Newsletters...Do they Work??

Hello world, my name is Amanda and I currently go to school and play soccer for New Mexico Highlands University. What I would like to accomplish with my first blog is introducing my blog topic, why I’m trying to get a business degree, and why I picked internet marketing for small businesses and how it ties in with my dreams of going into fashion. Then I would like to share what I’ve learned about e-mail marketing and newsletters and I will finish by telling readers why they should read my blog.

I am writing my blog on internet marketing for small businesses. I’ve been racking my brain for days now wondering why people would want to read my blog when I don’t know anything about anything, especially about internet marketing for small businesses. So why read my blog? Well, I’ll get to that later. I would first like to explain why I am in college getting a business degree. When I left high school five years ago I wanted to become a fashion designer and I still do, but it just so happened that during my senior year my dad went on a business trip and sat next to a girl that recently graduated from a fashion design school. Her advice to my dad was that if I wanted to go into fashion I needed a business degree first and he agreed. From there my plan was thrown out the window and a new course for success was set.

I picked internet marketing for small businesses because I would like to design clothing and jewelry and sell them in my own store someday. My hope for this blog is that by researching this subject I’ll be more prepared to run a successful business. The first topic I would like to write about concerning internet marketing is e-mail marketing. I don’t really know much about computers and how the internet works, so this idea came from my teacher’s lecture, but was followed up the next day by a lady that owned her own fabric store. I was standing outside of her store for five minutes arguing with my boyfriend on whether we should go in or not. Finally the lady came out and said we should come in and write down an e-mail address if we couldn’t stay and look around. She recently sent me an e-mail and I was like “wow” that’s an example of e-mail marketing.

To be more specific than e-mail marketing I would like to talk about newsletters and explain what newsletters are, how they keep customers coming back, how often to send them, and what to write in them. A newsletter is an effective way to communicate and keep in touch with customers that are interested in a business. Many times this is a marketing tool that is often overlooked, but can be very helpful in keeping customers updated on all the happenings going on in a business. They can include information anywhere from the newest products to company policies. The way that newsletters keep customers coming back is basically they will keep customers from for forgetting about a business and their products. Customers will come back to the same business simply because when a customer needs a product a business that does send out newsletters will be thought of before businesses that don’t send out newsletters. Products need to be really amazing in order to bring customers back without any marketing help.

The question that I was interested in was, how often should a business e-mail newsletters to their customers? When I saw this question, I was thinking, “ALL THE TIME!! MORE IS BETTER!! I WANT PEOPLE TO REMEMBER ME!!” Well, that’s what I thought, but as I started to read more I found that I was very wrong. Less is more in this case. If a business doesn’t want to be a nuisance to their customers a rule of thumb seems to be at least once a week. Depending on the products a business sells this rule of thumb might or might not apply. Businesses can run a trial and error test if they want to see how often to send out newsletters. For example, if a business sends a newsletter too often they will know because customers will unsubscribe and if they send a newsletter to a customer months after they visited a store then they might unsubscribe, as well. It’s all about finding what fits the businesses products and customers. Businesses need to make sure they are not abusing this marketing tool because customers that unsubscribe could be lost to the competition.

Which brings me to what to write in a newsletter…?? Another reason for customers unsubscribing to a newsletter is that what is in the newsletter doesn’t interest them. Newsletters don’t have to be long, they just have to relate to the products being sold. Some suggestions are news, personal stories, fun facts, articles, small quizzes, numerical lists, etc., but only if it relates to the product. Some tips for making a newsletter more appealing are using different formats, having a really good title and “catchy” article names, making sure to do the research, so what’s on the newsletter is credible, and keep the tone light and conversational. Newsletters should be professional, but not so much where they seem stuffy. Another good tip that will help customers differentiate between spam and legitimate newsletters is keeping the newsletters visibly familiar. Last but not least have an unsubscribe link. It will remind customers that they subscribed to the newsletter, allow customers to unsubscribe if they want, and will minimize the spam reports.

It was mentioned before that newsletters are overlooked, but they work. This is a good marketing tool for any type of business and even more so for businesses with small budgets. Plus, there are inexpensive companies that offer newsletter management packages that will accommodate any size business. These packages can help save a lot of time, therefore making it well worth the money.

As for me, I am sold. I believe in the worth of newsletters and how they can keep customers interested in a business. Newsletters might not be the businesses number one marketing tool, but why not use it anyways if it can help to make a business more successful. Plus, the newsletter the “Fabric Lady” has sent me has brought me back to her store numerous times, so I’m a example of newsletters working. The funny thing is that she could have let me pass by without writing down my e-mail and I would’ve continued to buy my fabric from Walmart and supporting the “MAN”, but because she stopped me I’ve decided to support her small business instead. And that’s a Cinderella Story, right there.

So, we’re back to why should you read my blog…You should read my blog because if you don’t know anything about internet marketing for small businesses and want to learn more, you can learn right along with me. Secondly, if you are knowledgeable about internet marketing, own your own small business, or knowledgeable about business in general you can help me by giving me advice and letting me know if the information I find and write about works, doesn’t work, is true, or just a bunch of nonsense I got off the internet. I will appreciate any advice or feedback.

Thank You World for reading my first blog. Peace and Love.