The title of this blog is a question we get asked surprisingly often. For some reason, there’s a widespread opinion that email newsletters are the penny-farthings of the marketing world – a quaint nod to a past. But the odd thing is that most of the people asking the question are already subscribed to numerous newsletters themselves, and they might even have led them to buy from the senders.
So in answer to the question, our answer is always an emphatic yes – newsletters absolutely still work, if they are done properly.
What’s the right way to approach your newsletter?
Much of the art of successful newslettering comes down to avoiding the most common pitfalls – sending them too frequently, making them boring, or offering nothing to the reader. In short there are plenty of ways to wear out that unsubscribe button, and it’s organisations ignoring the basics that probably leads many people regarding the channel as ineffective.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive account of how to do it right, it has been a constant theme of our blog since day one. We’ve covered common mistakes, how to generate ideas, the importance of email design, aligning email with other marketing, timing your mailshot to perfection and what makes a good newsletter, among many more.
It’s fair to say we’re pretty evangelical about newsletters, but that’s because we see how well they perform for such a negligible cost.
The ironic thing is that because there are still plenty of businesses who pour scorn on the whole concept, it gives yours a great opportunity to push at an open door and gain entry to customers with minimal competition.
Don’t forget they are opt-in
At the heart of the success, I think, is that email newsletters have to be opted into. Sure, you might be auto-subscribed when you make a purchase online, but there will always (by law) be the option not to sign up, and to remove yourself from the list at any time. You can therefore assume that the majority of your subscribers want to hear from you.
That gives you great opportunities. The sales funnel is all about converting ignorance of your existence into sales and loyalty, so you know that anyone who has subscribed to your newsletter is already halfway along it. You no longer have to waste time explaining who you are and what you do – you can go straight to the business at hand, and as long as you have subjects that are interesting to your subscribers, there’s a good chance that many of them will read it.
Branding is everything
That all brings us to the nub of email marketing, and the part we at Gooey play in it – branding. Brands clamour to get inside customers’ heads, and it works best when they are recognisable and in keeping with the sector they occupy.
That’s why in 2021 your emails should seamlessly follow the branding of your website, shop fronts and other marketing materials. The good news is that with some clever HTML email coding, that’s a piece of cake. We can help you leave your readers in no doubt that the email in their inbox is from you, and then it’s up to you to get them to read it and build on your existing relationship.
So have a look through our past blog posts to get more inspiration – and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get monthly gems of wisdom from our team.
