Top 10 Myths About Having an Email Newsletter

Dealing with some of the myths and concerns around Email newsletter marketing will help you use this great internet marketing tactic to its full advantage.

Myth # 1

Email Newsletters take too long to do so are not worth it. From reading forum topics with the question of how long people spend on their email newsletters the average is about 4 hours for a full length one and less than 2 hours for a mini newsletter. I have the same time requirement for my newsletter formats - so I spend about a morning on my monthly email newsletter while the occasional mini promo newsletter takes about an hour. For me it is time well spent because I always get immediate sales.

Myth # 2

It takes a lot of skills for write a newsletter. Newsletters are not jammed packed full of lengthy essays. They have direct and to the point paragraphs about your products and services. All you need to do to write for a newsletter is think of who you are writing for - your audience - and write proper sentences, in paragraphs, with good punctuation, spelling and grammar.

For your article topics you can use pieces from article directories that are of specific interest to your audience.

Myth # 3

There are a lot of formatting and desktop publishing skills required. Well it depends on how you do it. I use one of those email newsletter service providers and use their templates. So my newsletters look great, I get heaps of compliments for them and it is quick to do.

Myth #4

People do not read newsletters. The average open rate is about 20 - 30% of subscribers for me it makes perfect sense to put effort into regularly communicating - marketing and selling - to +30% of my customers.

Myth # 5

Spam filters make it too hard now to get newsletter emails through. If you use an email newsletter service provider they look after the spam filters for you as well as giving useful information about what you can do with your newsletters to get through better. If you are doing it yourself from your email application (like Outlook) you are going to have spam filter problems. Another reason why I use an email service provider.

Myth # 6

It takes too long to constantly be managing the subscriber database. This all depends on how you do it. I have a sign up box online that automatically updates my customer list. I manually enter new subscribers from expos and trade shows once a month. As for the unsubscribe that is done automatically for me and my email newsletter service provider looks after all of that for me. It is different if you are doing it all manually but I do not have the time or interest for that method and find the automated way easier and faster.

Myth # 7

It is too hard getting images for the newsletter. Images for an online business are required for the look and feel of a website and all other marketing tools - internet marketing or offline marketing and can be reused in your newsletter as long as the file size is small for quick downloading - what you have for the web is fine. I have a jewelry business so I need lots of bright, lovely pictures for my newsletter and have just made it an easy and simple part of the business. If you have a service business then your need to pictures will be less - it all depends on what makes money for your business.

Myth # 8

People do not buy from a newsletter. I get orders from every newsletter I send out. People come directly to the website and call me to place orders each time. I know they sometimes take their time to make their mind up about something so it takes a few newsletters before they act but that is looked after by consistently sending out the newsletter. When you get money right back for your newsletter efforts it is easy to keep the motivation up for sending them out.

Myth # 9

It is too hard to build up a big subscribe list. It takes time to build up a big subscriber list and you need to do in a variety of ways. Your sign up box needs to be throughout the site with calls to action. You need to collect details at your different events, expos, trade shows, home show parties, networking occasions everywhere you promote your business you get people to join your email list. This includes all your signature files - emails, forums, blogs etc - and become a standard part of your marketing.

Myth # 10

I've got nothing to say in a regular newsletter. Check out a whole range of newsletters and you'll see they have regular segments. By writing for these segments you quickly fill up a newsletter. Here are some ideas: new or featured products/service, upcoming events and shows, featured in the media, competition winners, content article/s, intro/greeting and a closing thank you topic, special offer or sale for the month, course dates available, coupon, did you know facts, surveys, industry report or news, there are lots of regular features that you can test out to see what people like and mix it up with some seasonal or special features.

Figure out a list of topic ideas and you will have your content. To get direct ideas join some newsletters and see what they do and what could work for you. By watching them over 12 - 18 months you will get a good idea of their regular formats and how they work with specials.

Email Newsletter Marketing is a great way to be constantly growing your business and take advantage of the variety of tools available to you to make it happen.

 

Belinda Stinson is the designer and owner of http://CreativelyBelle.com - a popular and successful jewelry and jewelry display stand gift idea store. Belinda also offers a range of business and marketing articles online published in the monthly email newsletter to help other businesses success. Find out more about building a prosperous business with Belinda's free resources. The free email newsletter keeps you informed about new resources as well as jewelry designs and sales. You can also see Belinda's designs at the Creatively Belle online store.