Guest blog by Chris Keam
Email has been around for a long time – and while it may seem as though it’s been around forever, it’s been roughly 40 years since the first email was sent. This proves that the power of email is strong and will continue to stay as a top communication tool for the years to come. Email newsletters have been around for just as long, and is a vital tool for many businesses seeking to communicate with their clients or customers. Email provides the opportunity to contact individuals directly at a low cost, and is a durable solution for PR and Marketing.
Here are three simple steps to help you get you started:
1) Use The Right Program
There are plenty of programs available that allow you to create, send and track all your email newsletter activity. Some programs may be more powerful and flexible than others, but these tend to require additional assistance. With these high-involved programs, you’ll likely need a designer or a writer that has HTML experience and can create a layout from scratch. There are also other programs available that offer ready-to-go templates, and provide an easy “point and click” way to develop your email newsletter. However, these types of programs may lack some of the features available in the more “hands-on” programs mentioned previously. Each program has its own advantages and drawbacks, therefore it’s crucial to talk to your team to find out which program is the right one for your business. Don’t solely choose a program based on price or features. By discussing which program is most suitable, you’ll save yourself time, money and headaches!
2) Recycle Content
A good strategy to increase your online presence and gain results is to cross-purpose your content. You can turn your current newsletters into blog posts or vice versa. Consider re-using copy or images to gain additional page views. However, it’s necessary to re-word your original content. Keeping your content word for word the same is bad for SEO purposes. In addition, use your social media channels wisely by sharing your content through your company’s Twitter account or Facebook page. This will help to attract additional newsletter subscribers. While LinkedIn may not be as popular, it should not be forgotten – this channel continues to grow and provides an additional medium to publicize content to your professional network who are in a relevant industry.
3) Gather Data
Email newsletters provides a useful feature – important data of your subscribers. This handy tool is truly beneficial as it will help you strengthen your overall email marketing efforts. By gathering data, you will be able to look at various statistics – ranging from big pictured to detailed stats. Such “big picture” statistics to look out for include open and click rates. You can also see which links on your newsletter have been most popular, which subscribers visited important links, and which time of day during the week is most effective for mail-out. All this important data will help you fine-tune your email newsletter campaigns in order to help you gain maximum results.
Remember, the Internet landscape will always shift. Websites will come and go – but email is here to stay. While some may claim social media rules the internet marketing world, I’m here to tell you that email newsletters are just as effective! A customer’s inbox is valuable real estate that allows one-to-one communication between the business and the customer. Provide content they can use and you will see effective results for the New Year 2014!
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