In a world where social media sites are endless, it might seem that email marketing is a thing of the past. In fact, I am often asked by potential clients if they should even bother sending one.
Although I have been doing this for more than 15 years, I am still always surprised to find out how many businesses don’t take advantage of one of the number one tools to help you attract potential clients and build relationships with new and existing clients.
Social media is great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s only a piece of the puzzle. Social media is like being at a big party. You meet a lot of people, but it’s crowded and it’s hard to connect at a deeper level. For the most part, it’s superficial. Not to mention, you have NO control over your social media. You can be shut down at any moment and your 100,000 fans are GONE.
However, when it comes to email marketing… you’re connecting within their email on their time. It might be crowded in their inbox, but it’s much more intimate and when they open your email… it is just you and them.
According to a McKinsey & Company study… Email is nearly 40 times better than Facebook and Twitter at acquiring customers and email conversion rates are three times higher than social media, with a 17% higher value in the conversion.
No matter how great social media may be, I believe the most cost effective way to keep in touch with current and potential clients is via your ezine / newsletter. As the saying goes… out of sight, out of mind!
And here is the thing… we are ALL checking our email… A LOT! You already know this, but here are the stats to prove it too… Today, 91% of consumers check their email at least once per day on their smartphone, making it the most used functionality. (ExactTarget)
Let’s face it, we all meet people on a regular basis who offer great services or products, we visit new websites of interest or find new blogs we love, but if they don’t capture our information right then and there, we forget about them. And we don’t forget about them because we’re NOT interested, we forget about them because we are busy and forget. Remember, out of sight… out of mind!
Not everyone is ready to buy when they are first exposed to your service or product. They like it, maybe even love it, but just aren’t ready. By having a ezine/newsletter in place you will be able to continually update them on what’s new in your business, the benefits of your services or products and give them valuable information that will help you build the know, like, trust factor. This will give you credibility and a foundation to build a relationship with them.
So, if you haven’t figured it out yet… should you bother? Absolutely!! No doubt about it. Every single business should have some form of an ezine/newsletter that they send on a regular basis.
Before jumping in with both feet, here are some things to consider when setting up your ezine/newsletter:
- What type of newsletter are you going to send out? A plain text email that looks just like a regular email or will you utilize a newsletter service, like constant contact that allows you to brand your business (important) and track results of your efforts.
- How often are you going to send it? Be consistent. You need to send out your ezine/newsletter at least once a month. Anything less than once a month is going to appear unprofessional, uncommitted and will not establish or build a relationship with potential customers. If you don’t have time to do it or just don’t want to, higher someone to do it for you.
- What type of content are you going to have? This is very important. You want to provide valuable content that the subscribers on your list are going to enjoy getting. The more valuable your content the better response you will have. I believe its best to include great content with a sprinkle of personal touch, so they can get to know you!
The truth is an email marketing is an important part of your marketing funnel. Without it, it’s like opening a brand new business each day you wake up. It’s important to build your list and communicate with them!
Over the next few weeks, I am going to be sharing some tips to help you get started in sending your own ezine / newsletter. And, if you’re too busy like most of my clients, don’t worry! You can check out my most popular done-for-you newsletter service.
I want to make sure I tackle your most pressing questions over the next few weeks when it comes to creating and sending a regular ezine / newsletter. Please leave a comment below and I will make sure to answer your questions in the coming weeks!