“How can I make my newsletter work harder?” “For a start, don’t call it a newsletter. Not many people sign up for those any more. All our inboxes are far too full.” “What should I call it then?” “I call mine a ‘tipsheet’. You might call yours ‘offers and deals’ or Read more…
photo credit: DSCF7294.jpg via photopin (license)
I’m writing this article soon after the Independent newspaper closed its print version.
Postage, print and paper are expensive, and people are reading online instead.
It’s sad news for the journalism world.
But what does this mean to you and your business?
Well, we are constantly being told that one of the main objectives of your website is to capture email addresses, and the most common way to do this is by offering a newsletter to your site visitors.
If you want to stand out from the rest, a printed newsletter works even better than a brochure, because it appears more personal, topical and unique to your business. But, to save money like the Independent, most people send theirs by email rather than traditional post.
However, fewer and fewer people are signing up for email newsletters these days. Our inboxes are too full, we are always too busy, and we just don’t have time to read them – no matter how interesting the content may be.
Your target customers are the same as the rest of us. So how can you tempt them to give you their precious email address?
Here are my top seven suggestions:
I find myself drawing this diagram time and time again in conversation with clients about digital marketing. It shows how everything fits together, at a glance. It also shows the objective of each activity. Have a look at the diagram, then read the explanation below.
Just because everyone else in your sector gives out a glossy brochure to prospective customers, doesn’t mean you should do the same. In fact, it’s a good reason why not.
You’ve heard about USPs, you’ve heard about ‘being different’, you’ve heard about standing out from the competition…so why even think of doing exactly what the others do?
Some thinking points for you:
Are you convinced yet?
Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you dangling. I do have an alternative for you to consider.
Newsletters. (more…)
Image courtesy of Mike Flanagan at flantoons.co.uk
Although e-newsletters may be past their peak, they are still a great way of keeping in touch, reminding people you exist and are thinking of them, and getting clickthroughs to your website or blog.
With that in mind, we all want to get more newsletter subscribers. Here are seven ways you might not have thought of:
1. Don’t call it a ‘newsletter’
Hardly anyone signs up for newsletters any more. Our inboxes are overloaded and we’re all too busy to read the newsletters we’ve already subscribed to. What’s more, your (more…)
With so many newsletters out there, their effectiveness does seem to be reducing. For example, my open rates this year have dropped slightly to 38.49% compared with 39.54% last year, but this is against an industry average of 14.9%. Meanwhile, my click rates have reduced to 11.46% from 19.4% last Read more…
It’s often quoted that 68% of customers leave a business because of ‘perceived indifference’ (Ford Foundation Study, 2004). If you want repeat orders, you have to show your customers that you care. One way of doing that is to keep in touch by sending regular newsletters, whether printed or by Read more…
When writing news, it can be useful to take a lesson from the newspapers and write in boxes of ever-decreasing importance. Take a look at any newspaper, and you’ll see that the headline is probably the biggest thing on the page. There may be a sub-heading in a smaller font, Read more…