4 Tips for a Successful Email Newsletter

The benefits of email newsletters and email marketing to integrators are numerous.

It's free. It's direct. It's trackable (at least, to a certain extent).

Tim Palladino of Dutchess County, N.Y.- Maven Audio Visual is one integrator attracted to the potential of email newsletters. "It's a matter of hitting the lead," he says. "If we get that one guy and then we get his friend, he'll pass our name around -- business will be perpetual."

While Maven may be considering email marketing, Palladino admits he doesn't like being the recipient of spam. He quips, "I hate those emails. I don't need a life coach," he laughs, referring to a recent piece of unsolicited e-marketing. "I appreciate the offer, but it's not what I could use."

According to Cindy Davis, publisher and editor-in-chief of Boston-based Custom CE Communications, crafting email marketing materials is an art best left to contracted professionals. Nevertheless, not every integrator can afford to outsource such marketing initiatives.

Davis offers some professional advice to e-marketing DIY-ers:

Don't Be a Geek The major mistake that email newsletter creators make, Davis says, is in focusing too much on technology. Tech-talk can be a foreign language to a potential client.

"Consumers really don't need to know everything about the technology," she explains. "Most importantly they just need to know the benefits."

Focus on Lifestyle How will your products or services improve the standard of living for a potential client? How will an installation affect their everyday routine?

"I honestly don't see a lot of newsletters out there that talk about the lifestyle benefits," Davis says.

Interview Clients Integrators that make their own e-marketing materials need to get real-world quotes, says Davis. "They should be interviewing their clients."

Don't just write about how great an installation was, or how big or how cutting-edge; get those past clients to tell the story. "It's not about what you did; it's about what you did for the client," she explains.

K.I.S.S. Simplicity is key, says Davis. Control systems and A/V systems can be hard to explain. If the messaging isn't simple, engaging and exciting, "they're just not going to read it," she says.

When and if it does come time for Maven Audio Visual to launch a full-on email campaign, Palladino says he will rely on his local Chamber of Commerce.

"They'll sell us a list of email addresses of the members," he says. "Then, we may buy email blasting software."