15 Nov The @ Factor: How Email Revolutionized the Newsletter
The Power of Consistency
Successful organizations have utilized the communicative power of newsletters for decades. Leaders and marketers recognize the value of delivering information and offers to clients on a consistent basis. Through this kind of regular communication, both traditional and email newsletters offer businesses the ability to do several impactful things:
- Keep their brands in view
- Offer clients special incentives
- Educate clients
- Steer clients toward specific objectives
- Maintain clear brand identity
- Build and maintain a sense of membership
- Incentivize and encourage referrals
- Grow their businesses from within
The @ Factor
The @ symbol is the brainchild of internet pioneer Ray Tomlinson. In 1969, he developed a way to direct messages via the internet from one computer to another. His secret was the @ symbol, and it is perhaps his most enduring contribution to the internet.
As marketers, that little symbol offers a powerful and elegant solution to one of our most important challenges — message targeting. Email enables us to direct relevant information to multiple specific targets like no other tool. That is the @ factor.
Email and the Newsletter
Newsletters have long been recognized for their ability to keep clients “warm,” and for strategic users, to create referrals and sales. Now, strategic marketers and business leaders are combining the consistency of the newsletter with the power and efficiency of email. Here’s how email has now revolutionized this already effective tool.
1. Simplicity
Email newsletters possess a nearly miraculous simplicity, especially when weighed against their tremendous potential. Whether or not you already have a direct mail newsletter, you could have an email newsletter today in a matter of minutes. That’s how simple they are to create.
2. ROI
Though their traditional counterparts can also be effective, email newsletters are a significant breakthrough in regards to ROI (or your return on investment. ) Without the expense of paper, ink, and postage, you no longer need to consider the size of your mailing list as a cost factor. As your list grows, so does your return.
3. Visual Impact
The preview pane is your friend. While traditional mail has the advantage of being held in hand, recipients most often hold it in a stack of other mail. By contrast, most inboxes display messages or previews one at a time. This allows at least your primary graphics and title to take center stage in your readers’ view, increasing its chances of being opened, read, and clicked through.
4. Flexibility
One of the most powerful things about this tool is its flexibility. With traditional printing, information may be weeks old by the time your clients read it. However, with email, you can make changes, update information, and add or remove recipients right up to the last minute. This assures your messages are up-to-date, accurate, and well-targeted every time. This kind of flexibility also allows for more creativity, making communication much more impactful.
5. Analytics
This is one of digital marketing’s superpowers, and it offers tremendous effectiveness in the email newsletter. Applying analytics gives you the ability to track and measure the impact of specific elements of each publication. In contrast to printed versions, the question, “Why did this work (or not work)?” can be answered with remarkable accuracy. As a bonus, the lessons we learn from digital analytics can empower us to improve our printed messaging by revealing otherwise unnoticed problems or potential.
6. Credibility
Since your newsletter is sent to those who already know you, it holds instant credibility. Email’s protocol enhances this advantage by identifying messages primarily by their sender, allowing you to send with confidence. Unlike “spam” emails, newsletters are much more often opened, read, and clicked through.
7. Instant Response
In the digital marketplace, we are all “marketing to the mouse.” In other words, we are working for clicks. This is the challenge and the overwhelming advantage of digital marketing tools. Clients and prospects can instantly visit your website, read your blog, or buy your products. Instead of just an informational or motivational piece, the newsletter now becomes an effective point of contact and a powerful point of sale.
8. Fuel on the Fire
You spend significant time and resources building and maintaining your website, social media platforms, online stores, etc. An email newsletter can be one of the most powerful ways to keep fuel on your digital fire. Through strategic use of offers, incentives, and links, you can direct specific readers across specific platforms, either to a content-rich or response-rich experience, depending on their needs and your goals.
Join the Revolution
At Relay Creative Group, we are passionate about helping you craft clear and compelling messages, both digital and printed. With incredible simplicity, you can now combine the consistency and credibility of the newsletter with the power of email. Let us help you develop a successful strategy that adds this revolutionary tool to your plan.