One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways a small business can market themselves is by sending regular email newsletters.
They are so effective they are part of marketing strategy for most large businesses, especially those selling to consumers.
Despite all the scare stories about the introduction of GDPR, email news letters are still an essential part of any marketing strategy that we create.
Having said that GDPR hasn’t affected email newsletters it made people more aware of the law. Some of the rules were in place before the introduction of GDPR, they have just been more widely publicised. It had the additional benefit of most businesses reviewing their databases.
Regular review of your database and newsletter statistics will give you a good idea of who is reading your newsletters.
Having a group of customers and potential customers who regularly engage with you, if only by opening your newsletter can only be a good thing.
Make sure the recipient is receptive to your message
The most obvious thing to consider before you send your newsletter is who you are sending it to. The safest way to build a subscriber list is to ask people to subscribe for themselves. This means people who subscribe already have some interest in your services or product.
You can grow your subscriber list in other ways and remain within the law. It will be different for every business and lots of factors need to be taken into consideration.
Unsubscribe
The law is clear – you MUST allow people to unsubscribe from your newsletter. While it can be deflating to see people unsubscribe, it will benefit you in the long run. It is always better to send newsletters to people who are interested in your services or product. Continually sending it to people unlikely to buy is counter-productive. It’s still a bummer when someone unsubscribes however!
Some email newsletter providers such as Mailchimp allow unsubscribes to give a reason. Too many choices of “did not sign up” “inappropriate content” “spam” could see your future newsletters delivered to spam folders – no use to anybody.
We receive regular newsletters from a business that leaves a large space requiring the user to scroll down to unsubscribe. Why? People are either interested or they aren’t and in our view a tactic such as this looks desperate and makes the business look dodgy.
The best email newsletters provide information to the reader.
Overly salesy and you risk turning them off and hitting the unsubscribe button. Your aim should be to educate your customer or potential customer about your product or services and build trust with them.
Finally, the best way to achieve this is to be consistent.
Send your newsletters regularly.
Be transparent, provide what the reader wants and carefully curate your list and email newsletters. Follow this advice and email newsletters will be a benefit to your business too.
If you would like to send an email newsletter that gets good open rates and great results, we are waiting to hear from you. Email info@gpcmarketing or phone 01491 524002 to arrange a FREE consultation.
