It’s a given that, in this day and age, most business owners that you manufacture for will have an email address. As a business that works with other businesses, you can bet your bottom dollar that those other companies will communicate through email and want to forge partnerships. One of the best ways to stay at the forefront of their minds is through email newsletters, so they key is getting them to open and read your emails, and then pick you! In order to start that relationship, you will need to create an email newsletter that actively engages your potential customers with your firm and manufacturing techniques, and makes them want to learn more. Here are a few tips on how to create an email newsletter that really draws them in.
Does Your Business Need a Newsletter?
The first step in creating an email newsletter for your business is deciding whether or not your company could actually benefit from a newsletter. You will need to gather data by talking to similar companies, and find out if they’ve had success with newsletters. You will need to find quantifiable statistics showing how well this method has worked for your industry in order to support the results and strengthen your argument when you present your findings to those co-workers who may have different opinions. Putting aside a bit of time to do your homework can save you time and energy, especially if your market isn’t suited to this kind of marketing communication. However, most industries do very well with email marketing, provided they are patient and write engaging copy.
Trust
Businesses are built on trust. Trust in the U.S. government that the dollar is worth something, and trust in their manufacturer that anything made will be up to par and worth the money spent. It’s hard to gain trust from a potential client when they won’t even open your email, or worse yet when they have already marked you as spam! Create engaging email newsletter titles that offer something to potential clients – something like information or discounts. However, you can’t build trust with someone if they feel like you are always pushing your services on them. While your email subject can be an offer, make sure that the actual newsletter includes a plethora of information, varying from the hottest trends in the industry to tips to optimize different products.
Additionally, if they’ve signed up for your newsletter then they have had an interest in your product – so don’t abuse that power and make the customer sick of hearing from you! Try creating an email marketing mission statement so that, when customers sign up for your firm’s newsletter, they know how often you will contact them. And for the love of all that is good, do not hide your unsubscribe button! Nothing is worse to a potential buyer than being aggravated and then not allowed to unsubscribe. Plus, knowing who exactly is interested in your product and who wants out is a good thing because it will help your list to become stronger by weeding out the people who just are not interested.
One Thing at a Time
Try not to overwhelm the reader, or yourself, by creating a newsletter that covers too many topics. By focusing each newsletter on a particular subject you have more time to research that area and create a better quality marketing message. During the first few newsletters it can be tempting to write on several topics because you want your customers to know about all of your firm and what it makes! However, saving something new for every couple of weeks, or every month, can help increase interest more than a brief overview of everything your firm does.
Conclusion
Every market and industry is different, and every buyer and business operates in its own manner. So take the time to decide if email newsletters are going to work well in your business. If you do decided to use email marketing, remember the two golden rules – you must build both trust and a relationship with the customer, and you have take things one at a time. You may not notice immediate results, but over the next few months your metrics will improve and you’ll find yourself adding new businesses to your client list.
