Chicken or the Egg?
Many people never get off the ground with their newsletters because they come to a logical conclusion that fails them. It makes sense that first you should build a list and then you should build a newsletter.
Here are the advantages to building a newsletter first
- You know what you are building so you know what you are offering…you see it
- Your employees buy in, and feel comfortable talking with customers about it.
- You can print copies, and show it to people who might subscribe
- People can get it immediately after signing up
- It’s bad manners to offer it, and then not deliver it for months.
How Frequent?
- The “wise guy” response here is “as often as necessary.” This really is the sage answer. There is no need to build a prison for yourself with the word “every” in it. If you send every week, you will surely be sending filler some weeks. If you restrict yourself to every month, you will miss some great opportunities. My favorite plan is to mail one per month for a theme and a things-to-do-this-month list, then to send additional issues when I have something relevant to say. The two most common unsubscribe reasons are:
- Lack of relevance
- Too frequently mailed
I also recommend a few “impulse” mailers on deck that you can send on a dime. You might consider a rainy day promotion, a snail alert, a frost alert, a “Seminar Today.”
Sales?
Some readers will subscribe to your newsletter to know when there is a sale. However, the majority are subscribing to learn from you. If you want people to open your e-mails then you should have a mix in each newsletter. Tell me something that I didn’t know, give me a creative idea I can do this weekend, and give me an incentive to do it right away.
If your garden center is remarkable because your prices are low, then you are in a very small minority. If you are in the majority, you have likely attracted a clientele that appreciates quality, variety, and knowledge, so you should speak to those points in your newsletter and let the other guys live and die on price.
How many names?
At what point is your newsletter “healthy?” Our newsletters have an approximate read rate of 60%. I like to equate sending 300 emails to having 180 people attend a seminar at your garden center. I treat the number 300 as our first hurdle. I treat the number 500 as a number that warrants co-op from your vendors, so it is another apex where the cost starts to be offset, and the benefits increase. I love the number 1000; it sounds cool, but it feels great. Most of our customers get to 1000 within two years of starting. We have two customers who have about 10,000 each. It is very fun to send those newsletters!
Where can you find content?
There are some great places that will often appreciate your using their work. Please always check first and get permission.
- The Cooperative Extension
- Universities in your area.
- Readers
- Vendors
- Other Garden Centers
- FindArticles.com
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