Is Your Website Enough? How Websites And Newsletters Work Together For More Profits
January 30th, 2008 by admin
According to the Kelsey Group, 70% of U.S. households now use the internet as an information source when shopping for products and services. In fact, according to Jupiter Research, having a website is imperative in the dialogue between retailers and consumers. They estimate that online sales are only 5% of the total retail market but about 30% of retail sales are researched online prior to purchase.
What does this mean to your company?
It certainly means that you need a website, but even more than that it shows just how important an e-newsletter is to your marketing campaign. Why do you need both? Because they both provide your customer with information about your company. If done correctly, each will entice your customers to purchase your products and services. In fact, if you provide your customers the ability to purchase online then your website goes one step further than a newsletter ever could.
What is the benefit of having an e-newsletter?
Newsletters build credibility by providing potential customers with valuable information on a timely and consistent basis, but they’re also an integral part of your marketing campaign. While your website offers valuable information about your company, your products, and your services; your e-newsletter can delve deeper into your buyer’s concerns, interests, desires, and needs.
Your customer might go to your website to find out what products you offer, but your newsletter can show how a specific product can benefit a certain area of your customer’s life. A manufacturer of roofing products for the construction industry might detail their products and benefits on their website but a newsletter article could detail how a particular roofing product could speed up actual construction time and thus lower the overall job cost saving prospective clients time and money.
Newsletters can also build customer loyalty. Despite the vast number of e-newsletters pouring into inboxes on a daily basis, people enjoy being part of a community, being kept informed, and being valued as a customer. Sending your valued clients and prospects regular updates and offers on your products or services as well as information to better their lives, involves them and brings them into your corporate community. Moreover, if you provide a question and answer feature in your newsletter, it shows them that you value their concerns.
How Your Website and E-Newsletter can work together.
On the internet, there are two crucial methods of acquiring sales, the first is to generate traffic to your website and the second is to convert your website visitors into customers. While your website may drive traffic to your store or business, your e-newsletter can serve to drive traffic to your website in a variety of ways.
- Newsletter Archives and Search Engine Optimization. When potential customers begin their research process they often start with a search engine. An archive of newsletter articles that match their key words brings them directly to your website where they may read the plethora of articles that you have on the relative subject matter. The longer that you keep this potential customer at your site, the more likely they are to make a purchase.
- More effective than simply waiting for potential prospects to find your website on a search engine, your newsletter will bring them to it. Providing valuable information and including a forward to a friend option in your newsletter and you have the ability to widen your prospect base and thus widen the potential number of visitors to your website.
- Newsletters are a valuable tool for evaluating your customers’ buying habits. Tracking what your customers and prospects read in each newsletter can give you insight on how to optimize your product selection, placement, and help to focus future marketing initiatives.
- While your website makes the front end sale or sends the customer to your store, newsletters provide you the opportunity to build on your relationship with your customer and encourage future sales. It increases the lifetime value of your customer.
While, there’s no doubt about the importance of a website, an e-newsletter can prove to be a valuable marketing tool to, not only drive traffic to your website but to also build relationships with current and prospective customers.
Annette Elton is a professional copywriter specializing in creating powerful internet and email marketing copy. She is also the author of Profit Building E-Zines, a book
For more information on how an e-newsletter can impact your business contact Annette@profitbuilding ezines.com
Tags: e-newsletters, e-zines, email marketing, ezine publishing, marketing enewsletters, marketing ezines
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