Keeping Your Newsletter Effective When You’re Starting Your Concierge Business
Here are the most frequently asked questions about writing and sending a regular newsletter from your concierge business:
Question: Should I send an email newsletter even though I’m just starting my concierge business?
Answer: Yes! It’s important to invite people to join your mailing list from day one and communicate regularly. Whether your concierge business service has two customers or 200, email is the most cost-effective marketing you can do. But don’t underestimate its value simply because it’s inexpensive. Your newsletter needs to be a visible reminder to your clients (past, present, and future) of your company’s commitment to excellence.
Question: What should I talk about in my newsletter?
Answer: Be interesting and informative—just like in your blogs. The most effective newsletters limit the marketing and sales jargon and concentrate on content that valuable information. Give tips. Talk about local events your readers will be interested in. Share a behind-the-scenes story. Your ultimate goal may be to make a sale, but first you need to build a relationship with your readers/prospects so they trust you and your ability to help them manage their lives.
Question: How often should I send a newsletter?
Answer: This is the number one question people ask. Send your newsletter regularly enough that your readers don’t forget about you and your company, but not so often that your readers report your emails as spam. Most newsletters are sent monthly, but anything between every two weeks to every two months is acceptable. It really depends on how much good content you have. Better to be less frequent with great content, than more frequent with boring, drab content.
Question: How do I know if my newsletter is successful?
Answer: Most newsletter programs will give you feedback or metrics on your mailings that you can analyze. Here are the big three to look at:
- Delivery: The ratio of the number of emails that didn’t bounce to the number of emails sent.
- Open Rate: The ratio of number of people opening to number of emails delivered.
- Unique Click Rate: The ratio of people who clicked links to the number of emails delivered.
The goals I have for my personal concierge company are for 95% delivery rate, 30% open rate, and at least 10% click rate. Set your own goals and monitor your performance..
Question: When should I send my newsletter?
Answer: My newsletters do best when they’re delivered on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between 10:00am and 4:00pm. Experiment and then analyze your results.
Question: Any other tips?
Answer: You bet!
- Make sure you have a good subject line. A bad subject line would be: “March Newsletter”. A good subject line would be: “The Ideas of March: 3 ways to save money at the grocery store” Say something that will at least get your newsletter subscribers to scan your newsletter
- Make sure your email’s “from” line has a name your reader recognizes. Maybe it’s you. Maybe it’s your company. Maybe it’s the three people’s first names who work at your company followed by your company name. Just be recognizable. It’s rarely a good idea to use acronyms like From: AYS [instead of At Your Service].
- Know the rules. In the USA the law is Can-Spam, in Europe the Directives on Electronic Communications. Google them for details.
Have more questions? Ideas? Share them with us here or email The Instant Concierge for a personal response.