Digital Newsletter Marketing

Online newsletter marketing is one of the oldest tools in the digital marketer’s toolkit, but it is by no means outdated! Marketing via email received a bad rep through the nineties and noughties due to the surge of spam emailing that flooded inboxes worldwide; but as time went by, email service providers generated much higher quality spam filters, while the legal system implemented rules and regulations to improve the situation. As a result of their efforts, newsletters have increased in popularity once more and have resumed their position as an essential part of online marketing. Email and newsletter marketing is effective regardless of your company size; from the one-person operation that sells homemade bracelets from a spare bedroom to the multinational conglomerate with thousands of clients; the benefits are there, and they are huge. Not only does it help to humanize the brand by creating a personal relationship with your clientele, it also firmly routes the brand within their minds.

Pros

• Instant updates: Newsletters allow you to instantaneously announce new products, services and events to your customers or client base.
• Cost-effective: A digital newsletter is a fraction of the cost of printing and delivering newsletters.
• Shareable content: Digital newsletters are easily shared through social media, but your customers will only promote you if your content is worth sharing!
• Cross-linking: By linking directly to relevant pages within your website, you increase the value and relevance of your newsletter while increasing traffic to your website.
• Thought leadership: If you are seen to be sharing valuable industry knowledge, you can brand yourself as a business leader; by the same token, if you sell a physical product it forms a gateway to establishing your brand as a front runner.
• Gentle reminders: Regular newsletters keep your brand present in the mind of your customers. If you provide rich content that benefits them, you improve the brand sentiment.

Cons

• Volatile communications environment: As business emails take priority, it is important to send out your newsletter at a time where the influx of business emails will be low.
• Mobile usability: Mobile and tablet-friendly websites have made it very easy for their users to subscribe to your newsletter. However, when content is scaled down for iPad or Android viewing by an inexperienced individual, the customer experience is ruined.
• Time-consuming: Making content for a newsletter is very time consuming, but necessary in order to deliver good content that will help rather than hinder the brand’s reputation.
• Easy to unsubscribe: Unsubscribing is as easy as subscribing in the first place! Interesting, quality content is vital to keeping your customers interested and engaged.

Newsletters are a powerful tool when utilized correctly. Professional SEO and Online Marketing companies such as Grow have years of experience in not only creating digital newsletters, but also branding, tailoring and optimizing them to positively portray your brand while appealing to the masses.

When it’s done wrong:

Newsletters are a great way for businesses to communicate with their clientele and provide them with current and relevant information. However, what many don’t realize is just how much effort and research are involved when creating a good quality newsletter. They make the mistake of skipping the time-consuming research and end up with a substandard newsletter that reflects poorly on their company.

When it’s done right:

On the other hand, if you can assemble a well-constructed snapshot, full of information that is of high value to the recipient, you will gain satisfied and returning customers who will recommend, share and forward your newsletter rather than deleting or unsubscribing.

Grow design and develop the look and feel of your newsletter based on your branding and marketing aims; we then research, source and generate relevant content which we either write or rewrite to appeal to your target market. With a focus on the psychology of user experience and an in-depth knowledge of design and development across tablet and mobile devices, we deliver an unmatched newsletter service to our clients.

Learn more about Grow’s newsletter and other digital marketing strategies here.