I’ve Got News(letters) For You!
This is Newsworthy!
I’m going to the beach! I am so excited! I’ve been to this beach before, a bunch of times, and one of the things about the beach is that it doesn’t change much.
I’ve signed up for emails from some of the places I enjoy going to at the beach. While the beach may not change much, the specials and activities at these places do. There will be a music festival in the area while I’m there; I can’t wait to check it out.
Your Store is Newsworthy Too
Like the beach, to your customers, your store probably doesn’t change very much. Of course you know every cool thing there is to know about your store at any given time, but how do you communicate that to your customers? Are you exciting them about your new offerings or upcoming events like my favorite beach places are?
If You Build It, They Will Come
This is more than a paraphrased catch phrase of a movie, it’s the way you can get your message out to your customers. Build an email list. This is the starting point for messaging to your customers. Without an email list, once your customer checks out, you’ve lost them. Email marketing lures them back by letting them know that you’re hosting Beach Bingo a tasting of craft beers Friday at 7.
Email is Annoying
I hear you. From a reader’s perspective, an email box gets filled pretty quickly. Between you and me, one of the joys of Black Friday for me is getting all…the…emails. I think everyone, even the businesses that are typically quiet, jump on the Black Friday bandwagon. After I fight the hoards, I come home and unsubscribe from the mailing lists of anyone I haven’t heard from or don’t care to hear from again.
But there are also a bunch that stay on my list for a variety of reasons. Back on Black Friday, I wasn’t thinking about the beach so my beach businesses emails wouldn’t have done much good. Now that I am ready to feel the warm sand between my toes, I want to know about Beach Bingo and music festivals. I have also stayed subscribed to mailing lists of companies who keep me interested. This doesn’t have to be just with their events and offerings; maybe they talk about local events or ways they’ve helped a charity. I love that stuff and so do your customers—I promise. In my past jobs, it was a hard-sell to convince my bosses and their bosses that what the company does is as important as what it sells but my ongoing marketing experience and research underscores this time and time again. Digital marketing has changed how people buy. They want to be a part of something be it a music festival or a donation to a local autism support organization.
What Does This Mean to Me?
What I’m telling you is to make your email newsletter something your customers look forward to reading. I kept the beachy emails around in the cold months to remind me that there are places where I don’t have to wear my boots. Your emails can remind customers that you have the perfect recipe to fight off the cold of night and the ingredients for it—and look! One just happens to be on special! You already know that the people on your email list are interested in your store because they’ve been there or are on your website. Take advantage of their interest and let them know what you have to tell them. (Marketing 101!)
What Does it Take?
We want to show you how to get started building your email list and how to use it to bring your customers back. This topic will be covered next Thursday in our final webinar for March. Be sure to register now to learn how to stay in touch with customers to keep them coming back.
Renee is the Digital Content Strategist at Sellr. She is passionate about helping businesses maximize their presence through digital marketing, employee and customer advocacy.
