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FOUR WAYS TO TURBO-CHARGE YOUR MARKETING

Affordably with E-Newsletters

Top of Mind Communications eNewsletters - Richmond, VAIn this digital age, e-newsletters are powerful vehicles for small and mid-size businesses to turbo-charge brand awareness and become the vendor of choice for customers, prospects and referral resources. Plan to enjoy these four cost-effective, positive outcomes.

  1. Position yourself as a thought-leader with prospects, customers and referral partners.
  2. Be at the top of the vendor list when a buying decision or referral opportunity surfaces.
  3. Cross-sell and upsell your products and services.
  4. Enjoy the multiplier effect of re-purposing your e-newsletter content to broad audiences.

Top of Mind CommunicationsPosition yourself as a thought-leader with prospects, customers and referral partners.

Twenty-first century marketing is not about demonstrating that you are better than the competition. That’s a universal claim and today’s buyers don’t fall for it. Your job is to demonstrate that you are different than the competition.

You can create that differentiation by delivering an e-newsletter that is loaded with valuable info that will help your audiences enhance efficiencies, increase profitability, plus plan and manage for maximum growth. Superior e-newsletter content nurtures and reinforces client relationships plus positions your company as a unique, valuable resource. In so doing, you demonstrate value beyond products and services. You truly become a trusted advisor and a recognized industry leader.

And a major benefit of building trust and relationships is retention of customers by minimizing the likelihood of them being spirited away by competitors. Always good to remember that your best customer is your competitors’ best prospect.

Case in Point: You are a staffing agency providing part-time and full-time employees to your customers on an as-needed basis. Your newsletter will not deal with how you shine when it comes to staffing … rather you’ll offer insight on relevant employment topics. For example:

  • Employee evaluations … various points of view
  • Job safety and being prepared for OSHA audits
  • Employee engagement and retention

Top of Mind Communication eNewsletters Work
Be at the top of the vendor list when a buying decision or referral opportunity surfaces.

People are on their own buying schedule based on a variety of factors that are most likely impossible to predict. Users of your product or service have little reason to think about your brand until they are actively considering or in immediate need to buy what you sell. So staying visible will help you to not be overlooked by customers – past and present.

Likewise, maintaining awareness with your referral resource partners is essential. Clearly, these are valuable “friends of the court” who must be continually recognized and maintained as sources of new business.

If you desire a resource to direct business your way, that resource must be confident that you are capable, competent and professional in delivering your product/service. A regularly scheduled e-newsletter, that is not solely a sales piece, reassures these key allies that they will never be embarrassed directing prospects to you.

Case in Point: You are a CPA and likely to be engaged by customers at tax season. Out of sight – out of mind are six words you don’t want applied to you. An e-newsletter can inform and call attention to services you provide other than tax returns. For example:

  • Estates and trusts
  • Payroll services
  • Tax favored retirement plan options

Cross-sell and upsell your products and services.

E-newsletters drive website traffic. Ideally, your e-newsletter content will include links to your website and invitations to visit. A visit to your website often prompts browsing for new product and service information.

Can you identify with the very real possibility that your customers, prospects and referral sources may not be aware of all that you offer?  Your e-newsletter drives traffic to your website and exposure to all that you do in a non-threatening, non-sales format.

Case in Point: Your e-newsletters include one or more articles on info that is perceived as valuable to your audiences, i.e. advice that will save  money, make money, save time or provide peace of mind. So you write a compelling title and one or two paragraphs to get the reader’s attention … and then a link to your website to read the entire article.

TurboCharge5

Enjoy the multiplier effect of re-purposing your e-newsletter content to broad audiences.

It is not often that you can make one investment that results in multiple benefits at no additional cost. Your e-newsletter content does just that.

Case in Point: Your article or curated information from quality publications will be published to:

  • Your e-newsletter distribution list
  • Repurposed for publication on your website as a blog
  • Distributed to social media groups you belong to, e.g. LinkedIn Groups.
  • Shared by readers clicking on social sharing buttons

What an efficient and cost-effective  way to broadcast your messages and branding to potentially tens of thousands of recipients.

How to Get Started

OK.  You’re convinced that an e-newsletter will deliver considerable value to your organization when you consistently provide valuable content. Your readers will look forward to each publication and be reminded to see you as a trusted source of information. Here are the steps you’ll take to create your newsletter

  • Choose a distribution “engine”. We like Constant Contact.
  • Pick a template to present your content
  • Create your “masthead” that is consistent with your branding and other marketing collateral, i.e. logo, colors type fonts, etc.
  • Include photos or other images in your masthead and content. We like Google Images and iStock as sources of affordable and sometimes free graphics and photos.
  • Plan your content outline that will be used for each issue. That way readers will anticipate what to look for. Content may include a main article, a curated article, key resource links, special offers or discounts. Brief videos are increasingly well-received.
  • Prepare your contact list. Include names and email addresses of past and present customers, prospects and referral partners. Then look at your and your employees’ contacts and add those that are business related, e.g. LinkedIn and Outlook.
  • Decide frequency of publication. Monthly is ideal. More than that can be difficult for you to fulfill with meaningful content. Less often diminishes your visibility.
  • Lay out your editorial calendar that will outline topics and content for each monthly e-newsletter for the following calendar quarter. Then update on a rolling three-months basis.

Once all of this is put together, your last step is to be absolutely consistent in providing valuable content on a committed schedule.

When DIY is Not Attractive

At the risk of being somewhat self-serving, professionally designed and written e-newsletters are amazingly affordable. For less than a typical business dinner a turnkey e-newsletter will include design, research, content writing, mailing list management, distribution and reporting results. There is no guessing the effectiveness of e-newsletter campaigns. Distribution can be tracked and analyzed to reveal open rates, click-throughs to your website and address bounces. That means you have immediate feedback as to what is the most effective content.

It’s worth a question. How can e-newsletters enhance your business?

Why not give a call or email today.

804.523.3430 or info@tomcrva.com