A newsletter is a printed report containing news (information) of the activities of a business (legal name; subscription business model) or an organization (institutions, societies, associations) that is sent by mail regularly to all its members, customers, employees or people, who are interested in. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of interest to its recipients. A newsletter may be considered grey literature. E-newsletters are delivered electronically via e-mail and can be viewed as spamming if sent unsolicited.
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History
It is hard to pinpoint what exactly the first newsletter is; there are some records of newspapers in the 15th century using the language "newsletter". What we know today as newsletters started somewhere in the 20th century. More particular, in 1947 the booming post World War II economy brought on the idea of "Magazine Industry Newsletter", which later became known as min. They aimed to attract subscribers from newspapers, radio, television, etc. This is what the newsletter was in the pre-digital age. They were in the form of magazines that came out in weekly, biweekly, and monthly forms. What made min different was the way it was written. It was written in the familiar instead of the formal, use of nicknames and familiarity with their clientele was often used; this made the consumer feel more involved with the company and part of a select few. Min continued through the 1950's and is still around today. They made the transition to digital marketing in 1997, making sure to stay up to date with the times and changing industry.
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Newsletters in Marketing
When written and used correctly, newsletters can accomplish multiple things for a business. This includes building awareness for the business and product, expanding the customer base, encourage repeat business, and introducing new products, saving the company business in the process.
They can offer information about updates about the business and its people. This may include recent charity work the company has participated in, or new products the company is planning to launch, etc. It allows it subscribers to be getting the "inside scoop" to what is going on with the company. Some newsletters offer "help sections"; This depends on the business. For example a bank may offer a piece on "How to Save Money" or "5 Ways to Help Build Credit". These help sections usually have relation to the business, but makes the subscribers feel the business is looking out for them.
E-mail marketing is the main medium for companies to distribute their newsletter. It is at a low cost to the business, easy to track and it has a high acceptance level. About 39% of businesses use telephone and 3.5% use postal mail. E-mail newsletters are used for brand reinforcement, product testing, promotional offers, and customer surveys. Many newsletters are customized to target specific segments for responses.
Criteria For a Newsletter
Although there are no two newsletters that are exactly the same, there are general guidelines and criteria to follow when a company distributes a newsletter. Each newsletter should be tailored to that specific companies importance of client retention, number of clients, costs, and goals of the overall newsletter. A newsletter can be distributed twice a month, once a month, biyearly, etc. Although email is the choice for many companies now a days, it can also be done by print, or both. Print newsletter are typically sent out at least every 90 days. The newsletter can be sent to everyone on the recipient list, or a specific group of individuals if it is a targeted segment. Each company's newsletter will more or less have the same design per issue to keep the brand consistent. Most newsletters keep content sweet and short to keep the recipient interested in the material.
Disadvantages and Arguments Against Newsletters
Some marketers argue that newsletter make it extremely hard to communicate and build real relationships with clients. They are more informative than real relationship builders. The argument is that newsletters rely too much on the idea that the content of the newsletter will inspire the recipients to do business with them. With over flooding email boxes, it is hard to say whether the newsletters will really generate sales.
References
See also
- Advertising
- Advertising (online)
- Consumer protection
- Freedom of Information
- Information privacy
- Marketing
- Phishing
- Social engineering
- Tracking
Source of article : Wikipedia
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