The Information Age
Email newsletters were a thing of beauty, a work of art worthy of the Renaissance. They were entertaining and informative, and, like the Renaissance, they took a modern approach to classic ideas. Direct marketers were using technology to reach millions of subscribers instantly. And it worked as conversions and ROI reached record levels. Not only were monthly email newsletters used to keep the corporate brand in front of subscribers, they were also used to up-sell current customers, convert leads to sales, and inform everyone about all of the upcoming corporate events. When done well, the monthly email newsletter was nothing short of a masterpiece that inspired subscribers to take action. For most newsletters, that action was “click here for more information.”
Although that approached worked for a while, we’re no longer in the Renaissance. We’re in the Information Age. People don’t want to click here for more information, they just want the information. And they don’t want to wait until next month to receive your newsletter and then waste time sifting through all of content that doesn’t apply to them just to read the one thing that does. They want the information presented to them in a timely, efficient manner, and this has presented a lot of new opportunities for marketers to reach out to their subscribers more often in new, inventive ways.
Now more than ever, email marketers have the ability to send more messages to their subscriber base in order to enhance, and in a few cases replace, their corporate, one-size-fits-all email. However, for most companies corporate newsletters are still very beneficial. Just because there are industrial paint sprayers that can paint a house in under an hour, you wouldn’t use one to repaint the Sistine Chapel. And just because you can send short, targeted messages to your customers doesn’t mean that your corporate newsletter isn’t valuable, especially for B2B companies where the buyer needs more information on your organization in order to make their purchasing decisions. The key is to find out how to make all of your email campaigns work together and to segment your lists so you are only sending the right type of email with the right content to the right recipient at the right time.
For example, a local theater might only send seasonal emails to its entire list announcing the performance schedule, ticket information, membership and support drives, and volunteer opportunities, along with monthly emails that only go to its members and volunteers. These campaigns work for the theater and the recipients as they keep the audience interested and informed. However, there is more the theater can do. If a particular performance doesn’t sell out, it could send an email to customers that have purchased tickets for similar performances in the past reminding them of the upcoming show, or it could send an email to the members of the audience who already purchased tickets and offer a discount on a ticket if they bring a friend. These targeted campaigns go to a smaller segment of their list and only include a short message. That way, the recipients may quickly read and respond to the message without getting distracted by additional information. And because the message was only sent to subscribers that have an interest in the show, the email will have a high conversion rate. Even if the subscribers received the monthly newsletter the day before, the relevant, targeted message will still work.
