Marketing Matters: Connecting With Your Customers Electronically
July 12, 2010 In the not-so-distant past, if newsletters were your communiqué of choice with your farm market customers, it was a fairly time-consuming process. Besides writing the stories, designing the layout, printing, collating, folding, and applying postage, the mailing list would need to be manually typed or mechanically printed on each newsletter. It was a major advancement to be able to simply photocopy the mailing list onto sheets of sticky labels, but they still needed to be affixed to the newsletter.
Few businesses would have the resources or need for their own print shop, so either a few staff members would take a couple of days to prep and mail each edition, or the basic copy would be sent off to a commercial printer to finish the rest of the production and mailing.
Using Web-based Tools
Certainly there are still companies that will produce and mail hardcopy newsletters for you, but within the past couple of years there has been a rapid rise in the development of Web-based tools for producing and distributing newsletters via eMail. These provide template-driven tools that allow some creative options for layout and distribution beyond what most people are capable of doing on their own computer eMail systems.
Yes, you still have to write the copy and you still have to develop and maintain a mailing list, but production and distribution are relatively simple (once you learn the system), reasonably priced, and you control the process.
For example, Lynn Stevens, a friend of mine, uses MyEmma (myEmma.com) to produce bi-monthly newsletters for all members, as well as several targeted editions for various committees and working groups of the American Vaulting Association (a little side interest of mine). She finds it “user friendly as a newbie, [without a] large learning curve for assembling, and the support when I had questions was within 24 hours.” Though it doesn’t have “some of the bells-and-whistles you can use in PowerPoint to highlight something, we are getting better about addressing our specific audience to improve readership as we fine-tune our [distribution] criteria.”
You may have heard ads or might even be on the receiving end of newsletters generated through some of these channels. A glance at the bottom usually reveals a “powered by” logo telling you which service was used (though some make a point of not placing their logo on your newsletter). Links to a dozen different companies will pop up on just the first page if you search on Google for “eMail newsletter service” and there are links to more in eMail newsletters: “30+ Mailing List Services” (mashable.com/2007/08/10/email-newsletters/).
Weigh Your Options
Sorting out which might be the best option could be the biggest challenge, as most are very closely matched in price, features, and services. The accompanying chart compares features of several providers. The majority let you try them for free, so spend some time testing several to determine which are easiest to learn to use, and which provide the layout and graphic options you like best. An article on the“Wild Apricot Blog” suggests the following features should be considered:
Deliverability. Make sure the provider maintains good relationships with Internet service providers so your newsletters don’t end up in the subscriber’s spam folder.
List Building/Autoresponder. Does the software automatically collect eMail addresses with subscribe/unsubscribe options for users?
HTML Templates. This is how you get creative in the layout but maintain consistency from one newsletter to the next.
Advance Scheduling. Write your newsletter at your convenience and schedule it to be eMailed at a different time.
Tracking. Determining how effectively your newsletters are distributed and who is reading which articles is much easier with the autotracking reports available through most hosting services.
Another of my equestrian acquaintances, trainer Carolyn Bland, uses VistaPrint (VistaPrint.com) to reach her clients. She commented, “It was simple to use. I was really happy with the choice of templates and the fact that I could schedule campaigns. It has some limitations but overall worth the $4.99 per month for 250 eMail contacts.”
Newsletters are effective tools for regularly communicating news and information about your produce business with your customers. They can be as simple as a sheet or two of black and white copy, or an elaborate multi-page, full color, glossy publication. Hosted newsletter services provide a great compromise, quickly and more effectively getting your news to your customers via eMail.
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