Why Your Business Needs a Newsletter
Having an eNewsletter setup for your business allows you to communicate directly with your audience about your business offerings. It’s also an opportunity to invite them to visit your website on a regular basis and encourage them to enquire about your services and/or make a purchase from your store.
The good thing is that you own the channel and have full control over your ability to reach your audience rather than relying on a third party platform like social media. While platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook can be a great source of advertising your business to help you find new customers, you run the risk of losing access to your account if something were to happen to the platform at large. Subsequently you would lose access to your audience and the ability to communicate with them about your business.
I recommend to all of my coaching clients to start building an email database from day one in their side hustle and/or business. Even if they haven’t yet launched their business, a ‘coming soon’ landing page with an email signup form can help you to build a database of interested customers so that by the time you are ready to launch you have a captive audience.
A newsletter then becomes a marketing strategy that can act as a notice board of what’s happening in and around your business and keep your audience updated on how you can be of service to them and encourage them to invest in what you have to sell.
One of the best things about sending emails directly to your audiences inbox is that it bypasses the noise and distractions on social media so that you can have more direct communication with your customers.
There are a number of other benefits of a newsletter that can help your side hustle or business to expand your marketing and ultimately make more sales.
Here are a few ways it can help you and why you should have one—
Builds Trust — when someone joins your email database they are expressing interest in what you have to offer. It can be a sign of trust that they want to stay in touch and keep an eye on what you’re doing to see if it’s the right fit for them. When you show up in their inbox on a regular basis with something of value to offer them, it’s a way to grow trust between you and them. Remember that they’ve trusted you enough to exchanged their private details (email address) with you and are trusting you to not spam their inbox or waste their time.
More likely to convert interest to a sale—a newsletter is a chance for you to ‘warm up’ potential leads in your business and encourage people who have shown interest in your business to eventually make a sale. People often mistake interest for a willingness to purchase straight away. Interest is just one step customers take before making their final decision to purchase. By joining your mailing list your potential customers are showing you that they are moving towards taking action and willing to travel down your sales funnel. By keeping in touch with them via your newsletter you stay top of mind to them and are able to give them all the information that they need in order to make a decision if what you have to offer is the right fit for what they need/want. Check out the First Aid Kit for Your Business for more on sales funnels.
Shows off your brand personality — a newsletter is a way to showcase more of you and your brand and not just what you have to sell. Like all relationships we look for common interests, shared values, humour, advice and support in the people we choose to trust with our hard earned money. Nowadays a business has the opportunity to build a relationship with their audience that goes beyond the checkout. Customers want to know what you stand for, who else you work with, why they should trust you and what kind of taste you have. I’ve included some examples of newsletters that I think showcase their brand personality really well below and that I personally love.
Attention spans— with so many businesses looking to earn the attention of your potential customers, it’s becoming harder to communicate with people who could be interested in what you have to sell. Instead they might easily scroll past your announcements on social media and will miss what you have to say. Chances are they won’t be in the right state of mind to take action on what you’re asking of them either. Social media has become more of a billboard than a checkout. People will save posts, screenshot or share to friends but the speed of which they are encouraged to scroll they are less likely to make a decisive decision in the moment. Contrary to this, an email in someone’s inbox is more likely to find them in a focused state of mind, at their desk or place of work and ready to concentrate and absorb information. People may need to see you on social media to know that you exist but your job should be to get them on your mailing list and start communicating with them when and where they’re ready to listen.
Reminds people to come back to your website— just because your audience clicks on your website once, it doesn’t mean they are ready to buy from you straight away or that they will remember you. That’s why you should focus on building an email database that will allow you to communicate with you audience on a regular basis and keep reminding them of what you have to offer and invite them to take a look around your website as often as possible. Your website is one of your most important tools and ultimately where your audience will make their biggest decision— to buy or not to buy. In order for them to make that decision they will need to trust you and you can build that trust by showing them around your business via your website —check out the recent three part masterclass series I didi with Squarespace all about your website on Youtube and our Podcast
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NEWSLETTERS I LOVE—
DRNKS
Fun, not just about the shop, you learn something about the wine and a recap of events and cool partners they work with.
Use Code STARTUP10 for a 10% discount
I Love Creatives
It’s a really smart way to monetise an email database as a source of income, it feels like a trend guide and showcase of cool styles as well as a notice board of what’s happening in the creative space around the world. Plus really well designed and easy to navigate, the same format every week without fail.
Steven Pressfield: Writing Wednesday’s
Consistent, short form, personal stories, a strong message without the fluff. I love that it comes out every Wednesday and I know what I can expect and his emails are always packed with great advice and simple lessons that are memorable and I can take into my day.
Paramount House Hotel
These guys are really good at showcasing more than just what they have to sell. Obviously it’s a hotel that sells accomodation but when you’re choosing your accomodation you want to know that you’re in a good area that’s going to align with how you want to spend your time in that city so Paramount give you guides on what’s on and who’s around to show that you’re going to like it there if you share their taste.
Krool
I only just came across this brand and instantly fell in love with their newsletter. I find it very cool, funny, simple and a mix of sales but also fun vibes.
