Newsletters
And why not to do it… by itself.
Most small business owners are juggling a lot of ideas and trying to determine where to put their time and efforts. Often I’ll hear them ask whether they should do a newsletter or a blog.
My answer? Yes.
Keep in mind that the greatest thing we can ask from people is their attention. It is everything.
Rule one… don’t take it for granted. Don’t waste it.
If you can say something in a paragraph instead of a page…do so.
This is generally accepted, these days.
However, there are those among us who are so power hungry, that once they have someone’s ear… they can’t let up.
Many people view their inbox in such regard.
There was a time when newsletters had a much higher open rate and subscribers were eager for the contents.
However, as social media has grown and taken up every ounce of our discretionary attention, we have become a bit selfish with what little we can hang on to.
I, like many of you, receive a lot of email. I judge some of it by the from line. I judge others by the subject line.
If I see the word digest, I know what to expect. A list of post that I can scan ands if something catches my eye.
But if I see the word newsletter… I see a lot of time. I see me scrolling through the email and having to read full articles or scroll by them to se another one. I see my time. I see my time slipping away from me.
I see things I need or want to get done. I see an unlikelihood that that newsletter contains something worthy of my attention.
BUT… I still open a few.
My suggestion is to blog. A blog is searchable and found by everybody who is looking for that information, where an e-newsletter is sent to individuals and at best is forwarded… by somebody… to somebody.
The ultimate goal of any of your online activity is to try to get people to your website, your real estate, and make a sale. There are many steps along the way. You want to be in contact with people. Get their emails so that you can build a relationship with them.
Both a blog and a newsletter have their part, but together.
Write and upload a blog post.
Then send a newsletter which highlights your blog post.
Now here is an idea- if you are an agent in a larger company, you can include the company news in your newsletter, as well. But if you are on your own, partner up with some neighbors. If you have a coffee shop and are next door to a great little vintage clothing shop. If you think your customers would ALSO like that shop, then include some info from them. If you are a realtor and on your own.. or you would just rather be… hook up with other businesses in your area and share some testimonials or personal stories from customers at their one or five year anniversary.
When you partner up, they will be sending that newsletter to their list as well. This is win win… and all great business is a win/win.
The point is to give give give.
Just about every email service out there offer analytics which includes open rate and how long someone viewed that page and some cantle you how quickly the reader scrolled. This is not rocket science anymore.
Pay attention to your analytics.
My suggestion is to email weekly highlights you want to draw attention. But they need to be worthy of attention. You can put them in a sort of digest form, which is easy to scan and discard or click for more.
Call it a digest in the subject line. Or mention a business or coupon or something motivating to open the newsletter.
The style or format of the email and newsletter you send is the subject of another podcast. And whether to include pictures or videos… yada yada yada.