Creating Demand
with Email Newsletters
By Julia Hyde
Your Web site is live, and you have implemented a public relations
campaign and have purchase advertising in trade journals, magazines, and
newspapers. But your site's daily visitors are still in single digits
and your sales are ... well, let's just say that early retirement is no
longer an option.
It's time to try email marketing; more specifically, an email
newsletter. Email newsletters are cheap an easy to create and send, and
they are proven to increase sales.
Of course, there are many other reasons why email newsletters make good
business sense. Here's just a few of them:
Create a marketing campaign on a shoestring budget.
Measure the results and find out what works and what doesn't.
Build personal relationships with a large group of people.
Track customer behavior and collect user information.
Starting your email newsletter campaign
Before you start any type of marketing or advertising campaign, you need
a plan. You don't have to put together a 200-plus page document
outlining all your goals and objectives, but you do need to define some
basics before you begin.
At the very least,
your plan should:
Identify your audience. It's not enough to say, "They're people who like
widgets". Take your cue from magazine publishers. They know exactly who
their target audience is, how much money they earn, what social group
they fit into, and what motivates them to buy. Find out who your
customers are, then tailor your newsletter around their needs and
desires.
Check out your competition. Every business has competition. Find out
what they are doing by researching their product or service. What could
you do better? Is there a gap in their service you can fill?
Identify your newsletter's purpose. What do you hope to achieve with
your newsletter? Do you want to give your subscribers information about
your product to help them make purchasing decisions? If so, you must
first show them how it can make them smarter, healthier, wealthier, or
more successful.
Do you want to position yourself as an expert in your field? Your goal
here is to provide your subscribers with well-written articles that
address issues in your industry. Whatever your objectives, your purpose
will determine what content goes in to your newsletter.
Remember, Content is King
The best tip that can ever be given to help you with Search Engines is;
Content is King.
The more quality content you have on your website the better. Search
Engines are always looking to make their search results more relevant
and up to date so keep adding new content. |
