Building a Studio Newsletter
The most effective method for us to communicate with our clients, and to show our potential customers our amazing work, is through our quarterly direct mail newsletters. Yes, you read it correctly….a newsletter sent as a direct mail piece. Bruce Hudson told us back in 1994 that we needed a newsletter to help set us apart and to show our clients that we care. We took his advice back then and have continued the tradition ever sense.
Our Newsletter
Our design is very trendy utilizing a “scrapbook” approach in our layout. The look appeals to women because that’s whose attention we need to grasp. Each article in the newsletter is designed to be a separate direct mail piece as well as an insert into an email blast. So, essentially we do the work one time and are then able to use it on three different pieces. Having the same presentation on each provides brand recognition as well as campaign cohesiveness.
Prospect Lists
We send the newsletter to our current clients as well as some prospects. To establish our prospect list I go to Experian.com and create a “customer mailing list.” They have an amazing FREE tool that allows you to target specific households based upon your target client’s demographics. We are a high end studio, so when I create my search I use zip codes with higher end homes. From these areas I want families with children that have a specific annual income and above. In real time I’m shown how many addresses fit my criteria as my demographic data is manipulated. When the number of addresses gets to where I want, I order my “multi-use” list, which can then be used several times.
Mailing Costs
The cheap part of a newsletter is having it produced. The expensive part is mailing it out. The mailing process is handled by a local mail house company. We send this company the client and prospect lists, and they take care of printing the appropriate address information to assure that I get the cheapest rate possible. With the new software that my mailing house uses they are able to make sure all addresses are current and that the address I am using actually exists. As of now, we are only paying about $.18 per newsletter.
New Trends
The newest feature that we are incorporating into our direct mail pieces are QR mobile tags. You see these in magazines ads, on store shelf item descriptions and on product packaging. They are those funny looking squares with random designs inside of them. A QR code (short for Quick Response) allows the user of an app-equipped smart phone to access specific information. Most of the time they take you to a website with additional product information. We take advantage of this technology by linking the QR code to a URL; we do not use our website, but instead the code goes to a specific Animoto video on our YouTube channel. The amazing benefit of a video is it allows you to use as many images as you need in order to get your point across. Furthermore, since Google owns YouTube, uploading (not linking) our videos helps to raise our organic search listings.
Taking advantage of these new technologies is important. It shows our clients that we care while introducing us to new clients. It shows that we are modern and technologically ahead of the curve, always learning. Finally, it reduces costs over what we were doing previously.
Check out the below video for additional details on how the Homans use their newsletter to market their studio and how you can make this work for your business:
