Should a small business have a newsletter?

Social media decides who sees your posts. Email does not. A newsletter is a list of people who asked to hear from you, and it belongs to you. For many small businesses it is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to bring customers back.

When a newsletter makes sense

• Repeat customers: restaurants, salons, shops, service businesses with regular visits.
• Seasons and events: guest houses, venues, artists, businesses with seasonal offers.
• Products or services that change: new menus, new collections, new dates.
• A longer decision: people who are not ready to buy now but might be in a few months.

If your customers buy once in ten years and never think about you in between, a newsletter is less useful.

What to send

Useful or interesting, never just "buy now":

• news: new services, new dates, opening hours over the holidays
• offers for subscribers only
• short tips related to what you do
• a look behind the scenes: a new team member, a finished project

One good email a month is better than a weekly email nobody opens.

How to start

In the EU, collecting and using email addresses falls under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) [1].

1. Add a simple sign-up form to your website: an email field and one sentence about what people will get. Our artist and event guide shows where it fits best.
2. Use an email service made for newsletters, so emails arrive properly and people can unsubscribe with one click.
3. Ask for permission clearly. Under GDPR, people must actively agree to receive marketing emails, and you must be able to show it.
4. Send the first email within a few weeks, while people still remember signing up.

Do not buy lists

Never buy email addresses or add people without their consent. It breaks the rules, damages your reputation and the emails mostly end up in spam. The big email services are strict about it: Mailchimp's rules forbid sending to purchased or rented lists [2], and Gmail requires bulk senders to offer one-click unsubscribe and keep spam complaints very low [3].

A newsletter is a direct line to people who already like you. Use it rarely and well.

Part of a bigger picture

A newsletter works best together with a website that people want to come back to. See how a website can grow your sales and how to measure what your website brings in. We can add a sign-up form to your site as one of its next versions: see our monthly plan.

References

1. EUR-Lex (European Union). "Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – General Data Protection Regulation." eur-lex.europa.eu
2. Mailchimp (Intuit). "Acceptable Use Policy." mailchimp.com
3. Gmail Help. "Email sender guidelines." support.google.com