First off, you might be asking some serious questions like these:
1. What are online newsletters, or eNewsletters as they are commonly called?
2. How are they done and what is their purpose?
3. How do they get me more customers, leads and/or sales?
4. Why should I go with a hosting company for the email lists I will be sending them to?
Let’s address these questions before going further. I promise you these answers will be quick.
1. What are online newsletters, or eNewsletters as they are commonly called?
Remember that newsletter your school class used to put out?
Ever see a newsletter sitting among the magazines at your doctor’s office? One that praises their hard work and shows off their knowledge in their field of specialty?
Or, did you get a flyer in your grocery bag that had tips on how to cook for the upcoming holiday and what was on sale right now at your local grocery store? (Gelsons supermarkets chain puts out a very nice flyer/newsletter, by the way. Check it out for a great example.)
These are all examples of newsletters. An “online” newsletter, or eNewsletter as we are going to call them from now on, is simply a newsletter that is available to view through email or by browsing the internet.
2. How are they (eNewsletters) done and what is their purpose?
eNewsletters are done two ways: either through a web page editor such as Adobe DreamWeaver, or through a program which, for the purpose of this discussion, is one that is hosted by an internet company such as Net Atlantic or Constant Contact.
Their purpose is simple: you use them to advertise your business and to keep in touch with your current customers.
3. How do they get me more customers, leads and/or sales?
Once your business starts taking off, a large percentage of your sales will be in return customers. You can use an eNewsletter to remind them of who you are so they keep you in mind the next time they go shopping, or need to use the type of services you offer. Customers will read your eNewsletter and if you have written it well, they will be impressed by your knowledge or drawn in by any images you have inserted of your merchandise. Leads will naturally follow if your readers know of someone who can use your product/service because people love to forward emails and if you have sent your eNewsletter via email, it could very well reach many more people than just your target customer!
4. Why should I go with a hosting company for the email lists I will be sending them to?
Heh, well, if you are new to this, the answer is simple…because you don’t know what you are doing at first (let’s be honest about this!). Veterans that have sent eNewsletters before will also know it streamlines the process of creating them. Using a hosting company’s tracking reports to see if customers are even opening them and/or forwarding them to friends is also an important way to see if this whole eNewsletter business is really for you, or is just a waste of your time. These reports are helpful and vital. You NEED someone else to do this work for you – a company that is an expert in tracking email blasts and campaigns. Honestly, you are in business to sell jewelry/create websites/sell real estate…why would you take more time away from that than you need to by doing this the hard way? You don’t, so do it the easy way and let someone else handle the tasks you can’t while you are learning the ropes on how to do all this!
So that’s it…eNewsletters. What they are, why you need them, how they work. If this is enough information to get you interested in their potential usefulness to your business, then see our review on two companies that handle eNewsletters distribution in the world of the Internet – Net Atlantic and Constant Contact.
Share this post: