The coronavirus outbreak has fast-tracked the spread of the internet not just because of the competition among the service providers but also governments.
Marketing in the virtual space is a different ballgame even though the principles remain the same. Even large enterprises struggle to find a toehold in this space, so it is almost a level playing field, provided small and medium enterprises (SMEs) know how to make the most of their limited resources.
I am not going to explain Internet marketing in this article. I will address a simpler marketing scenario involving the internet but this one is through the email route and far cheaper for SMEs.
Today businesses send email newsletters to a large number of prospects. There are several types of services available in India. These organisations charge you for the number of emails they would send your newsletter to, just like a direct mailing service provider does. There are a few service providers in the US which will charge a percentage of the business generated through the email contacts provided by them.
Getting your newsletter into your prospects’ in-box is not the real task but making them read is. Prospects are getting more sophisticated about email management. They get inundated with spam and scam mails and many filter out what they don't want to receive.
It is up to you to email them something that they want to read. Here are a few pointers on how to do that:
1 Keep your email newsletter informative
Its main purpose is to build awareness and credibility. If it generates sales, so much the better but that is a secondary objective. If you focus on providing information that is of interest and value to your prospects, something that would help their businesses, you stand a better chance of not getting filtered out.
Mind you, that is half the task done. Since most seasoned internet users know how to duck spam mails, avoid using phrases like “how to become a millionaire overnight” or “work from home and make Rs 50,000 per month” or “Reply immediately”, etc since these are known ways of spammers.
2 Keep your message brief
Confine the newsletter to one topic and make sure it is easy to read. The easier it is to read, the more it will be read. Have a relevant subject heading, so that only the real prospects will be interested in it. In any case, you do not need people who are not interested in your message.
3 Be consistent with your choice of topics
You will be using your email to establish credibility, so you will want to concentrate only on topics that have to do with your business and help theirs. This is very important but few businesses practice it.
4 Stick to one ‘voice’
Use one writer (you, a member of your staff, etc) for all your newsletters. When you use multiple writers, you will project at the very least, slightly different points of view or writing styles. This could affect your newsletter's credibility.
5 Keep your newsletters timely
Arrange your topics in a logical order that makes sense to your prospects. For instance, if you are providing information about how to deal with a holiday sales slump, send it in late March. If you are discussing trade shows, you probably want to release it in winter when these events are going full steam.
6 Keep a regular frequency
Plan six months' worth of topics and publish the newsletter at least every other week. The frequency will create awareness among prospects. Planning will enable you to publish worthwhile topics and achieve credibility.
How do you get prospects to subscribe to your newsletters? Here are some ways to get people to subscribe to your emailed newsletter:
>> Post your newsletter on your website and include an easy-to-fill-out subscription notice on all your web pages.
>> If you want people to subscribe from your website, you need them to visit it, so include your website address on all your correspondence. The more people you get to visit your site, the more you get to subscribe.
>> Find relevant websites that host or post email newsletters and get your information included on those sites.
While sending e-newsletters, do include a highlight in each of them that provides guidelines to prospects on how to opt out or unsubscribe. Ensure that you stick to their evolving preferences.
People switch jobs or their roles change, and they may not want to read something that is of no interest to them. Who knows, by doing this courtesy and respecting their wish, they might be inclined to positively refer you to their successors or new prospects.
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