Newsletter is the new Instagram, but not fits all

Although social networks are very effective in the expansion and growth of businesses, this effect is not always in harmony with the amount of effort and spending time, cost and resources of some businesses, and its effect is very low.

Businesses such as architects, insurance, construction, industrial, non-profits, charities, and consulting services that have specific audiences are among the types of businesses for which social networks like Instagram are not the best choice for activity.

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Constant changes in the Instagram algorithm, it's crowding with numerous and diverse types of businesses, the slow growth rate and the speed of audience attraction, and the high cost of advertising are among the reasons that have caused many business problems.

Nowadays, becoming famous and getting a large number of audience and followers on Instagram is very difficult and maybe impossible.

For this reason, there are various businesses that should include other types of communication channels with the audience in their marketing strategies.

In the meantime, email marketing or if I want to say it more simply, Enewsletter is one of the best communication tools that can be seriously looked at.

Enewsletter tools

I have talked about different tools for producing and sending newsletters in various articles, but we must keep in mind that the implementation of this strategy goes beyond the choice of tools.

Choosing a tool is perhaps the easiest step. For example, the following list is completely sufficient for any type of business:

1. To immediately launch an electronic newsletter: Substack.com ( Substack )
2. Email marketing tool to get started: Mailchimp.com ( Intuit Mailchimp )
3. Advanced marketing automation tool: Activecampaign.com ( ActiveCampaign )

And apart from this list, you really don't need to spend time and check out many different tools.

But as I said, our work just begins after choosing the tool.

Newsletter design and content

The audience of e-newsletters is not satisfied with receiving shallow content and an image in it. They give us their email address and other personal information and in return, they expect to receive valuable information from us.

Sometimes business managers think that they have to fill this void with complex newsletter design and sending colorful and complex content full of images, but this is an ineffective point of view.

Enewsletters should be designed simply. Like a personal message. There is no need for a complex structure full of buttons, links, images, and CTA. The simple and valuable content of the newsletter increases the probability that it will reach the audience and be opened and read.

My suggestion is to prepare the content of our newsletters for the next three to six months in advance. If we fail in this task, we will definitely not be able to design a detailed newsletter at the last minute, and after some time, we will get tired and disappointed.

Make a list

Note that email newsletter management tools such as Mailchimp.com are very sensitive in adding email addresses. We can't easily add to our list any number of email addresses, some of which we acquired years ago at trade shows and networking events. This work should be done carefully and obsessively and make sure that these people remember us and don't mind being added to our email list.

It is better to explain to them with a polite and friendly email why this newsletter was launched and what content we will publish and why it can be useful and interesting for them and ask them to subscribe to our newsletter.

We must always assure our newsletter subscribers that they can unsubscribe from our list at any time. This message should not be in the smallest font and hidden somewhere. There is no place for kidding or playing smart on this task.

Is it really worth it?

With all this difficulty and effort, isn't it really better to continue the same posting on Instagram?

Well, we should never assume that Instagram and other social networks are completely useless and leave them completely.

But the eNewsletter is a form of effective communication with the audience that gives us the most control. There are almost no complex and constantly changing algorithms that affect our email marketing process. The rate of opening and reading of eNewsletters is much higher than other communication channels, and its audience is more loyal and ready to buy.

Good luck,

Mahmood from Toronto.

twitter.com/mahmoodb.