How Newsletters Help in Growing Your Business

Newsletters are part of the complex communication umbrella and are a fundamental part of an effective marketing and branding strategy. By the book, there are two major types of newsletters and each has its own unique purpose:

• Company newsletter - aims to keep employees abreast of the new products and services their company offers, recently hired, promoted, or retiring employees, and other updates that are relevant to everyone in the organization. In a nutshell, company newsletters are intended to keep employees informed, boost their morale and be a solid information source. Here, they can also feature employees with remarkable personalities and achievements to set the bar and be a change champion within the company.
• Buyer newsletter - a form of marketing strategy that costs less than a large-scale advertising campaign and is less intrusive compared to telemarketing. A buyer newsletter contains information that is of interest and beneficial to the company’s clients.

According to the Content Marketing Institute (2013), in the B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends study, 78% of their respondents found newsletters useful and are actually the preferred method in dishing out company updates to its clientele. However, despite these positive results, many still do not see the benefit newsletters can bring to this date. From its name, each buyer newsletter contains news, updates, and other information that need to be disseminated to your intended audience. This is for them to be informed, know that you still exist and are thriving. Newsletters can also rekindle your connection with your clients and can even remind them of you.

In order to achieve business gains and future success, your marketing team should hire an effective communication strategist whose track record not only vouches for his knowledge and expertise but should also display familiarity and be attuned with your brand. He must be well-versed in writing and should pay high attention to detail. He, then, must specifically design a communication plan that targets your organization’s intended outcomes using newsletters as a medium and ensure that each effort is driven to:

• Increase awareness about your brand.

  What newsletter experts love about the medium is that the content can be comprehensive simply because it does not need to comply with any limit, unlike the traditional advertisement mediums where they can only include a 30-seconder commercial, a 1-page editorial, or a 15-seconder radio plug. Because of the “bottomless” advantage, newsletters make it possible for you to boast and explain your products and services in the most extensive way possible. Newsletter content can provide details that can support your advertisement or promotional emails. To turn readers into buyers, you can also add a “call to action” by including links so they can be directed to your website.

• Foster client engagement.

  Newsletters can also be interactive by providing your audience with a set of useful tips, guides, frequently asked questions and answers, and how-tos. Ask them a poll question, or simply give them a mood lift by citing testimonials or highlighting an inspirational story from one of your regular customers. This way, you are gaining institutional credibility subliminally while keeping your audience engaged.

• Promote your channels.

  With a newsletter, you can also promote your new channels and campaign efforts. Perhaps you want to inform your audience about your company’s new billboard, a new advertisement on television, or a radio commercial. Ask if they have already seen or heard of it and jot down their feedback. If you have also shifted or added a new channel to your marketing strategies like a new Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram profile, you can campaign it via your newsletter so you can gain followers and mention what content they can expect from each. Through a newsletter, you can establish a new and solid community.

• Keep your customers within your quadrant.

  Regular dissemination of your newsletters, weekly, monthly, or quarterly, can help you maintain relationships with your community. A good rule of thumb is to group them according to certain consumer demographics and profiles so you can make renditions of your newsletters that target specific groups to ensure the effectiveness of each message. For example, you have versions of your newsletter specifically for new buyers and another for those who only inquired about your products. With this, you are making the most out of each communication effort with them.

All in all, these efforts are made to ensure you gain customer trust and loyalty which are your roadways to grow your business. Customer trust is crucial in any purchasing decision. Of course, your customers will contest whether or not your product will do what it promises and will not deliberately harm them in their first purchase. Customer loyalty, on the other hand, is equally important to measure how likely each customer will do a repeat purchase with your brand or service. Communication is key in achieving these, your products cannot stand alone, it needs a voice to be heard by many, and only through the correct and proper usage of any desired medium will help you be able to deliver customer satisfaction and overall positive customer experience.

About The Author:

Chatty is a freelance writer from Manila. She finds joy in inspiring and educating others through writing. That's why aside from her job as a language evaluator for local and international students, she spends her leisure time writing about various topics such as lifestyle, technology, and business.