Why you should have a newsletter for your business
The following is a guest post by Crystal Picard, of Crystal Picard Design & Marketing. You may know her as my content manager; helping to plan, edit and execute my bi-weekly blog and newsletter so you get social media advice right to your inbox.
Since Newsletters and Social Media Strategy often go hand-in-hand, I invited her to write about why small business owners should still have a newsletter:
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You open up your inbox on a Friday, put a checkmark on anything that’s not related to your work and hit ‘delete.’
All the newsletters, promotions and general brikabrak doesn’t even get a glance as you truck through the last of your work on your way to the weekend. It doesn’t matter if those newsletters are from people you love to follow online—you’re over the week and it’s time to focus so you can get your weekend started.
If you’ve done this before, you might be wondering why the heck you should invest time and effort into a newsletter.
You’re not alone in wondering that. As a graphic designer by trade working as a content manager for small business owners, I help entrepreneurs with their newsletters and blog posts. And I’ve heard every reason in the book for why people haven’t started a newsletter yet.
After the year we’ve had, some of those reasons are perfectly valid. It is harder for small business owners to push through the uncertainty and start something new. And it does feel a bit weird to pick up a newsletter you started years ago and actually start emailing them. And if you dislike newsletters personally, it’s probably hard to think that someone might love hearing from you.
These are all valid and you’re not alone if you think them. So here are a few reasons why you should start a newsletter anyway.
Grow Your Social Media Presence
There are a few tried and true ways to grow your online presence. Kerra talks about many of them in this blog post, but engagement is just one facet of growing your social media.
Your email list is another place where you can grow your social media presence by making sure you have follow/share buttons available in each newsletter and invite your readers to join the conversation online regularly.
According to a recent blog post from Salesforce, emails that include social sharing buttons have a 158 percent higher click-through rate. So anyone not currently following you online would be likely to do so after a few newsletters.
People Buy From People They Remember
Kerra often says in her posts that people buy from people they know and trust. This is very true when it comes to the buying behaviours of your readers.
By having a newsletter, you’ll be in regular contact with your users, providing them valuable insights, behind-the-scenes exclusives and free resources. Over time, this builds your name as a ‘household brand’ in their mind.
In Kerra’s case, we’ve been building her newsletter by providing a bi-weekly source of the latest news in the Social Media industry. We share bite-size tips that make social media less intimidating. And over time, she’s become known as a person who can break down the overwhelming possibilities of using social media for small business owners. When a business co-operative needs a social media expert to teach a class to small business owners—they think of Kerra.
That’s the power of a household name for your brand. And that’s something that only comes with time and consistent contact.
Building Your Brand Credibility
As I just hinted at, building your brand is a pretty big aspect of having a newsletter for your small business.
Since large gatherings and networking events are no longer available to small business owners, spreading awareness of your brand has been relegated to your newsletter and your social media presence. These online venues have become the watercooler for small business owners looking to connect with their audience.
As an example, a copywriter that I work with quietly launched her newsletter just about a year ago. She started it small and had just her current client list on it when she started. Over the past year, the size of the newsletter hasn’t grown exponentially, nor have we launched a 6-figure online course.
However, the types of clients she has come to expect has changed.
After a few months of her newsletter getting shared around, she started seeing larger clients signing up. Corporations rather than small business owners. And then government agencies. And then producers in the film industry.
After just about a year of newsletters, her client roster now consists of film projects, large corporate brand writing, and government grants. Her revenue increased while he client load decreased.
Because she takes the time to write a dedicated blog post and newsletter every two weeks that shows off her skills and what she’s passionate about.
Email Newsletters Drive Sales
If you think about your own inbox, you can probably think of dozens of times you’ve opened an email and bought what was offered inside. It might have been a sale item you scooped up, an online course relaunch you’d been waiting for, or a limited-time offer you didn’t want to miss. You might have even purchased the item weeks later when you actually needed it.
For small businesses that have a product (rather than a service)—newsletters are vital for sales.
If you can get access to your clients when they’re on their phones without the noise of a dozen other posts clamouring for their attention, your likelihood of getting a sale increases. Having a newsletter means getting exclusive access to your reader’s attention for a few minutes every time they open your email. All that’s left then is giving them a compelling reason to buy from you.
The Barrier Is Low, But Not THAT Low
Anyone can use social media, that’s the beautiful thing about it. Everyone is already there, so it’s easy to get involved in the conversation. Especially when you have a content calendar to guide you. (Get 30% off just for reading this post by using code NEWSLETTER at checkout)
Newsletters are a little harder to get started, but it’s not impossible to do on your own. Some people work with content managers like me to help them plan, write, and execute their newsletters for them, but with a few hours of googling—you can absolutely set them up on your own and build them over time as well.
Those few hours of learning can make a big difference, however, and often cause business owners to ditch the idea of a newsletter altogether.
That slightly higher barrier to entry gives those who do have a newsletter an edge over their competition. And in the busy world of online marketing, any advantage you can get makes a difference.
Once you’ve made the decision to start (or restart) your newsletter, the next step is making sure you have a newsletter that people actually want to read. Taking some time to interview your customers 1-on-1 is by far the best way to decide what to write about regularly, but if you need a few ideas to get you started, check out this post on 15 things people actually want in their inbox, pick one, and get started!