Newsletters are a very direct way for you to communicate with your customers. They’ve given you their email address and they want to hear from you, which makes your newsletter a direct channel less susceptible to the whims of the infamous algorithms. That said, a few things make a real difference.
There are lots of tools out there for sending newsletters so I won’t attempt to give setup instructions, but some things are universally true.
1. Be consistent
Send your newsletter regularly at least once a month.
2. Go for it
The danger of overthinking things is that then they don’t happen. These are your customers who love your venue enough to say yes to you sending them an email, and they almost certainly want to know:
- If you have changed your menu
- If you have a new member of staff
- If you are experimenting with a nice new supplier
- If you want to share a recipe
- If you have won an award
- If you have a special event or offer
Remember to add a direct link or big button to book a table, view your menu, or order online. Don’t make them hunt for it.
There are loads of things you can write about and you only need to pick one. Short and sweet can be good, as can a longer story. Whatever you feel you can commit to regularly.
3. Make a very obvious unsubscribe button
I know this feels counterintuitive but if you make it easy for people to unsubscribe, when they do, they won’t report you as spam, which is very important. Don’t hide unsubscribe in tiny letters at the bottom of your newsletter.
4. Set up a welcome automation
All newsletter tools allow you to do this one way or another. A quick welcome, preferably with a link to your website, tells the spam filters that your recipient is interested in your newsletter and wants to read it. Welcome emails consistently get the highest open rates of any email you’ll ever send, so make the most of that initial wave of interest.
5. Clean up your mailing list
If you have people that haven’t opened your newsletter for a year, stop sending to them. Modern spam filters are far less patient than they used to be, and keeping unengaged subscribers around is not great for your reputation with spam filters. If it means losing a few subscribers, so what. Better fewer engaged recipients than more spam filters seeing you as uninteresting or nuisance content.
Most importantly, send your newsletter.
Here at Restaurants Brighton we send consumer facing and industry facing newsletters.
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