AE Article

Affordable Marketing
Maintaining Your Mailing List and Creating Newsletters
by Tina Derby

In the last issue (Fall 2003) we talked about how to gather names and info for your mailing list. This month we are going to talk about what you should do with all that information once you get it!

Storing Your Data

One of the best things to do is to invest the time and money into obtaining or building a good database in which you will store your mailing list information. Of course, if you are uncomfortable with computers and don't have anyone to help you, it is possible to keep all your information in a Rolodex or in a notebook. However, by keeping your information in an electronic database you will be able to substantially decrease the amount of time and effort involved in accessing and utilizing that information. Some good database products include the Microsoft Works database and the Microsoft Access database (Access is quite a bit fancier than the Microsoft Works database and will allow you much greater control over your data). If you prefer, you can use Microsoft Excel (or another spreadsheet program) to store your data. However, spreadsheet programs are not really designed for doing this kind of work, so your best bet is to purchase and learn to use a real database, like Microsoft Access.

Organizing Your Data

Once you have a place to keep your data you need to get it properly organized. Try to categorize your information so that you know into what "groups" each contact belongs. This grouping is normally done by adding a "field" to each line (or record) in a database into which one can enter a group, such as "Lessons" or "Breeding" or "Training." By putting each contact with one or more groups, it is then easy to identify all those in a particular group, such as all the people interested in lessons.

It is important to keep these groups of potential customers categorized since, normally, you will "target" (or customize) your marketing to each specific group. After all, if you are having a "winter special" on lessons (10 lessons for just $200), there is no point in sending information about that to someone who owns three broodmares but doesn't ride. Then, of course, there's not much point in sending information about your new stallion's introductory stud fee to people who take lessons but don't own or lease a mare.

Newsletter Topics

When you start working on your newsletter, which should be one of your first uses for your database full of names, you will want to focus the entire issue, or at least part of each issue, on the different categories of people in your database. If you have just a stallion, but do not teach lessons, then you really don't need to bother filling your newsletter with articles on how to learn to post or how to keep your heels down when riding. Conversely, if you only have a lesson program you should fill your newsletter with basic riding and training information but not with pedigree information or tidbits on how to help a mare when she foals. In other words, be sure to target your newsletter to your potential customers, even if that means leaving out some stuff that you think is interesting. After all, the newsletter is not about what you think is interesting, but what your readers think is interesting.

For those who have both stallions and lesson programs (or broodmare bands or horses for sale or a combination of any of those things) it might make sense to write a newsletter that contains information that is of interest to all of your potential clients. By combining all pertinent topics into one newsletter you will probably save yourself a good deal of money if you are printing it with a commercial printer, since you won't have to pay several setup charges, which you would have to do if you were to print separate newsletters for each of your target markets. If you are going to go with a combined newsletter, however, be very sure to format your newsletter in such a way that people can easily find the information that interests them. Often this can be done by keeping similar information in separate areas of your publication. So, page 1 might contain info on riding basics, while page 2 is all about pedigrees and how to foal out a mare.

If you are going to do an electronic newsletters (to be sent via e-mail or posted on a web site), be sure to provide readers with both an HTML and TEXT ONLY version. Electronic newsletters can be cheaper than printed ones, but only if your readers can access it.

Designing Your Newsletter

Unless you are a professional designer who has created newsletters before, it is probably worth the money to pay someone to help you setup your first newsletter or maybe to just handle the layout of it entirely. If you are printing on paper, be sure to find someone who knows a lot about that kind of thing. If you are creating an electronic newsletter then you should get help from a person who is familiar with the intricacies of e-mail, web sites, etc. Good designers, for either paper or electronic publishing, will normally cost around $30 to $50 per hour. As with many things, yes, you might be able to avoid that cost by doing it yourself, but the end result will probably not be as good as what a professional can do and it may even end up costing you a lot more, especially if you make any "beginners mistakes," which is quite probable, since you will be a beginner.

Creating Newsletter Content

If you aren't a good writer or if you don't have time to write the content for your newsletter, don't despair. You can get good content simply by hiring someone to do the writing for you! Many of the people who write for the equine publications that you read every day are willing and quite able to do freelance work for people like you! Of course, as in most things, different writers have different specialties. So, it is best to ask the writer to work on topics with which he or she is familiar. If you do this, you may need to hire two or more writers, depending on the diversity of your content. Most writers in the equine industry will get paid between five and ten cents per word for their work. Of course, that is just a rough figure, but it gives you some idea of what it will cost you for that kind of help.

Even if you hire a writer to help you, try to write at least one article in each issue yourself (or have your trainer or breeding manager write the article). This is important because it creates the perception that you (or your trainer or breeding manager) are authorities on the subjects about which you write (and let's hope you really are). Also, writing at least one article in each issue of your newsletter allows you to create a more personal connection with your readers (something that can really set your business apart from the crowd).

Always remember, too, that pictures, drawings and other graphics are very appealing to most people. Also, most people respond well to colors, so try to keep some color in your publication, even if that only means you use colored paper to print it on. If you want to try printing in full-color you should probably check out www.colorprintingcentral.com. They have some of the best rates in the industry and they are wonderful to work with. If your newsletter is small, you can consider printing it yourself on a color inkjet or laser printer. This is certainly not free, since the ink/toner for these can be costly, but it's usually a lot cheaper than going to a commercial printer.

Next time we will talk about how often you should publish your newsletter and also we will talk about some different ideas on how to help offset the cost of publication. Meantime, if you have any questions or ideas on this topic, please e-mail me at tderby@TheArabianExperts.com.