A newsletter is the most important marketing you can do for your company. It’s the best way to communicate and keep in touch with your customers. Heather Musingo and Peggy Farren will give you ideas of what to write in your photography newsletter, and how to make the newsletter a success for you. This episode of the Understand Photography Show is full of tips for making this easy marketing tool work for you.
Episode 172
How to Grow Your Photography Business
with an Email Newsletter
“A newsletter is the most important and cost-effective
marketing tool you have.”
Why Do I Need a Newsletter?
- Keep yourself and your brand in front of customers.
- Increase customer awareness of current happenings within your company.
- Promote new products or services – or remind customers of the products and services you provide.
- Help build a relationship with your customers – when people know you (and like you) they are more apt to do business with you.
- Demonstrate your expertise.
- It forces you to keep your website up to date.
Who do I send it to?
- Start with family and friends.
- Collect names on a sign-in sheet at art fairs, gallery openings, speaking engagements, classes or workshops.
- Give an option to sign up for a newsletter on your website. If they express an interest in your company, add them to your mailing list!
- You need to have (at least) implied permission. They can (and WILL) unsubscribe at any time.
Make It Work for You
- Title and subtitle are very important. Make it catchy and creative and UN-spamlike. Give them a clue to the content of the newsletter.
- Have a goal or focus to each newsletter. What do I want to announce/sell?
- Think about who your customers are and what they want. Gear your newsletter to your customers.
- It can’t be ALL sales – you need to GIVE your customers something in return for their attention.
- Include tips or articles of interest. For articles, give a teaser sentence or two, them let them click a link to your website for more.
- Space educational blocks in between sales blocks.
- Try to keep it conversational rather than formal – you’re trying to build a relationship.
- Keep blocks of information short. Leave breathing room to make it easy to read.
- Add eye-catching pictures. Keep them varied and relevant to the article.
- Separate blocks of information with dividers or different color backgrounds.
- Keep it simple – don’t use more than 2 fonts.
- Every block should have a call to action – a clickable link (to your website) for more information. CHECK EVERY LINK BEFORE YOU SEND!!
- Include your contact information and website.
What else can I include?
- Upcoming events or speaking engagements.
- Articles that discuss important issues, contain valuable information or advice.
- Highlight any new work or series. (People also love to see “behind the scenes” and “works in progress”.)
- Tell a story about a piece.
- Talk about why you use specific materials, papers, printers, or frames.
- Highlight a favorite vendor.
- Personal stuff – in moderation. People want to get to know you, but keep it short.
Software to Make it Easy
- Email servers will not allow you to send to a large number of people – it will be marked as spam.
- Mailchimp – recommended to start, free.
- Constant Contact
- AWeber
- Infusion Soft (Keap)
- Convert Kit
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Gear Recommendation of the Week
Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Coating
B+W’s F-Pro HTC Kaesemann Circular Polarizer MRC is a screw-mount filter available in 20 different sizes to fit mounts from 37-120 mm. The filter ring is brass. Polarizers are used in photography to eliminate reflections on glass or water and to saturate colors, particularly blue skies, also by eliminating reflections. Polarizers block certain orientations of polarized light. You need to rotate them in order to block the orientation that will eliminate glare.