I’m reminded almost weekly that small business owners shouldn’t be formatting and sending out their newsletters and promotions. I subscribe to quite a few newsletters – some I really enjoy reading because the formatting is awesome, and others I skip over because the formatting is less than desirable. Small business owners typically lack the time (and the skills) to create a powerful message and convert those readers into buyers. Look for these important factors in your next newsletter designer expert:
- Formatting – Your real message is lost if you don’t use a consistent and readable format.
- Test draft – Obvious, right? Missing this step can be the difference between a sale and the DELETE button.
- Get permission – No, you can’t purchase a database and send mass emails to the list. It’s illegal – don’t do it.
- Links – All the links work? Check them all. Is your logo linked to your website? Check it.
- Social Media – So perhaps subscribers won’t read your entire newsletter, but people love “connecting” via social media. A great way to build traffic and stay in touch.
There are many great companies that provide wonderful templates for your newsletters and promotions that are worth the investment. Companies like iContact, Constant Contact, MailChimp,Vertical Response and 1Shoppingcart are great platforms that will not only send out your newsletters, but also provide tracking statistics, handles unsubscribes to keep your list clean, and a record of your newsletters. Most companies also offer autoresponders, survey creation and the ability to add and track social media links – there are many more benefits too.
I recently received an email from a professional coach about a month ago promoting her upcoming service packages for 2011. Her email was sent to over 40 people – all in the “TO” field and without an unsubscribe link (which is illegal). I noticed that the last names in the TO field were all at the end of the alphabet, so I’m sure that the first half of the alphabet was hit in another email.
Why risk legalities or having your ISP (Internet Service Provider – Comcast, Verizon, etc.) shut your email down? Know how long it takes to get email back once your blacklisted by Comcast? Weeks.
Some will say “I should learn to do this, after all it’s my business”. Sure, you can spend hours and hours researching the latest spam rules, learn html to make your newsletter look great, creating and/or purchasing your own graphic buttons, pulling information from your website to promote your latest events, maintaining your contact list, and running the analysis at the end of the month against your social media stats and Google Analytics – and oh, you have to write you own copy too!
An experienced, well-qualified newsletter designer is not an expense – it’s an investment. After all, it’s your business!
~Laura