Email newsletters can work wonders for your organization. A proven marketing tool, the email newsletter gives existing and potential customers education through effective content, which then increases brand awareness and more business for the organization. This is why it is important for businesses such as yours to invest in an email newsletter software, as a tool for meeting sales goals.
Business before the Email Newsletter Software
In the past, organizations would assign someone to manually maintain an email list. Saved in a document, this list would contain email addresses of customers and email newsletter subscribers. Once a newsletter is up and ready for sending, whoever is in charge would copy the email addresses from the text document, paste it in the ‘BCC:’ field, attach the newsletter (or paste it in the body of the email) and click send. While this method does work to get the newsletter out, it does not have any solutions for issues like bounced mails or email recipients who wish to unsubscribe from the newsletter.
Fortunately, the days of manually sending email newsletters are over, thanks to the email newsletter software. The software helps in automating almost all the processes needed for managing your email newsletter, so you can focus on the newsletter itself. The greater your content, the better your newsletter becomes, and the more people it draws to your business.
Choosing an Email Newsletter Software: Points to Consider
You need to carefully decide on the software that you will get. There are many newsletter management options available in the market, so arriving at a decision can be a bit tricky. However, you can narrow down your choices by looking at the following considerations:
1. Type of Service. Do you go for a standalone newsletter software or the whole nine yards with an email service provider? An off-the-shelf software is the easier and less expensive choice, especially if your business is just starting and you do not want the recurring cost that you get from an email service provider.
On the other hand, email service providers allow more automation than most software; plus, there are many providers offering affordable web-based applications and regular updates with new features.
2. Provider Reputation. Finding a dirt-cheap newsletter software might prove to be great at first, but not until you start having issues using it. Most low-priced newsletter tools send your newsletters through an email system that is commonly used by other providers as well. The thing about using the same email service provider is that your newsletter can be tagged as spam – so instead of reaching the customer’s inbox, the newsletter goes directly to the Spam folder. What is the use of writing a newsletter that will not be read?
It is only right that you look into the reputation of the provider before getting any service. Look for one that is known to address issues and potential problems that might prevent your newsletters from reaching the customer’s inbox.
3. Included Features. Of course, you want an email newsletter software that will give you value-added features like:
- Good HTML Templates. We are not saying you should use the templates that come with the software (although there is no harm in doing that) because you probably have your own customized design, but it would not hurt to have some models that you can base your designs on.
- Tools for Analytics. How many of your recipients have read your newsletter? How many of them have followed through with the links included in your email? How many have unsubscribed from receiving your emails? Who are your best subscribers? Knowing these things will help you improve your newsletter offerings and target your customers better.
- Integration with other Applications. You might also want to consider which software can interact with the other tools you have in place. You might want to have the capability to have your blog posts automatically sent with the newsletter, or to get analytics information into your customer database.
Whatever your choice is, make sure that it is based on your needs and not just on the price. You will be using the software for a long time, so you must invest in a platform that will give you the least issues and biggest benefits.
