One of my personal favorite parts of a marketing plan is the part where you focus on retaining leads – a part that so many small business owners neglect. A method that I often recommend to start staying in front of your list is to send newsletters. Over the years, as I have suggested this to clients, I have had many ask me, “what is the difference between newsletters and just regular emails?” Let’s talk about that today!
Staying in front of your contacts can feel like an overwhelming prospect. It usually requires having a system in place that enables you to actually do consistent follow-up. This can be a scary proposition for a business owner if you don’t feel like you understand what system you need or if the idea of adding another task to your plate seems too daunting.
Yet, if you get in good habits around staying in communication with your list, the results usually include boosting your customer base, referrals, and sales. Read here for more on this! The more your audience hears from you, the more they are thinking about you, which lines you up to be remembered when they need what you sell.
The more your audience hears from you, the more they are thinking about you, which lines you up to be remembered when they need what you sell. #newsletters #marketing #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb #entrepreneur
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This is where newsletters can come in. Nowadays, newsletters are generally sent via email, which is where it can be confusing in how it differs from just a regular email you would send to anyone on your list. There are a few key differences, though. Your newsletter:
- Gets sent to your whole list – or at least a significant segment of it.
- Goes out consistently. That frequency could be once per week, per month, per every two months, quarterly. The point is, you are keeping your audience warm with regularity.
- Has some value-driven content. It’s not just a “how are you doing?” message. It has something in it that makes it worthwhile to open. This could be a blog, a photo gallery, a word of the week, a calendar of events, an interview, a spotlight on someone important to the business, news, or so many other things. It could also have a sales message, coupon, or discount.
- It usually has a designed look, instead of a text-only look.
Your follow-up plan hopefully also includes some individual emails to people on your list in response to actions they take or scheduled sequences of follow-up to prompt individuals to take action. This is part of your sales process and is more about one-to-one connection to make sure your leads are still moving through your pipeline.
In contrast, newsletters are about marketing to your whole target market, not just one person. The great news, though, is that it keeps you in front of each person so that you can have individualized conversations later.
Newsletters are about marketing to your whole target market, not just one person. #newsletters #marketing #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb #entrepreneur #biztips
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Clients often resist the idea of newsletters, because it feels like a big commitment to stay consistent with content. But, once you realize that that consistency is keeping your entire audience warm at the same time, you may start to see it as the most efficient tool you have to stay in front everyone and keep prospects in your sales funnel!
The post The Difference between Newsletters and Emails appeared first on Melissa Forziat Events and Marketing.