How to Make Your E-news Marketing 21.5% More Effective
Three easy tips for e-news nirvana
by Linda Kazares, Editor and Publisher, Face-to-Face Connect from Connected In Publishing
It’s the rage to send out an e-newsletter. And for a good reason. Did you know that, according to a study, the average open rate for business-to-business (B2B) customer email newsletters is 40% and for business-to-consumer (B2C) is 36%? Do you know anything else that produces results that high?
There are also many do-it-yourself template programs out there hyping it. Plus numerous companies helping the not so do-it-yourselfer as well to become e-newsletter publishers!
Then there are the so called e-newsletters that are used to spam out some promotional hyper brochure and still call it “news.” To the good marketers, it’s thinking through the name, direction, content that is actually useful to the readers, and attractive design. What doesn’t happen in most cases is implementing a follow-up strategy after the newsletter has been sent out.
So, I’m not going to try to sell you on the benefits of using e-newsletters as part of an effective branding and sales lead generation strategy. You’re most likely already thinking about how your company can publish an e-newsletter to create high value leads. I also won’t go into how you can leverage existing content by co-branding a commercial newsletter and leave the heavy lifting of the process management to an e-news professional. I will focus on how to get the most out of publishing an e-newsletter once you’ve decided to integrate it into your marketing plan.
Over The Top Tips
Here are some tips that I’ve learned along the way while promoting my events and consulting using a monthly newsletter to drive registration, product, and service sales.
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Sending out the same monthly newsletter within 8-10 days to subscribers who didn’t open the first one will produce 21.5% additional reads. Do the math. That means presumably there is a 21.5% greater chance that someone will appreciate your extra effort to get them the news that’s important to them and act on it. Make sure you use a different Subject line when you resend. It’s like the paperback publishing industry. They publish the same book in multiple cover colors, so if the red cover didn’t get enough attention to produce a sale, maybe the yellow one will.
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Actually following up on reader interest based on what they read, how often, and if they forwarded a specific article will start to bond the reader to your company. Putting a lead follow-up plan in place isn’t as daunting as it might sound. Using an e-news engine that has statistics for evaluating your readers’ interests will provide you with a critical understanding of what your customers and prospects want in the services you provide.
If a subscriber is new to your company and you don’t know what she does or who she is, you will know exactly what article(s) and information she was interested in by checking the behind the scenes tracking data. Taking your newsletter strategy to the next level will include an email follow-up with a link to another interesting story or a white paper on her topic of interest, for which she will be forever grateful. That email is personal, direct and useful to the recipient. Plus, it now puts a human face on your company and increases the chances that they will answer the phone when you call.
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Content should support what you do. Never, never talk about your products directly – unless you have the information set aside as an advertorial. You’ll gain much more from your efforts if you show your expertise by demonstrating a broader understanding of their needs than simply pushing information about what your specific product or service can provide.
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OK, I said three, but here’s one more idea for free. Segment your lists in the subscription process so that each sales person can view the tracking data that are relevant to his territory. That means asking for some additional information in the subscription process. Be sensitive to asking for just the absolute minimum, or you’ll lose them before they ever sign up.
In over three years of e-newsletter publishing, I have not come across a single company that has a formal e-news follow-up campaign. If you are a company that does this right, let me know. Even if you don’t do it all, but think you have some keen insight into how to make e-newsletter even more effective, send me an email. I promise you that I’ll publish anything that has unique value or has proven high return results in my next article – with your permission of course.
Linda Kazares, Editor and Publisher, of Face-to-Face Connect, the Art of Hospitality, Events and Trade Shows, a B2B e-newsletter for trade professionals. She also publishes WineFoodFun Connections - Live, Laugh, Entertain, Connect a B2C e-newsletter for anyone who appreciates the good life. ConnectedIn Publishing republishes e-newsletters on behalf of clients who wish to email a customized co-branded publication for direct distribution exclusively to their customer and prospect lists. For more information please call her at 415.309.6536, or email lkazares@f2fconnect.com or visit www.f2fconnect.com.
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