Since late May, Facebook pages have a new button: pay to "promote" a post, and more of your own fans will see it. In other words, after two years of collecting likes, businesses are now being offered the option of paying to reach those same people.
Many small businesses have not noticed. Those that check their page insights have: posts that used to reach a reasonable share of their fans are gradually reaching fewer, and many page owners have been voicing concerns about it lately. All indications are that this trend will not reverse.
Meanwhile, the traditional email newsletter continues to do its job. It is rarely the subject of conference talks. It is the least spectacular tool a dive centre has online, and one of the most effective.
Why do email newsletters still work?
The inbox is the only feed you do not rent.
On Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or whatever network comes next, the platform decides who sees your post, and it can change the rules at any time. Your email list belongs to you. If you change providers, you take it with you. If a network declines, your list is unaffected.
For a travel business, the advantage is obvious. A guest dives with you, has an excellent week, then flies home. A year later, they are thinking about a trip. What brings them back? Probably not a post they scrolled past in March, but rather an email that arrives at the right time, with a photo of the reef they remember and a line about the season.
The same applies to a restaurant, a campground or a craft stall at the market. People who already know you and enjoyed your service are the easiest customers to win. Email allows you to stay in touch without a platform standing in between.
Is one newsletter a month enough?
Yes. The most common mistake is this: a business launches a newsletter with great energy, sends three in two weeks, runs out of topics and stops sending for eight months. When a newsletter finally arrives again, half the subscribers have forgotten who sent it.
Once a month is ample for most small businesses: often enough that people remember you, infrequent enough that you can sustain the pace.
Here is an effective routine:
- In the first week of the month, choose one story: something that happened, something coming up, or a lesson learned.
- Choose one offer, or one action you want people to take: book, reserve, attend an event, reply.
- Choose one or two good photos, real ones taken this month.
- Write the newsletter in an hour, concisely. Send it on the same day each month, at about the same time.
- A few days later, review the clicks and replies received.
This process, repeated twelve times a year, produces better results than an elaborate campaign carried out once.
Why tell a story before making an offer?
Most dive shop newsletters resemble flyers sent by email: a large banner, "SPECIAL OFFER", three prices and a button. Readers tire of them quickly.
What people open is a message from a person telling them something: what the water was like this month, the turtle that frequents the house reef, the new chef, the new trail, the first snow for businesses in snowy regions. Then, after the story, one thing you would like them to do.
The story justifies the offer. Without it, the message is just another advertisement among many.
Write as you would to a regular customer you appreciate. Sign it with your name. Allow people to reply, and respond when they do. A reply containing a question is very often the first step toward a booking.
How should a list in several languages be managed?
Dive centres here receive guests from around the world, and in Canada, many lists include both French- and English-speaking subscribers. Avoid combining two languages in one long email. Let subscribers choose their language when they sign up and send each group its own version. This requires a little more work, but it reads much better, and people appreciate the effort.
Why should a list be cleaned regularly?
Because inactive subscribers harm delivery. This is the least visible part of the work.
Gmail, Hotmail and other providers monitor how recipients respond to your mail. If a large share of your list never opens anything, never clicks, and some recipients mark your messages as spam, your newsletter begins to land in the spam folder, even for people who want to receive it.
Two or three times a year, identify subscribers who have not opened or clicked anything in a long time. Send them a final email asking whether they wish to keep hearing from you, then remove those who do not respond. Your list will be smaller, but your newsletter will reach its destination.
A few other points to keep in mind:
- Canada passed an anti-spam law, known as CASL, at the end of 2010. It is not yet in force, but it will be. You will need recipients' consent, you will have to identify yourself, and you will need a working unsubscribe link. By applying these practices now, the law's entry into force will change nothing for you.
- Never buy a list. It is the fastest way to damage your sender reputation.
- Open rates are less reliable than they appear. Many email programs block images by default, and opens are counted using a tiny image, so many real readers never register as opens. Clicks and replies are more telling.
- Ask whoever manages your domain to set up SPF and DKIM. These settings sound technical, but they amount to a few lines and help prove that your email genuinely comes from you.
If you are starting from scratch, Mailchimp's email marketing resources are a good place to learn the basics, whatever tool you choose. If you would prefer a professional to set up your email newsletters properly and maintain the monthly rhythm with you, that service is a sound investment.
Is email outdated?
Every year, someone announces the end of email, and every year it endures.
Social networks emerge, change their rules and ask businesses to pay to reach people who have already expressed interest. The businesses that succeed over the long term almost all have a list, and they use it every month, honestly, with content worth reading.
We recommend launching a newsletter before opening a Google+ page. The approach may seem traditional, but it has proven itself.