Got Mail? Using a Newsletter to Connect with Your Senior Living Community
Posted by Donna Mae Scheib on December 08, 2017
Got Mail? Using a Newsletter to Connect with Your Senior Living Community
Not sure if your followers are seeing your social media posts? While social media is still relatively new in the internet world, another form of content communication has been around for a long time: email.
Nearly 60% of adults check their email first thing in the morning and around 89% of adults check their email at least once a day—this is a huge number that points to a great way of showing off what is happening in your senior living community. A newsletter to promote your organization—whether it be a nursing home, assisted living community or memory care facility—is a valuable piece to add to your content marketing strategy. It can help your business gain authoritative trust in the eyes of potential residents and their families while showing off what you’re all about!
Here are some ideas on how to create a visually appealing and attention-grabbing newsletter campaign that your audience will always want to open!
Make your newsletter your own
There are many templates available via Google search to help you get started on putting together an attractive newsletter. To add personality, feature photos of your business rather than stock photos, and use the same business logo in your newsletter that you use for other branded communications; this will provide the newsletter with a sense of consistency, authority, and familiarity. Finally, stick to a friendly font that is readable and appropriate to the brand.
Be consistent and take advantage of automation
Piggybacking on the point above, many online newsletter campaign platforms offer templates that you can adjust and save so that the only thing you need to swap out each campaign is the messaging and maybe some imagery.
In addition to having a consistent look, you should also send your newsletter out inconsistent time intervals, whether weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly. Being consistent helps to create trust. Most newsletter campaign management platform will allow you to schedule campaign release dates and times well in advance of the newsletter’s release, making it easy to plan ahead and incorporate newsletter development into your marketing calendar.
Platforms to consider include Mailchimp, which is free for most small businesses, or—if you don’t mind paying a little for bonus features— Emma. Whatever you choose, be sure to go through the platform’s tutorials and help guides to ensure you’re getting the most out of what’s offered.
Make an offer your visitors can’t refuse
What can you offer to your email subscribers? Can you offer valuable reads, free downloads or other incentives? Promising (and delivering) high-quality content makes your company stand out and encourages your website’s visitors to join your email list, in turn creating more opportunities to pass on information about your senior living facility.
Do not add users to your list without explicit permission
The people who subscribe to your newsletter via a sign-up form on your website (or occasionally via hard copy forms at events and other physical locations) are the people that want to receive your newsletter. Don’t automatically add people to your newsletter list just because you have their email address. Not only can this turn off potential residents and their families, but there may also be legal ramifications in doing so.
Make your calls to action stand out
Use the subject line—the first thing your email subscribers are likely to read when they see your message in their inboxes—to make an attractive statement that will get people excited to open your email. It doesn’t need to be fancy; stick to simple headlines that tell your subscribers exactly what they are going to be reading. Do you want your subscribers to come to an event, open house or information meeting? Say so loud and clear! Include contact information, addresses, “click here” buttons to guide subscribers to your website, etc.
Test and test again
After you create your template and content and put the finishing touches on your newsletter campaign, be sure to test sending out the email to make sure everything works as expected. Send it to your own email first to see what it looks like before sending it out to your full subscriber list. Check out how the email appears on both desktop and mobile devices to make sure nothing is lost or unreadable when opened on a smartphone or tablet!
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