I own a hair salon. Typically, November is my busiest season. It has been SO quiet. A lot of my colleagues are also saying the same thing and have had to close up shop because of it - or get a second job.
People keep saying it will get better and the economy will bounce back but I don’t know. I am so close from just throwing in the towel, closing up shop and getting a corporate gig.
Email marketing for the win!
I try to make my newsletters fun (for my customers) to read, with good photography and a friendly feel. I regularly get comments that my newsletter is the only one they’ll read in its entirety, which is my goal! Because I have a website (Wix) that lets me see results, I know how many people received the e-mail, how many times they clicked, how many times they put things in their cart, and how many times orders were completed. It’s all automated, so it’s just amazing to me. What a great time to be a small online retailer!
I’m so impressed with all your comments. You have this business thing down. I’m shooting to be as put together and on top of things as you are. I have someone creating a newsletter for me. Now I’m wondering if I should spend the time doing my own. What tools do you use to create the newsletter in, email it, and track it? Where do you get the photographs? How do you decide what to write about and what to include? I’m in Concierge Healthcare, so I’m trying to imagine how to make these topics fun. 😊
Ooh, yeah, so I run a hobby business, so the fun thing is kind of built in, as I sell what people like to do in their spare time! :) My website is on the Wix platform, and so they have templates you can use (some are even seasonal) and pictures you can use, but I make them “from scratch” using my own photographs that I take with my iPhone and edit on my Mac. Wix keeps track of my mailing list (people can sign up on my home page). I can also choose to send newsletters to customers who have left their e-mail addresses.
Typically, I write about what’s new (products), things I’m working on (I design and sell my patterns retail and wholesale), talk about what I’m up to, or things going on in the industry. I thank my customers/supporters. I also have a YouTube channel and Instagram account.
Healthcare is a tricky topic. I sometimes get newsletters about things like insurance and healthcare, and they typically go in my trash. You might explore how you can work value into your newsletter. A lot of times these kinds of messages look generic/mass-produced. Tailoring it to your audience is important. Make the information easy-to-digest, watch your spelling/grammar, and use original photos when possible. Anything that looks kind of generic isn’t going to be what people want to read.
All good points! Thanks! Happy creating!
We get such great click through rates on our newsletters. They only go out once every month or two and they usually talk about some design advice or covering recent project work. Mostly goes to past clients and people we’ve worked with. The “top of mind” referral value from them is big. One potential client called us the day we sent a newsletter as a friend of theirs who was a past business relationship who gets our newsletter recommend us to them.