One of my daily struggles is keeping up with email. Is it just me, or does it come from everyone, all the time? My frustration got me thinking…is the email newsletter’s time up? I did some research, and combined what I have experienced with our own CHCG email newsletter, I can confidently tell you it remains a very relevant marketing tool, with many experts predicting its popularity – and effectiveness – will continue to grow into the foreseeable future. Here are just a few of the reasons why you should be sending (or continue to send) a regular email newsletter.
According to Inc. Magazine, 67 percent of businesses rate email as the highest-ROI online marketing strategy. EmailMonday reports that some marketers have experienced as much as a 3,800 percent ROI via email marketing, which translates into a $38 return for every $1 invested. Perhaps my personal favorite statistic is from Forrester Research: 90 percent of email gets delivered to the intended recipient’s inbox, whereas only 2 percent of Facebook fans see your posts in their News Feed.
Increase Website Traffic
You likely spend considerable resources on ensuring your company’s website is well-maintained, up-to-date, optimized and user friendly (if you aren’t doing these things, we need to talk). An email newsletter provides the perfect opportunity to further promote that beautiful, fully-functioning website. When your newsletter includes links back to your website’s blog posts, upcoming events, etc., you drive traffic, which in turn helps improve your search engine presence. Improved SEO = increased business potential.
Maintain Relationships
I have to admit, this is my favorite benefit of the CHCG email newsletter. Without fail, every time we send one, I hear from a colleague – or past client – whom I haven’t talked to in ages. Regular email newsletters keep your company in front of your various business relationships. For me, reconnecting with colleagues has led to partnerships, while talking to past clients has identified new ways we can help them. Furthermore, the CHCG email newsletters get forwarded, which means even more business exposure. My one word of caution here is to not over send. Most experts agree two newsletters a month is ideal.
Gauge Customer Response
Closely related to maintaining relationships is the practice of offering your newsletter recipients the opportunity to opt out. This many seem counterintuitive. After all, isn’t the goal to increase subscribers and therefore reach? When people opt out, it does two things: first, not sending an email to someone who isn’t interested in your content or product actually saves you some money. Second, an uptick in opt-outs provides you with the opportunity to rethink your strategy. Maybe your content isn’t providing the value you thought it was, or perhaps it isn’t varied enough. In addition to opt-outs, email newsletters provide a ton of valuable information, such as how many people opened the mail, continued to your website, forwarded the communication and more.
The CHCG team has a ton of experience when it comes to email newsletters. We understand not just the benefits (which are many), but also the best practices that help ensure your efforts are producing the highest possible ROI. I’d love to chat with you to discover how we can help you reach your business goals, whether it’s through an email newsletter, customer experience strategy, process improvement or other service
