In my research I have not found many small hairdressing businesses that use email marketing as a technique, and more specifically newsletters – even the most prestigious of businesses with a Central London location… This got me thinking, why?

It could be because businesses feel that they don’t need to, as their competitors don’t either, a lack of financial resources, time constraints and expertise that could mean businesses don’t want to invest into digital resources, and the associated time this would take to implement. The most important factor could be simply because they don’t need to, especially ones with a Central London location, this in itself provides exposure and daily footfall to their premises.

However, if you’re interested in starting email marketing and newsletters, download HubSpots (2014) free and downloadable ‘How to create email newsletters that don’t suck’ which is the ultimate BIBLE for newsletter creation. Topics are indicated below…

OR… create your newsletter here now via Constant Contact (2015)!

Here’s why newsletters are great – according to HubSpot (2014):

• Spread brand awareness (by building habitual communication with your email subscribers, you enable them to recognise your brand/business and associate it with a positive sentiment)
• Leverage existing content (e.g a quick summary of your most popular blog posts and link it to any new news/social media sites)
• Include different types of content (e.g. the same newsletter can contain a blog post, a new offer, social media sites, an announcement of an upcoming event, information about a discount, and a link to a survey)
• Guaranteed reach (unlike social media)

This blog post specifically focuses on newsletters as part of email marketing campaigns, for small hairdressing businesses…
But, this all being said. What are newsletters and what do they contain?

Digital media has greatly impacted the way a marketer reaches today’s modern customer, especially Generation Y. They are the biggest of the generations as well as being the most digitally savvy; who use devices such as laptops, mobile phones, and tablets much more than other generations (Taken-Smith, 2010). As such, newsletters have emerged as an integral form of digital marketing. The main purpose of email newsletters are not only to build relationships, but to also maintain relationships with customers. An email newsletter is an email from a business that communicates announcements about products, services, industry, or general company information. It includes a mix of content, like event reminders, surveys, educational information about your product, service, or industry, and promotions/offers as well as already published content (HubSpot, 2014).

Arguably the most important customer Hairdressers need to consider are Generation Y (Millennials). They are the forefront of the latest trends, fashions and are eager and willing to look their best, especially in relation to the hair and beauty industry. Taken-Smith (2010) found that Generation Y favour email updates, thus newsletters are an excellent way of reaching out to these customers.

Here is a process you can follow for your newsletters:

1. Start by thanking your customers for subscribing to your newsletter: say hello, offer a reward, what they expect from you, as well as frequency (Generation Y consumers strongly favour discounts/coupons according to Taken- Smith (2010))
2. Give them a nudge (include more CTA’s, and main pieces of information)
3. Educate your subscribers about your products (added a new product, or service? – Tell your customers about it)
4. Remind them of your business (any new awards you have received and/or your business growth, to increase your customers brand perception of the company
5. Event emails (e.g. a 1 year anniversary for your customers signing-up and maybe offer them a discount for their remaining businesses, having not unsubscribed, stating any events related to the company; e.g anniversary, or any events your business is holding)

It is important for marketers to rethink their strategies to target Generation Y’ers (Taken-Smith, 2010), due to their hefty size and buying power which is making them extremely attractive for customer industries to target (Taken-Smith, 2010).

Things you’ll need to think about/implement when deciding to enforce your newsletter (HubSpot, 2014):

• Proofread copy
• Create compelling calls-to-action
• Design the newsletter to work for multiple inboxes and devices
• Avoid spam triggers
• Brainstorm clickable subject lines
• Unlike blogging, there’s no redo or update button for newsletters
• You will need to have a lot of content/other stuff going on for a good newsletter
• Look at any competitors email newsletters (what do they include/not include in their content)
• What resources do you have available? (in terms of budget and internal support)

When considering the Generation Y consumer market, creating CTA’s and key messages that stand on your newsletter are key. They want something informational and skimmable to read, so they can quickly decipher if the information is relevant to them and extra sizeable chunks of relevant information.

Also Taken-Smith (2010) found that 73% of Generation Y prefer graphics due to their attention grabbing nature, as well as 50% of them also preferring interactive features and bright colours seize their attention. Although, it was found that including the word ‘free’ into internet advertising/digital marketing was the least attention grabbing feature

You might be thinking email newsletters are the right thing for your company. However, will need to find out whether this would be a good strategic move for your company. This can be done by looking at your competitors and their newsletter examples, and what their successful at.

An example of a hair and beauty newsletter can be seen below, from Strand’s Hairdressing (2015) and here.

The purpose can be to document the latest trends that can be based on certain themes, such as; seasons, make-up, hair. You could especially theme this around any sponsored products your salon might have, like the example above (with Redken)… As well as where you can buy the products (preferably via your site in a clickable and embedded link) to purchase any products you may sell, and to ultimately get customers to make a booking for an appointment at your salon.

Whilst browsing online, I found a really interesting concept, I’d never seen whilst viewing an online newsletter before. Halo (2015) requests you like their social media sites (Facebook and Twitter) prior to viewing their content. This is a really intuitive way of not only getting your content out to new and existing customer, but to also increase your social media presence as-well. Killing 2 birds with 1 stone. View the full example here and view the screenshot below.

However, I signed-up to receive Rush’s email newsletter, and even-though I haven’t received the newsletter through as-of-yet, the below example shows the importance of following up with your customers after they sign-up to your newsletter and welcoming them to your business and their offerings. Rush entices their customers, by giving them an insight into the type of content they will receive, e.g. news articles, exclusive offers/discounts, hair advice and tips, news and fashion trends, as well as visible links to their social media sites. The example also includes CTA’s to find your local salon, which shows a degree of interactivity and personalisation for customers, to directly engage with the email – even with this as a welcome email.

What I think is particularly well done with this example, is their attention grabbing subject line, which is all inclusive (with the inclusion of different languages, displaying a very friendly and inviting tone), which has an optimal display on my mobile device. As well as the opening sentence that summarises the email correctly and informatively. This is something small businesses should consider, how a newsletter, and even the welcome email is read and summarised on different devices. Which may require you to consider what is the key message you want to include as the initial form of correspondence.

If you want further information, to make your newsletter even more effective, visit my other blogs tailored for small businesses, on; subject lines, the benefits of email marketing, email frequency, tone and personalisation.

References
Constant Contact (2015) Create professional emails. [Online] <http://www.constantcontact.com/features/newsletters-templates> [accessed 24 April 2015]

Halo (2015) Halo Hair & Beauty Newsletter – Jan 2015 edition. [Online] <http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=db1f1dd80ea2d63248733e2db&id=180e74a5df> [accessed 22 April 2015]

HubSpot (2014) How to create email newsletters that don’t suck. [Online] <http://offers.hubspot.com/email-newsletters-that-dont-suck> [accessed 23 April 2015]

Strands Hairdressing (2015) 10 hot spring summer trends you need to know. [Online] < http://www.strands-hairdressing.co.uk/strands-news/archive-newsletters/summer-trends/> [accessed 23 April 2015]

Taken-Smith, K. (2010) ‘Digital marketing strategies that Millennials find appealing, motivating, or just annoying’. Journal of Strategic Marketing, [Online] Vol. 19 (Issue 6)