Why Your Company Needs an Email Newsletter

Does your company have a business newsletter? If not, it may be time to consider one. An email newsletter is short, informative, and keeps your company’s brand on people’s radars.

Whether you publish twice weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly, an email newsletter helps you connect with more customers. 

What is an email newsletter?

Email newsletters are mass emails sent by brands, powered by specific platforms designed for this purpose. They are an excellent way to share news, announce promotions, showcase new product features, highlight blog posts, and curate content for subscribers.

As email newsletters have become more popular, they’ve increasingly intersected with broader email marketing strategies and other marketing channels like marketing automation, web push notifications, SMS campaigns, social media, and even website creation. Due to this overlap, many top-tier email newsletter tools have expanded their features to include broader email marketing and automation capabilities.

Why email newsletters?

Email newsletters are still a vital tool for marketing. Newsletters provide a targeted and captivating avenue for delivering your content to interested customers. They offer multiple benefits that help bring recurring business and cultivate a loyal customer following. Over time, these emails can encourage customer retention and strengthen and grow your company.

Newsletters drive traffic to your site, especially if your newsletter involves a blog post. Send a short abstract in your email newsletter that says “read more here” with a link to the website. You’ll keep your website updated with fresher content, making search engines pay more attention.

Anyone who signs up for your emails must opt-in to receive them. They’re already interested in receiving your messages. An email newsletter gives them something to read and remember you by.  Social media isn’t as direct, and your posts might be missed.

How can a business newsletter help your company?

Think about what you’d like to accomplish by sending a newsletter. Do you want to nurture and engage leads, find more prospects, increase sales, or keep in touch with your customers? Email newsletters can do all of that. Decide what you want to accomplish and go from there.

It also helps customers, leads, and prospects learn more about you and your company and establishes authority. Every $1 spent on a newsletter can bring in as much as $36 in ROI, which is quite effective for small businesses. Construct your company’s newsletter like one you’d write to a friend or family member to help nurture that relationship and build trust with your audience.

If they’re already receiving your emails, chances are they’re also opening them and learning something new. Regularly sending emails leads to better open rates because your readers expect to read relevant content or they can use it themselves.

What’s in it for the reader?

Share what matters most to your audience. An email newsletter allows you to offer subscribers something valuable and exclusive that they won’t find anywhere else. Timing is crucial—your product or service might be exactly what someone needs at the right moment. By sending a regular newsletter, you keep your brand in front of them, ensuring it’s always top of mind when they’re ready to take action.

Veterinarian

Let’s walk this scenario out: as a local veterinary practice, your vet and techs try to keep current on new trends, such as standard or trending medical conditions, such as hip dysplasia in large dogs or hyperthyroidism in older cats. An article in your e-newsletter can tell pet owners about these conditions, discuss prognosis and treatment, and what to look for if their pet develops symptoms.

Say your practice has seen a sudden surge in feline hyperthyroidism recently. Next month’s blog and newsletter should feature that topic in more depth. What’s causing so many cats to develop hyperthyroidism suddenly? Is it just in your geographic area, or is the problem state-wide or nationwide due to an unusual factor, such as a new food additive? Addressing the trend in your newsletter puts cat owners on notice to be on the lookout for feline hyperthyroidism signs, what to do, and when it’s an urgent matter for the cat.

The Law Firm

Another scenario is that of a minor personal injury and criminal defense law firm. A monthly newsletter can keep the firm top-of-mind for clients. Even if they don’t need PI or criminal defense, they may know someone who does. The newsletter can feature different legal topics every month that inform the reader about updates and changes to laws that affect them and their families.

Now, that two-lawyer firm has decided to add family law to their practice, so they must tell their clients. Of course, they should discuss the addition of family law and WHY they added family law to their practice. Chances are their PI or criminal defense clients needed the same kind of help with child custody or other related cases. Perhaps they have had bad experiences with other law firms. Maybe other lawyers have lied or taken their money and not cared. That email’s subject line could be along the lines of “Family Law Now At. . . .”

Provide your readers with valuable content

Your content should always give the reader something they can use. If you’re thinking, “I don’t know what to write,” think about what your audience might be interested in reading. How can you solve a problem for them? Is there something on the horizon they should know about? Do you have a new product or service coming that they might need?

Could you give your readers something to use and something to look forward to that is relevant to your business so they will wait for your emails? Something you know about may be new to your readers, so don’t hesitate to use a popular topic. When they understand your newsletter’s value, they will try to open and read yours every time you publish.

Constant Contact and MailChimp offer all-in-one solutions to design, create, and schedule your newsletter delivery.

What kind of value can you offer to your readers? It goes beyond just an advertisement. Your newsletter should have helpful information in your company’s branding or voice. Providing well-written, exciting content with value means your customers will look forward to reading your email newsletter.

How to get subscribers?

Give a discount code for signing up

It’s easy—give them the option to accept email communications when they provide their email address to your company when they sign up or buy. Another method is to have a text-to-join keyword (“Text NEWS to 12345 to join”) that takes them to your email list signup page. And, of course, extend the invitation in your social media postings.

Many companies offer a discount code or something else of value when signing up for their newsletter. Offer subscribers some value for their time in places where they will find your company.

Incentivize Sharing

Sharing is caring, and the same principle can help you gain new subscribers. Consider offering an incentive for your current subscribers to share your email campaigns with others.

This involves asking your existing subscribers to share something with their friends in exchange for a reward. For example, in the case of ZooShoo, every time a subscriber refers a friend who makes a purchase, the original subscriber receives a $10 reward. The goal is to encourage your subscribers to spread brand awareness and advocate for your brand. If their efforts result in a friend joining, subscribing, or making a purchase, the original subscriber is rewarded for their contribution.

Lead Magnets

Lead magnets are a popular strategy for gaining subscribers. When consumers visit your website, they’re already interested in what you offer. While they’re there, you can entice them with something extra. Marketers understand the power of incentives, and that’s where lead magnets come into play. Lead magnets encourage visitors to willingly provide their email addresses and other relevant information. To be effective, you must offer something valuable in return.

Lead magnets should:

– Showcase your brand’s expertise or thought leadership
– Educate visitors on a specific process or skill
– Provide valuable advice or insights on a particular topic
– Help build market awareness

Lead magnets can take various forms, including:

– Case studies
– Checklists
– E-books
– Guides
– Infographics
– Webinars
– Whitepapers

Exit Intent Pop Ups

Exit-intent pop-ups are designed to grab visitors’ attention just before they leave your site. These pop-ups can detect various actions or signs of disinterest, such as:

– Scrolling down the page or reaching the end of it
– Periods of idleness or inactivity

Based on your site’s settings, an exit-intent pop-up will appear as a final attempt to engage the visitor. While they shouldn’t be your sole method for generating subscribers, they can be quite effective. On average, pop-ups have a conversion rate of around 3.09%, and some studies suggest that exit-intent pop-ups can recover nearly 50% of visitors who are about to leave the site.

An opt in within blogs or articles

A key part of your marketing strategy is regularly publishing high-quality content. To maximize its impact, consider adding an opt-in call to action (CTA) at the end of your blogs or articles.

Usually, a CTA guides readers to related content on your site, keeping their attention and providing them with more valuable information. Many companies now use branded CTAs that direct visitors to downloadable content or opt-in forms.

For instance, Campaign Monitor ends their blogs with a downloadable lead magnet. Visitors simply enter their information to access a free guide. Similar to an exit-intent pop-up, this is likely the last thing your reader will see on the page, so it’s crucial to create a CTA that is both eye-catching and compelling enough to encourage that final click.

“Thanks for commenting” redirect

Another way to gain more subscribers is to maintain contact after someone engages with your site. For instance, you can implement a “thank you for commenting” redirect that appears after a visitor leaves a comment on your blog.

This redirect is an excellent opportunity to build a relationship with the reader. Start by sincerely thanking them for their comment, then invite them to subscribe to your newsletter. Expressing gratitude for their time shows appreciation, and asking them to join your community is a natural way to keep the conversation going.

Social Media vs. Email Newsletters

Social media puts your brand right where your customers are. Whether  Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X (formerly Twitter) or TikTok, your customers can see your ads and branding when scrolling.

Until they can’t.

Social media is a noisy battle for attention. Your message can get lost in someone’s daily scrolling.

Each platform strictly regulates the content you publish. The platforms have frequently changed rules and algorithms. One day, everyone sees your content, and then one day, they don’t. The platform can move your content around so it’s invisible and your followers don’t see you. If you say something unwelcome, your content could be “shadow-banned.” Your brand is all but hidden. Should your content “go against community standards,” you could be banned from the platform.

But with an email newsletter, you own the platform and your list.  No matter the topic, your email newsletter stays in the inboxes and encourages interaction—no concerns about changing rules or algorithms when you own the content and delivery. You can interact with your customers, get feedback, and learn more about what they want to know from you.

Do you still need an updated landline? Contact Press8 Telecom today to discuss upgrading your small business phone system to a new, flexible VoIP system for less money than a traditional hosted PBX system. We’ll give you a free quote on the best system for your company.