Newsletter Article

November 2001

Are you using email to communicate your message?

By D. Graham Tweedy, DGT Internet Marketing

In recent feature articles we have been exploring marketing concepts focusing on search engines and directories and how this environment has changed and how we must adapt our techniques to accommodate these changes.

In this issue of our newsletter we are focusing on email and how we can use it to promote our products and services. What better idea than to take your current printed newsletter and put it online. Maybe you do not have a newsletter that you send out regularly. Should you? It is a great way to communicate your message!

Here are some reasons to publish.

1. Build relationships. The best way to develop and keep any relationship whether it is business or personal is frequent and quality contact and communication. An online newsletter can be one of the vehicles to aid in this process. How often should you be in touch? No specific rules here, as it depends on the nature of your business and the need to keep in touch with your customers and prospects. Depending on the nature of the business once a month may be too much, however, certainly at least every three months. Why not a complete newsletter 3 to 6 times a year and shorter more specific and targeted messages in between.
2. Inform customers and prospects of your services. Your newsletter should have interesting content about your area of expertise and product offering. At the same time you can include information about your specific services and products. Maybe you have a special on that you have posted to your website. Include an announcement in your newsletter with a link to the page on your website where your offering is described.
3. Establish your reputation as a leader in your field. Brief articles describing the technology behind your product or your knowledge about a certain legal, business or accounting service will aid in establishing you as an expert in your field. This will help persuade persons to do business with you or maybe keep clients that may be drifting away.
4. Email drives sales. A recent study by DoubleClick revealed that 88 percent of the persons surveyed said they made purchases as a result of receiving information via email. Remember, the customer does not have to buy online to make online selling successful. They may just learn about the product or be reminded of it and then purchase in a traditional fashion.
5. Email is cost effective! Think about it - there are no paper or postage costs. According to Century Communications, 2001 and AdRelevance, 2001, the below average costs per message are as follows:
   • Direct email: $0.20
   • Telemarketing: $1.00 to $3.00
   • Direct mail: $0.75 to $2.00
6. Email is a great complement to your current marketing mix. We strongly believe that the Net should complement your existing marketing mix not supplant it. Email and online newsletters need to be an adjunct to any media which helps quickly reinforce messages, seminar dates, trade show information to name a few.

 But you say I do not have the time or the talent or . . . Let's discuss in our next newsletter.

A postscript that we must add as it is current and illustrative of the use of email.

The following is not an example of the use of an online newsletter but it is an example of the use of email promotion and it is timely and an outstanding example of how it can work.

The Venetian is one of only three five-star hotels in Las Vegas. The slow economy had been hurting its bookings even before September 11, and the tragedy that took place that day further worsened business. Upper management needed to fill as many rooms as possible -- and do it as quickly as possible. So the hotel turned to email marketing, which it had used successfully in the past. The hotel created a snazzy email message, complete with photographs, a video, and a customer-service call button. We call this rich media email. The response was overwhelming. Now of course the offer was also significant announcing considerable discounts on rooms.

The result. The conversion rate was a whopping 23 percent compared to a typical email conversion rate of 1 to 5 percent. Of course, rich media doesn't work for everyone nor is it essential. Your audience may prefer text, for instance. But in any case the promotion does illustrate that the use of email in a timely way, with a message that is important to the audience, can be very successful.

Taken from an article in ClickZ Today by Heidi Anderson, November 8, 2001