Eight Reasons to Distribute Your Content Electronically
Newsletters may conjure up images of printed sheets of paper, folded and dropped in the mail—but marketers increasingly rely on e-mail, Web site blogs and Facebook to distribute their newsletters. Whether or not you currently publish a print newsletter, the following are eight reasons you should consider sending a newsletter by e-mail or by posting content regularly to Facebook or your Web site:
Keep in touch between visits. Weeks or months go by between visits or phone calls to your patients, clients or referral sources. If an endodontist or periodontist on the other side of town ramps up marketing efforts, your dental practice might become “out of sight, out of mind.” Whether your field is health care, finance or law, it is important to maintain communication with your sources of revenue. Sent to e-mail inboxes on a regular basis, an e-mail newsletter keeps your name in front of patients, clients and referral sources. Content on your Web site or Facebook page keeps the page fresh and draws people back to it.
Position yourself as a local expert. With the right content, your electronic newsletter establishes your name as the premier specialist in your field. Valuable news sent or posted on a regular basis shows your readers that you are current in your field—whether it be tax law or infertility treatment. An informative newsletter establishes trust in your work and should lead to increased referrals.
Save your valuable time. Unlike a printed newsletter, which often requires a significant design element, Facebook pages and Web sites are based on templates, as are most e-mail newsletters. Insert your content, and it is ready to be read.
Save on printing costs. While printing costs add up, the cost of an electronic newsletter will likely remain the same, whether you reach 50 people or 250. Even if you use an e-mail delivery service such as Constant Contact, your costs will likely be much smaller compared with a printed newsletter. Caveat: Just because you do not invest in print does not mean you should skimp on the content. Spend your money where it is important, on writing and editing, and be sure your content contains valuable, well-written information—or it will be sent to the trash.
Track your results. Regardless of your medium, you should always measure the success of your marketing efforts. When a new patient or client walks through your doors, you should ask how he or she found your practice. If you use software or an e-mail service for your electronic newsletter, you can augment the marketing data you already collect by noting click-through rates, the number of readers who open your newsletter, etc. For your Web site, Google Analytics can provide a wealth of information. This information will be valuable as you continue to develop your marketing plan.
Increase your media exposure. Media and bloggers may come across your content and come to rely on you as a source for information. If you are a financial planner and your newsletter contains information about how new tax laws affect estate planning, a journalist working on a story about retiring baby boomers may want to interview you, thus giving you media exposure as an expert in your community. Similarly, a periodontist with an electronic newsletter about the connections between gum inflammation and heart disease may catch the eye of a local medical reporter. Again, your newsletter positions you as the local expert. If writers in your field contact you for information, be sure to add them to your mailing list.
Boost traffic to your Web site. Regularly updating your Web site will boost your site rankings and keep people coming back to check for updates. If you send an electronic newsletter, be sure that the top or bottom includes a link to your Web site. Also, any time your newsletter relates to information on your Web site, include a link to your site. These steps will encourage readers to visit your site and see what is new.
Generate new leads. The home page of your Web site, as well as every issue of your newsletter, should include a form for those interested in receiving your newsletter. Engaging new readers can lead to additional referral sources, patients or clients for your practice.
Bottom line: Newsletter marketing is not limited to print. Electronic content is a valuable marketing tool.
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