Focus Your Newsletter On Your Brand
Recently, our blog took a look at the basics of newsletter writing. We covered some material that we’ve stressed time and time again: make sure the content is well written, pay attention to presentation, and tie it into the brand without going by rote. This is part of our message that quality always matters, and that every venture put forward should return to the same basic principles. Building on these lessons, this article highlights specific ways that a newsletter can be turned from a seemingly redundant tangent into a valuable marketing tool that speaks for itself while supporting the organization’s core mission.
The basic function of the newsletter is of course to be informative. Information needs to reach a large number of people, and a newsletter is a great way of making sure people are on the same page. Yes, in theory an email can be CC’d and BCC’d to everyone on the relevant lists, but there is something psychologically distinctive about the release of a physical publication for wide review. The trick then is to make sure the information contained in the letter goes beyond the basics and into actually targeting its audience.
The Effect of Spam on Business
Spam, or junk email, is one of the largest frustrations for Internet users. For businesses, this frustration adds up to a significant amount of dollars spent trying to prevent it. Reports estimate that spam costs U.S. businesses more than $132 billion in lost productivity in the last year, which equates to over $1000 per employee. According to FastCompany.com, 89% of the 107 trillion emails sent in 2010 were spam. Of those 89%, most were sent for pharmaceutical promotions – as virtually anyone with an email inbox can attest to.
Social Media as a Negotiating Tool
Social media has blown onto the scene the last couple of years with the popular websites of Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and many others. Nobody can tell for sure what social media will look like five years from now, but what everyone can agree upon is that the concept of using the internet to socially communicate is not going away.
For salespeople, an important question is, “Can social media help in negotiating?”
My answer is, “Yes, it can.” I’m not saying you should directly negotiate with another person by way of a social media (although I suppose there might be exceptions where this is possible). What I am saying is that social media is a perfect tool that someone can use to help frame a situation or build their on-line reputation before the negotiations even begin.
The Importance of Relevant Communications
Relevance is absolutely crucial in all forms of online and offline communications. And it has nothing to do with your company. It has everything to do with your customer, the content of your communications and individualization.
The question you should always ask yourself is: ‘is this relevant for the people I try to reach?’.
Without a relevant story there is no word of mouth or viral affect. Without relevant content that is targeted to the recipient of your email newsletter people will unsubscribe. Without relevant content on your website it won’t gain repeat visitors. Without relevant content no one will read your printed postal mail. Shall we continue?
Skyrocket Your Perceived Value
It is of great importance that your visitor “see” the bargain within your offer. There are ways to enhance this perception. People often observe sales pages with a “what is in this for me” mindset. Your offer needs to clearly show them what is in it for them.
When someone does form their first impression about your site, would you not want it to be a good one? When we present our product or service to visitors, it is vital that they see the value within as important as their desire to improve themselves.
