How smashing would it be if money followed you wherever you went?
Here's some anecdotal evidence of the money pulling power of email newsletter
We've been working with a new client, and they sent out a newsletter a couple of days ago with remarkable results. (Disclaimer: We're too new on the scene with this client to have had any input at all in the newsletter yet, so what follows is nothing to do with us.)
They'd been averaging X sales per day through their online shop (even though the client gave us their blessing, we think it would be too easy for some people to figure out who they are, so we don't want to give exact figures). After the newsletter went out, sales immediately increased four-fold, adding up to revenue totalling a digit with lots of zeros behind it. (Not enough zeros for a football team, but you would be able to field most of a basketball team.)
If you've got an online shop, but don't have a newsletter, does this give you pause for thought?
Get More Sign-ups
Another tip for you if you have an online shop.
One of the most effective ways we've found for increasing sign ups is to place a subscription option at checkout.
Here's an example:
Irresistible Content by Others
Perhaps you've seen this already? It's mind blowing and is a fine example of originality. Original content is hard to come up with, but when you do, the results can be spectacular.
Types of Photography for Your Newsletter
[1] The straightforward product shot
This kind of picture is mainly about enlightening the reader.
Content should enlighten (“X exists”), educate (“This is what X does”), empower (“This is how you use X effectively”), encourage ("Buy X"), or entertain (“Look at these muppets making a complete mess of everything when they use X incorrectly”). So a picture like this could be used to enlighten the reader: we sell this product.
Key thing: if the product is relatively expensive (but totally worth it, this sloe gin by Ballyvolane House Spirits Company Limited is heavenly*), the photography needs to reflect that. Even if it’s just a simple picture like this one. So it needs to be crisp and clean, almost like a formal portrait.
[2] Eye candy
Sometimes an item in your newsletter just needs an attractive picture. The words provide the education, enlightenment, encouragement, empowerment or entertainment—and the picture is there as supporting eye candy.
Also, people like to see pretty pictures, so they tick the entertainment box in their own right.
[3] Enticement
Here's an example of a product shot that is designed to make you want to do something. In this instance, the photograph says, "Eat this pizza." At least, I hope it does. It may also put the suggestion in your head to take yourself to where this pizza is sold, order one, and then eat it. Either way, you're eating pizza. Unless you're lactose intolerant. Then don't eat pizza. You won't like it.
TIP: daylight on an overcast day, by a large window is often enough to give you an attractive photograph.
[4] Several at once
This photograph is intended to do several things:
1. Educate 1: we make this oyster dish. (It's divine.)
2. Educate 2: we sell it in our tapas bar. (Doesn't it look nice & cosy?)
3. Encourage: You should come here to eat this divine dish in our nice & cosy tapas bar. (Seriously, what are waiting for?)
*We’ve done work with Ballyvolane House Spirits Company Limited. We love them and their gin to bits. Roger took the picture. (He took all of these pictures.)
Life Beyond the Inbox
Your newsletters have a shelf life after they've flown the coop. They may only live in your subscribers' inboxes for a few days, possibly even unopened before they are deleted, but they have other uses outside the inbox.
Here are four ways in which you can squeeze more out of your newsletters:
1. Turn your newsletter into a blog post. Here's our last dispatch on the Show and Tell blog: Dispatch, 30th September, 2022. This is a simple way to add SEO juice to your site.
2. Create social media posts from snippets of your blog. (In fact, our newsletter starts life as individual posts. We curate the best each month into this dispatch.
3. Did you know that most, if not all, newsletter servicess create a web-based version of each issue of your newsletter? Mailchimp* adds a sign up link, as well as a link to previous issues. It also generates a QR code that you can use to promote individual issues
4. You can curate your best posts into a downloadable e-book or PDF, or a printed book even. You can offer this in turn as a free incentive for people to subscribe to your newsletter.
* While this is a useful feature provided by Mailchimp, don't take this as an endorsement.
Your next step...
May we ask a favour? If you know anyone you think would enjoy reading this newsletter, would you forward it on to them? Thank you ever so much.
Also, if you have any feedback, we'd love to hear it. This is your direct line to us: hello@showandtell.ie.
Until next month.