higher. You might need only a small percentage of your audience to respond to your newsletter to make it worthwhile.
So what is the secret to writing compelling newsletters that your clients will read?
Like all good marketing, it all comes down to the old “SO WHAT” test. Before you write your next client message, put yourself in their shoes and ask “so what”? “How is this information going to benefit me?” It used to be referred to as “WIIFM”, that is, “What’s in it for me?”
You really need to know what makes your customer tick to get this message right. This might take a bit of research. Don’t just assume you know what’s important to your client. Talk to some of your clients.
Do a survey. Talk to people in your organisation that are in day-to-day contact with your client.
Five more sure-fire ways of making your newsletter a success are:
1. Show how you’ve helped others
A case study approach is a useful way of illustrating how you can uniquely solve your client’s problem.
Take a journalistic approach rather than an advertising approach. Paint the picture about how your service has done something that really matters to your client. How you’ve solved a problem and come up with a solution that worked.
2. Make it educational
Provide genuinely useful information in your newsletter – free. Give your audience tips on how they can do their job better, save money or time. Become the expert on your area of expertise.
So if you’re an architect you might write a newsletter article like this: “5 top tips on how to get approval authority consent for your development”.
3. Tell them what to do
Before you write your newsletter, think about what marketers call the ‘call to action’, that is, what do you want your client to do as a result of reading your newsletter.
Tell them what to do – it might be to call you for a free quote or proposal or download some more helpful information.
4. Make sure your newsletter looks professional & is easy to read
Every time you contact your audience you are giving them an impression of the quality of your products and services. A professionally designed and well-written newsletter will make a good impression. It will be easy to read and clearly communicate your message. It will give them confidence that you’re the right company to deal with.
5. Make it regular
Once you start your newsletter series, stick with it. It’s all about building up a reputation as a source of knowledge. It’s also about being present when your client has a problem to solve.
An email newsletter can be an important part of your marketing toolbox. If you don’t have the resources in-house, it’s easy to find someone who can help you put your newsletter together.
