September 2005 Issue:

• Why Send E-Newsletters? Because They Work!
• Simplicity Can Be Complicated
• Ten Tips for Spicing Up Your Direct Mail Initiatives

Archived Issues

Why Should You Send E-Newsletters?
Because They Work!

Flashy public relations campaigns and advertisements are fine, but today’s consumers want to know more about the company behind the marketing campaigns. They need to have confidence in the company, know it behaves ethically, and has specific expertise and qualifications that can help solve their customers’ problems.

Contribute to Your Readers’ Professional Growth

With the economy being somewhat unpredictable today, anything you can do to help your customers gain useful information and add value to their companies is a good move. Your expertise, via an E-Newsletter each month, lets your readers know that your willingness to help and share useful information is always available.
For example, some of the feedback from the Biz Talk E-Newsletter includes:

“I just wanted you to know that I so often delete the stuff sent to my small publishing company via email. However, Five Sparrows is so relevant, insightful, and concise, that I always read it and glean something from it. Keep up the good work!”
T.M., Livingston County, MI

“I just received my first issue of your e-newsletter. Very professional: short, easy articles and pertinent……”
S.H., Clarkston, MI

Something Readers Can Count On

If you are going to begin a regular E-Newsletter program for your customers and prospects, make sure you plan ahead and maintain consistency. Whether it’s a quarterly, monthly, or weekly newsletter, be consistent in sending it out according to a regular schedule. Your readers will begin to recognize your newsletter when it shows up in their email inboxes, which helps you gain name recognition and readers’ mindshare. It also reinforces the idea that your company is stable and can be counted on.

Tips for Creating a Great E-Newsletter

The most important thing to give your readers is interesting, useful content. Don’t just throw something together without thinking it through. Also, make sure your writing, tone, grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. is professional and correct. Don’t let small mistakes chip away at your credibility!

Design your e-newsletter to help readers determine what articles are worth reading. Use headlines, linked navigation menus, and other visual cues to help readers find the information that is most important to them. Avoid listing a bunch of links to articles – this leaves readers to fend for themselves in determining which (if any) of the articles are worth their time.

Use a clean, appealing, graphically appropriate design format for your newsletter. Incorporate your business name into the newsletter, but don’t overwhelm your readers with it. Remember, this is a newsletter, not an advertisement or flyer. Be sure to include your contact information, and always use a spam-compliant listserv service for distribution.

Remember, the goal is to provide a great e-newsletter to your readers and remind them that your company has specific expertise and can be counted on. It can be a powerful way to build your reputation and drive new business your way.

Simplicity Can Be Complicated

Simplicity is in the eye of the beholder, especially when it comes to your web site. What is simple to the creator (you) may not be so simple to your visitors.

Ever try to assemble a “do it yourself” furniture piece, like a stereo cabinet? I’m sure the manufacturer knew exactly what it was doing and wrote the instructions so that anyone could follow them, right? But when you’re sitting in the middle of your living room up to your ears in pieces of wood, screws, brackets, and some other unidentifiable hardware items, it’s pretty clear that what seemed so simple to the instruction writers may not be so crystal clear to the user.

This can be especially true for web sites. I’m certain that when you designed your web site, you designed it so that visitors could quickly and easily find information, understand your business, and have a great overall web site experience. Well unfortunately, you are probably not the best judge of how clear your site design and navigation functions are to a visitor. (Sorry!)

It’s hard to remember, but your web site shouldn't really be designed for YOU, it should be designed for your VISITORS. Web site visitors typically spend less than one minute trying to figure out your web site and how it works. For example, many sites contain animated “ads” or sections that are constantly in motion. That produces so much complexity and distraction that users just leave the site out of sheer annoyance. A clean, well-organized, attractive site is always more effective.

Simplicity, however, can be difficult to achieve. It's more expensive to do well, and usually takes design expertise, programming talent, and copywriting skill. Companies find that when they simplify the user experience on their web sites, it can mean they have to do more work behind the scenes. But they also find that customers stay on the site longer, have a better user experience, and are more likely to buy something or become a lead.

To achieve simplicity, you must be genuinely customer-focused. Extra investment and attention may be required, but simplicity should be a top priority so your visitors will find your site useful and pleasant. Don’t make them work so hard to find information or products, spell it out for them. When users find a good site, they not only come back again and again, they tell their friends, colleagues, and co-workers, too.

Is it worth it? Of course it is. Apple and Google are great examples of simplicity, and it clearly works very well for them. Examples like this show us that simplicity can be a genuine competitive advantage, and considering the millions of sites on the web today, we could all use any advantage we can get!

Ten Tips for Spicing Up Your Direct Mail Initiatives

Let’s face it, many people have a love-hate relationship with direct mail. They “hate” getting junk mail, but “love” the cool offers or money-saving opportunities that direct mail provides.

One way to keep your direct mail efforts fresh and interesting is to mix things up – send a variety of types of mail such as postcards, brochures, letters, etc. as long as you make sure your message is consistent across all your materials. Explain your benefits, use testimonials from other customers, and provide a strong call to action in your pieces, then repeat the same message in a series of mailings.

Here are ten tips for spicing up your direct mail initiatives that can really improve your response rate and increase interest in your product or service:

1. Vary your mailing format - use self-mailers, Lettergrams, brochures, envelope formats, catalogs, etc. Change your format so that prospects are interested each time they receive one of your mailings.

2. Try simulated telegrams, mailgrams, or other creative or unusual formats.

3. Re-mail to your best customers three or four weeks later. You'll do 60-75% as well on the second mailing as you did on the first.

4. Increase how often you send out mailers. If you are now mailing four times a year, consider increasing the frequency of your mailings to six or eight times. If you increase your mailings by 25% you may increase your sales by the same percentage.

5. Word your offer differently - put a unique twist into it by offering a baker's dozen instead of a regular dozen. Or offer buy-one-get-one free type promotions.

6. Change the size or shape of your mailing package frequently to create curiosity and appeal.

7. Present outstanding testimonials in a big way for big impact.

8. Tie in with a timely topic (current events, special holidays, community fundraisers, etc.).

9. Spotlight your message on the outside of your envelope and lead your reader inside.

10. Increase off-season business by creating special ad campaigns. If you normally are slower in the summer, have a special "summer sale" mailing. You can be creative and interesting with your direct mail pieces any time of the year to help give your sales a boost.

Five Sparrows values your privacy and will never share, sell, or rent your information to anyone, and you may unsubscribe from this publication at any time.

Copyright 2005 Five Sparrows, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
3889 Hartland Hills, Hartland, MI 48353
www.fivesparrows.com