Quick Guide to Email Newsletter Distribution

An email newsletter is a tremendously valuable distribution outlet many brands overlook. Often times, they get focused on distributing through social and paid resources, forgetting that the option of showing up in their customers’ or prospects’ inboxes on a regular basis is still an option. Below is a break down of everything you need to know to get started to put an email newsletter distribution strategy in place.

WHY AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER?

1. Cost-effective

Implementing an email newsletter is pretty cheap compared to other distribution strategies. For brands just getting started, MailChimp’s entrepreneur package allows you to send up to 12,000 emails per month absolutely free if you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers. The cost after that grows minimally, but if you have over 2,000 subscribers, your newsletter strategy is on the right track.

2. Re-purposes evergreen content

According to content marketing expert, Michael Brenner, 60-70% of B2B marketing content goes unused. An email newsletter gives old content a new purpose and resurfaces it to your audience.

3. Provides instantaneous analytics

Any email marketing software will give you instantaneous analytics necessary to measure the success of your strategy. Conversion rates, click rates, unique open rates, bounces and unsubscribes are among the key performance indicators you should be tracking.

4. Provides higher response rate

Rarely people subscribe to brands in which they’re uninterested. If someone is signing up to subscribe to your email newsletter, they’re interested in what you have to say and will be receptive to your content. If you see your unsubscribe rate increasing, you’ll know you aren’t providing the content your audience wants and will need to tweak your strategy.

STEPS TO CREATING AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER STRATEGY

1. Define your audience

Determining whom your audience is sounds like an obvious step, but it is important to take time to consider, since it serves as the foundation for your strategy. Do you want to target prospects or customers or both? These are both important audiences, but depending on your industry, the messaging can be very different.

2. Determine your content

This is probably the most import aspect to consider. Ask yourself, “What questions do my customers or prospects have, and how can I answer them?” Are they looking for best practices? Are they looking for industry news and events? Providing content that answers your audience’s questions will be engaging and resonate best.

3. Determine sending frequency and goals

How often does your audience want to hear from you? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? There’s no right or wrong answer, it all depends on your industry. If you’re not sure, try some A/B testing and see what performs best. If you’re not sure how often you can commit, start small and grow over time. Consistency is more important than frequency, so regardless of how often you send, be sure you do so on a regular basis.

4. Make a schedule

We always preach about the importance of having a documented content strategy, and an email newsletter strategy is no different. Whatever you decide, document and commit to your schedule. 

EMAIL NEWSLETTER BEST PRACTICES

1. Treat your subscribers like VIPs

People who subscribe to your newsletter are giving you permission to their inboxes. Honor this privilege and give them access to special benefits as subscribers.

 2. Provide value

Think about which emails you open and which you delete right away. You don’t open an email that isn’t useful to you in some way. Make sure your newsletters are giving your subscribers something they don’t already have (or are getting somewhere else).

3. Show some personality

Just because you may work in a traditionally stuffy industry, doesn’t mean your newsletter has to be boring. No one wants to read a dry newsletter that drags on and on… Inject some personality. One of my personal favorite newsletters is The Skimm, which gives you daily news in real-talk language. Try to write the same way you’d speak to your customers.

4. Keep it short

Get to the point. Make it easy for your readers to scan quickly, if they need to.

This post originally appeared on liz.bedor.com

Photo source: flickr

The post Quick Guide to Email Newsletter Distribution appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

#077: Airline Travel Joys and Woes

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Emma, Official Sponsor of the UnPodcast

On this episode of the UnPodcast we discussed the good, bad and ugly of airline travel. Among other things we share both heartwarming and gut wrenching stories of how airline employees and fellow travelers enhanced or ruined the experience of others.

Other topics include:

• [00:01:20.13]Scott’s new reading world
• [00:01:37.22]What seasoned travelers don’t leave home without
• [00:02:44.06]This changed travel for Scott
• [00:03:16.21]The universal sign that tells people not to talk to you
• [00:04:03.04]What forces Scott to read
• [00:04:42.05]Scott loves the idea of this
• [00:05:39.24]If you’re a comic book fan, read this book
• [00:07:42.21]The fan base you don’t mess with
• [00:08:21.12]Incredible people who made a difference for an anxious traveler
• [00:12:10.26]A compassionate airline
• [00:13:09.27]A wonderful end to the story
• [00:14:00.06]And a not so wonderful story
• [00:16:32.21]Walk off the earth singer Sarah Blackwood kicked off U.S. flight
• [00:20:15.07]Unkind treatment of an older, sight-impaired man
• [00:21:37.06]What the behavior of airline employees all comes down to
• [00:22:12.12]Do this if crying babies upset you
• [00:23:03.19]This is how you can judge people
• [00:24:49.14]People should empower themselves but. . .
• [00:27:10.07]In case you don’t know what Periscope is. . .
• [00:27:54.28]Come see how judgmental Scott is
• [00:28:19.18]Grumpiness over what you can’t control
• [00:31:14.10]Pros and cons of Periscope
• [00:32:51.27]What’s better than perfection
• And so much more. . .
  

  Tweet This

  Once a geek, always a geek. [Tweet This]

  Being human goes beyond what you feel you’re owed. [Tweet This]

  Your bad day isn’t more important than someone else’s bad day. [Tweet This]

  Items mentioned in this episode

  Periscope

  Olloclip

  Joby tripod

  Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture

  Walk Off the Earth singer Sarah Blackwood kicked off U.S. flight over crying son

  Video provided by: AtomicSpark
  Audio recorded by: Wayne Cochrane Sound

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Leverage Curiosity

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You are a start-up and you’ll have to fundraise at some point. Your team’s past success and history will be a huge indicator of if you will succeed at your new venture. The best thing to do is get in front of it, so when investors start googling, your story was already written, and you wrote it.

Photo source: flickr

The post Does My Stealth Start-Up Need PR? appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

20+ digital marketing stats from APAC in June 2015

It’s the start of a new month, so let’s cast an eye back over the past 30 days and enjoy the finest digital marketing stats that Asia-Pacific had to offer.

June’s roundup includes mobile apps, ecommerce, YouTube, social in India, online shopping in China, Aussie adspend and multichannel shopping in Singapore.

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The post Millennials Outnumber Boomers: The Meaning For Marketers appeared first on Heidi Cohen.