Okay so since my company, David's Backpack Ponchos, is focused on the outdoors/hiking/camping aspect as well as trends for using clear backpacks, I think that the majority of my business will be seasonal and so my newsletters will follow suit. With that said, there is also the environmental aspect of trying to use recycled plastic materials in the products so that can be an ongoing newsletter as well.
For the outdoors part of the business, content that includes current events would probably be most useful and engaging, probably on a monthly basis. Obviously my product would be used more during the rainy season for backpackers and hikers so it might make sense to increase some traffic with sales, promotions and product launches during that time. This group of customers probably also care more about the environmental impacts of the products and how they can contribute to the environmental cause so I might include environmental current events related to plastic waste/uses as well.
The other major use of my products I imagine would be for school/vacation use and doing a newsletter launch during the summer and back-to-school season could be beneficial. I would probably use younger and family-oriented content to try to engage with the audience that would connect to these uses of my product. More and more there are places that require clear bags/backpacks to check in to such as theme parks and stadiums so I would write content and take pictures of these examples to show my customers.
For content layout, I do like the idea of a big banner on top that highlights a promotion but other than that I like the layout of having a small summary paragraph with a large thumbnail image to the left or right of it, similar to what you would see on a news summary page; this allows for quick scrolling and an easy to see summary of content that is not so annoying. I am subscribed to a plant newsletter that my work sends out and they do use large images, more feminine colors and type font with what the company is trying to push for the season. On the bottom there is always the social media links and the promotions that are always happening, no matter what time of year it is.
-DavidT
It's smart to keep in mind that your product is a seasonal item. Using newsletters could be a good way to stay fresh on your customers' mind though. Maybe during off seasons you could focus your efforts to locations that see rain year round, such as Hawaii or Seattle.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I think your product gives you a lot of room to share personal stories of people using your product on trips or how it helped them in a pinch. I think a newsletter would be a great place to show off some of these stories!
Nice write up!
I like your thought out approach to your business and newsletters. I want to add to Austin's point that sharing stories in the off season will keep you top of mind for the seasons they may use your products. Stories are such a wonderful way to connect with an current customers and ignite potential ones. You have such a solid niche business I would recommend increasing your newsletters to weekly during the season and at minimum twice a month the rest of the time of the year. Garner testimonials and interviews of clients who use your products. Also, a really great idea is to give a shout out to some of your subscribers personally - makes them feel special and other subscribers will want to get your attention, too. Then you really build your tribe.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI really love how much in depth you go in with this topic and it shows that you are passionate about it. I know that you could be able to use this for your business since it's one of those companies that you are expecting to get a subscription from. But overall good job.