A newsletter or e-zine is a great tool for an e-commerce business. Studies have indicated that the main reason customers will no longer buy from you is a lack of communication. If you want to hold onto the customers you already have, it's important to build a stronger relationship with them using a newsletter program as your main source of communication. As soon as you have a continuous relationship with your customers, it becomes a lot easier to continue selling to them over and over again.
There are a number of elements you need to include and different factors to keep in mind when building your own newsletter program. Here are some key features a good e-commerce website newsletter should have:
There are several advantages for having a website newsletter in addition to your online store. The main purpose of having a newsletter program is to build customer loyalty and get more repeat business. Studies have shown that existing customers on average spend 33% more than new customers and those that participate in customer loyalty programs generally will spend 4x as much. Your website newsletter does a great job of constantly reminding people of your store's brand and getting them familiar with your new products. Without a newsletter, people tend to forget about your ecommerce store almost immediately after they make a purchase. Don't count on your customers to actively visit your site on an ongoing basis to find out about new product offerings or promotions. That is why it's so important to have a newsletter program, it is one of the best forms of communication that an e-commerce business can have. Your list of subscribers contains the most targeted market available. They have already bought from you, they know and trust your business, they clearly have an interest in your products and there's a much higher likelihood that they will buy from you over a new customer. Your subscribers will also be appreciative of the fact that they are among the first people to be informed about new products, promotions or discounts.
A good e-commerce solution should be able to offer basic features for setting up a website newsletter program for your online store. Here is a list of important things to look for:
Besides having your website newsletter opt-in box prominently displayed on your homepage and within your checkout, there are a number of other methods you can use to build your subscriber list. It's crucial for visitors to be able to see your newsletter sign up information on every page that they land on. This can be done by displaying either an opt-in box, banner, image link or text link on the header, footer or sidebar of your ecommerce web site. You can also include a 'Tell a Friend' page or have it appear after checkout to collect names and emails of your current customers' friends. Other methods of building your website newsletter program mailing list include setting up contests where contestants have to enter their emails and the winner gets a prize from your online store. This is a marketing technique used by a lot of well known online retailers and it really does help build your list quickly. You can market your contest on blogs, forums and other social media websites.
There are a number of elements you need to include and different factors to keep in mind when building your own newsletter program. Here are some key features a good e-commerce website newsletter should have:
- Feature announcement of brand new products
- Offer customers special promotions or discounts
- Make sure the layout of your newsletter matches that of your website, including header and tabs
- Keep it concise, less content is better
- Deliver your newsletter in a timely manner, avoid sending out too many or too little
- Include important information related to your products such as consumer reports or recent news
- Include multiple calls to action such as banners, text links and buttons that sends the subscriber directly to specific pages on your website
- Include an 'Unsubscribe' link in the footer area of every newsletter and make sure a form is included on the unsubscribe page asking for feedback
There are several advantages for having a website newsletter in addition to your online store. The main purpose of having a newsletter program is to build customer loyalty and get more repeat business. Studies have shown that existing customers on average spend 33% more than new customers and those that participate in customer loyalty programs generally will spend 4x as much. Your website newsletter does a great job of constantly reminding people of your store's brand and getting them familiar with your new products. Without a newsletter, people tend to forget about your ecommerce store almost immediately after they make a purchase. Don't count on your customers to actively visit your site on an ongoing basis to find out about new product offerings or promotions. That is why it's so important to have a newsletter program, it is one of the best forms of communication that an e-commerce business can have. Your list of subscribers contains the most targeted market available. They have already bought from you, they know and trust your business, they clearly have an interest in your products and there's a much higher likelihood that they will buy from you over a new customer. Your subscribers will also be appreciative of the fact that they are among the first people to be informed about new products, promotions or discounts.
A good e-commerce solution should be able to offer basic features for setting up a website newsletter program for your online store. Here is a list of important things to look for:
- Have a built-in newsletter program in your store admin allowing you to create and send newsletters directly from your web interface
- Collect names, emails and other information that you specify
- Have the ability to verify whether or not email addresses are valid
- Have the ability to customize the design of your newsletter
- Give subscribers the ability to unsubscribe at any time
- Include a special newsletter sign up feature in the checkout area
Besides having your website newsletter opt-in box prominently displayed on your homepage and within your checkout, there are a number of other methods you can use to build your subscriber list. It's crucial for visitors to be able to see your newsletter sign up information on every page that they land on. This can be done by displaying either an opt-in box, banner, image link or text link on the header, footer or sidebar of your ecommerce web site. You can also include a 'Tell a Friend' page or have it appear after checkout to collect names and emails of your current customers' friends. Other methods of building your website newsletter program mailing list include setting up contests where contestants have to enter their emails and the winner gets a prize from your online store. This is a marketing technique used by a lot of well known online retailers and it really does help build your list quickly. You can market your contest on blogs, forums and other social media websites.
Selecting the right e-commerce solution with an available newsletter program is crucial for opening up channels of communication with your customers. You must have a solid newsletter feature to simplify the process of creating and sending it out to your subscribers.
What you need is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. One that lets you set up your store in minutes, and provides powerful tools to help with not only creating a website newsletter, but also SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce. Check out the best possible e-commerce solutions available at http://www.makeanonlinestore.com and try them out yourself absolutely free, no credit card required!
What you need is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. One that lets you set up your store in minutes, and provides powerful tools to help with not only creating a website newsletter, but also SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce. Check out the best possible e-commerce solutions available at http://www.makeanonlinestore.com and try them out yourself absolutely free, no credit card required!