Send a Newsletter, Make a Sale

January 2011

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What do you think of the title of this issue?

Send a newsletter, make a sale.

Don't think it can happen to you? It did for two of my clients..... this week!

First, Cynthie Fisher, the wildlife artist I mentioned last issue, just started working with me to send out a newsletter. I'll let her tell the rest.

"Well, this guy I saw at the Dallas Safari Club show got the newsletter today and gave me a call. We negotiated on that duck painting I had in the last issue. The newsletter reminded him. We talked, and thus, a sale!!! Makes my day," she said.

I also have a B2B software client who sent an email campaign highlighting a new video on their web site. A current customer got the email, saw the video and was so impressed he wants to upgrade his product. That email could lead to a $150,000 sale.

Can it happen for you? Yes it can.

Why Do Newsletters Work?

To find out the answer to this question, I turned to a Neilsen Norman Group report on Email Newsletter Usability. Here is what they found:

"The most significant finding from our usability research on email newsletters is that users have emotional reactions to them. This is in strong contrast to research on website usability...Users tend to glance at websites when they need accomplish something or to find the answer to a specific question. In contrast, newsletters feel personal because they arrive in users' inboxes, and users have an ongoing relationship with them."

So websites are about function and newsletters are about connection. Now I get it.

The word connection is used a lot to describe the newest type of online marketing - social media. I love social media, as you know, but not everyone is on Twitter, or even on Facebook, but everyone you want to sell to has an email and gets newsletters from people and companies they trust. Yours should be one of them.

Ready to Try Email Marketing?

Are you are ready to try email marketing but unsure how to get started? It's easy when you work with one of the leading email marketing providers. Personally, I like Constant Contact and have set up nearly 10 different clients with an account.

Be sure to take a moment to think about your email marketing strategy. Ask yourself questions like:

What do I want to accomplish?
How often do I want to connect with my constituents?
How much time can I devote to email marketing?
Where will the content come from?
How can I create a newsletter that will be informative and interesting (and not just sell)?
How can I incorporate relevant images to ensure the reader enjoys the content?

It's easy to set up your own design with the tools and images provided by Constant Contact. If you are interested in checking it out for free for 60 days, click here.

Plant Your Beans Today for Years of Growth

Beanstalk Marketing is the Anti-Agency - a strategic partner and comprehensive marketing department - without the agency price tag or management headaches.

Fueled by Heidi Elliott's 20 years of experience, Beanstalk Marketing develops a strategy that integrates all of your small business branding and marketing efforts into a single, powerful plan, then hand picks the team of experts needed to implement it on time and on budget. Learn more at Beanstalk Marketing.