Strangely,
after it has proven itself to be a leading marketing tool, ezine publishing is
still one of the most underutilized online business building methods. Beyond the
fact that it is efficient and cost-effective, the intimacy of email provides
ecommerce merchants with an extraordinary advantage over offline, more
traditional forms of marketing communications.
Agreeably, email is still
in its infancy and there's still a lot of ground to cover. First, email will
become more effective as time goes on, especially once "spam" becomes a nonissue
-- not because it is unethical, tasteless, unprofessional, illegal (for some)
and all the other negative adjectives associated with spam, but because it is
simply not profitable in the long term.
But second, new and interactive
technologies are now being developed that will make ezine publishing an even
more effective marketing tool in the coming years if not months. We have barely
scratched the surface in terms of harnessing the power of email let alone the
web, and the need to start using this yet greatly untapped resource is
overwhelming.
Where the marketer's axiom used to be "publish or perish,"
the advent of the Internet has changed it to "publish now
or perish later." In fact, the web used to be a place that embraced (and even fostered)
change. But soon it will become a crucible consisting of only those who create
it, therefore leaving the slow starters behindÂ… Way
behind.
Nevertheless,
having one's own newsletter (or at the very least a regularly published mailing
to an opt-in subscriber-base) is a powerful way to attract not only prospects
but also referral sources, affiliates and centers-of-influence. It is powerful
in that a newsletter doesn't outright promote one's company or product, but
one's expertise and value in the marketplace.
A newsletter is often more
effective than an advertisement or brochure because the publisher is
demonstrating its expertise in its particular field rather than stating it
outright. Similar to public relations for example, ezine publishing is sometimes
more effective because it comes from an apparently objective third party -- in
other words, like a newspaper reporter's article a newsletter reads more like an
educational tool rather than some self-serving commercial.
And therein
lies the key: People are constantly bombarded with commercial messages
everywhere they go -- especially online. But a constant supply of solid
information that attempts to educate readers rather than promote something to
them will place a higher degree of credibility in the prospect's mind on the
company from which the information originates.
As my mentor in the
professional speaking business once told me, "Don't be a speaker, be an expert
who speaks. Don't be a consultant, be an expert who consults. Don't be a writer,
be an expert who writes." I would add: "Don't be a online merchant, be an expert
in the field (or on the product) one merchandises." Essentially, be an expert or
a consultant, not a retailer.
That same mentor also told me, "Implication
is more powerful than specification." Again, one should aim at being perceived
as (and not specifying that one is) an expert in a specific niche or industry.
The newsletter therefore, especially if it's free, can inform prospective
clients of what a company is all about before people actually make the buying
decision. That "buying decision" may very well be as simple as referring another
client -- and repeat and referral sales are indeed where the bulk of most
companies' profits are often realized.
But the idea in delivering
information through an ezine is nonetheless to target a specific audience, and
to have the people who read the ezine want more and come forward to get it. With
information being one the major shifts the business world has experienced, the
ezine can also help make a company's presence known in a quicker and more
inexpensive way.
In other words, the newsletter not only uses the more
economical email system but it also delivers that information to eager
subscribers in a matter of seconds. More important, it builds relationships and,
in this day and age where consumers are more leery than ever, by offering a
personalized approach it will position a company as one with a stronger customer
focus.
Relationship marketing enables marketers to be in front of their
prospects more and more often. If subscribers happen to need a marketer's
products or services at any given time, or if they come to know anyone who does,
the marketer is there, in front of them, when their time is right. Like a
lightning bolt, the thought of a specific company (one that maintains a
relationship with the subscriber) will come immediately to mind when the need
presents itself.
"Out of sight is out of mind," as they
say.
Finally, publishing a newsletter helps to position a company very
effectively in the mind. Whether the subscriber will or not buy right now from
the marketer, maintaining a constant contact also creates top-of-mind awareness. The continuous flow of information between publisher and potential
client (or referrer of clients) can help to reinforce the unique, competitive
advantage a company has over others within the same category.
Publishing
an electronic newsletter should never be considered as a business expense. In a
hypercompetitive marketplace that changes at the speed of electricity, one
satiated with cautious, more educated and sophisticated click-happy consumers,
it is an investment.
In reality, *not* publishing one is the true
expense.
