Enewsletters position you

Email newsletters are one of the two most important sources for business management information and advice for small and medium businesses (SMBs), according to a recent study released by Bredin Business Information.

"Optimizing Email Newsletters for Small/Medium Businesses" is based on a survey of more than 300 SMB executives to determine which types of email newsletters they are most likely to open and read, and what they look for in an email newsletter from their vendors. In the study, SMB executives were asked to judge the relevant importance of different media for business management information.

83% of respondents indicated that email newsletters were either very important or important sources
putting it in a near statistical tie with print media (84%) and ahead of corporate/media websites (71%)
At the bottom of the list were many of the "new" media distribution methods, including webcasts/podcasts (40%), RSS feeds (39%) and blogs/wikis (34%).

SMB executives also knew the kinds of articles they wanted to see in their vendors' email newsletters.
- practical "how to" information (40%) was the preferred form of content
- followed by company product information (26%)
- management overviews on topics such as strategy or leadership (21%)
- company news (19%) and case studies (17%).

Other key findings

Here are some of specific results from the survey in terms of what makes business executives respond positively to a newsletter.

65% of respondents said they read some issues thoroughly and skim others, 12% said they skim all of them, and 11% said they read every one completely.
When asked what is most important in deciding whether or not to read a vendor's email newsletter, 64% said it was who the newsletter was from. The subject line (16%) was secondary.
Four out of five respondents said they had at one point unsubscribed to a vendor's email newsletter.
The top reasons for stopping an e-newsletter? Irrelevant content (63%) and didn't want something that wasn't being read (58%).
The vast majority of SMB executives want to receive their email newsletters weekly (45%) or monthly (34%). Few want them daily (11%) or quarterly (6%).
Half of SMBs were indifferent as to what day they would like to receive email newsletters, but those that did express a preference preferred Monday. "First thing in the morning" or "anytime during the day" were the times they said they were most likely to read their e-newsletters.
A successful email newsletter can have a positive impact on the vendor's image. A third of SMB executives said they had an improved image of a vendor from its e-newsletters. However, the opposite may also be true when an e-newsletter is poorly executed – 14% said the email newsletter damaged the sender's image.
"By understanding what SMBs expect from the email newsletters they receive, marketers can deliver better communications that clearly meet those needs," BBI's Richards noted. "Business-to-business marketers should be using this information to refine their SMB-focused email newsletters to get the best possible response. And companies that currently don't communicate with their customers and prospects this way should consider launching their own information-driven e-newsletters."

Ideas to build your mailing list

Your 'in-house' mailing list is a very valuable asset. This list represents your existing customer base and those who are potential future customers. These are the people you need to cultivate thru a targeted and consistent newsletter service. In building this list quality is much more important than quantity. One hundred interested, interactive readers who open your emails are a thousand fold more valuable then having 100,000 "who are they?" email addresses on your list.

Here are just a few ideas for companies actively seeking opt-in subscribers for their newsletters:

Have Sign Up links on your website - these links can be placed at various points throughout your website. They should include a brief description about your newsletter and how often they will receive it. Don't ask for too many details. The more questions you ask, the less sign-ups you will receive. Unless you have very specific reasons why you need detailed information from subscribers, and are ready to accept a lower subscribe rate, then a good rule of thumb is to keep your form to no more than 1-3 relevant fields.
Include a link to the subscribe form in your email signature file.
Take advantage of transactional emails such as bills, acknowledgements, invoices or statements and include a link to your subscribe box.
Have a 'forward to friend' feature in your newsletter. Have it next to each article to encourage sharing. Do not ask them to provide the friend’s address to you, simply offer an automatic forwarding function. The recipient of the forwarded newsletter will sign-up if they wish to subscribe.
Promote your newsletter online - Use meta tags, inserting meaningful keywords to help search engines catalogue your content. You might even consider have a subdomain of your business address for the newsletter to further brand it. Look into pay-per-click search engine advertising to capture anyone actively searching for information relating to what your organisation offers. This will be a highly desirable subscriber.
Promote your newsletter offline - Include subscribe instructions in your voicemail and company hold messages. Callers on hold might be sitting at their computer and sign-up.
If you send out printed material to customers, such as direct marketing material, bills, invoices or statements, ask them to send in their email address if they wish to receive your newsletter.
Capture addresses in an opt-in manner at your reception desk, at your events and any conventions where you have a stand or a sponsorship presence. Have a sign up sheet at trade shows and at any presentations your company gives - make it very clear what they're consenting to receive. When sending your newsletter include text welcoming new readers, reminding them where they signed up. Have your unsubscribe function prominently noted.
Set up Cross Promotional relationships - this involves working with a complementary business sector or company in gaining new subscribers by promoting each others newsletters.

< Prev		Next >