So, you’ve got a few things you’d like to say to your regular customer base (and blog readership). But how should you go about it?
For some, email (or e-newsletter) is an alternative to a blog. It’s a way to keep in touch with insightful commentary that goes out to your audience, instead of asking them to click their way to your post.
Not a bad idea. Still, you could drive yourself right out of relevancy if you tried to follow all the best practices the gurus push your way.
What’s your publishing schedule, for example? You’ll find lots of advice on how many times a week, a month, whatever. What you decide for your own schedule should be built around the value you offer customers from your contact – as well as the reasonable expectation for what you can get done in a regular timeframe.
The truth is, many people don’t want to hear from their contractor 5 times a week (unless they’re got a big home improvement project underway). So don’t believe that you have to post often in order to be valued. Some people are valued because their comments are always well timed.
Also, don’t discount your own views about what you like in order to take as gospel someone else’s theory. For example, you may prefer to include the body of an article within your email instead of asking your visitors to click through – even if that violates the best practice of measuring click-through rates.
And as you well know, marketing is rightfully geared to the customer’s question, “What’s in it for me?” But that doesn’t mean that your blog or email can’t be about what you want to read. When you write about what’s important to you, you’re more likely to be more engaged with your material, and your enthusiasm shows through. Exception: politics, religion, tasteless jokes, and in some cases, sports rivalries.