The Benefits of Sending out a Monthly Email Newsletter
Just over a year ago we began sending out a regular monthly email newsletter from our team at Sandbox. Prior to this, we had only been using social media to connect with our users. We wanted to extend our reach to keep all of our Sandbox customers, as well as other interested parties, up-to-date with what’s happening at our company. After implementing our monthly newsletter, we received lots of positive feedback and responses from our child care customers who said that the newsletters help them to feel more in touch with what is happening at our company. We use the monthly newsletters to share exciting news, information about new features and upcoming events, as well as updates that we are working on at Sandbox Software.
Not all child care centers may not see the value in the extra work that it takes to send a monthly newsletter. However, especially if you are running a larger child care center or a multi-location company, a monthly newsletter can be an excellent method of communicating with your parents. When you’re dealing with hundreds of parents, it’s nearly impossible to stay connected with everyone on a personal level. And you would be surprised at how many people are interested in receiving email communication when it’s applicable to them. A study by MarketingSherpa shows that a staggering 91% of Americans want to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with.
Three Benefits
There are a number of benefits that both you and your parents will experience when you begin sending out a monthly newsletter. Here are the three main benefits that we feel your center will experience when you begin sending out a monthly newsletter:
Improved Communication: The newsletter is an excellent way for you to communicate multiple things at one time to everyone on your mailing list. The efficiency of this is that the recipients can choose to only read the information that is applicable or of interest to them. Ideally you will want to send the newsletter from your main center email address so that they can respond directly to you to share feedback or ask questions.
Extended Reach: Don’t restrict your newsletter to only parents of children at your center. Promote your newsletter on your website and make it easy for anyone to sign up. You should also promote the newsletter through your social media accounts. This will enable you to communicate with people who may be interested in using your care services in the future. A monthly newsletter is an unobtrusive way to help them learn more about you and feel more comfortable with the level of service that you provide so that your center is top of mind when they begin looking for child care.
Stronger Relationships: Communicating with parents through a monthly newsletter will provide parents with a better understanding of the ongoing activities as they’re happening at your center. This will help them to feel more involved and better connected to you and your staff. One idea to help create better personal relationships between parents and your staff is to feature one employee in the newsletter each month. A picture and a brief background on the featured employee of the month will help parents get to know your staff on a more personal level, and build relationships with them more easily.
Four Software Options
Ready to start sending out a monthly newsletter? Once you’ve put together the content for it, you can simplify the process of building the newsletter with email marketing software. Many software options are even available for free if you have less than a thousand contacts. Most offer drag and drop email builders, making it easy to give your newsletter a professional look. Check out these four awesome email marketing options below.
Mailchimp: If you are a small business looking to get started with easy-to-use email marketing software, then MailChimp should be part of your toolbox.
Campaign Monitor: They lack live support and third-party integrations, but Campaign Monitor offers a simple way to connect with your audience through email marketing, including auto-responders and analytics.
Benchmark: Simple and easy to us, Benchmark is a great for beginners and is a lower cost option. The trade-off is that it doesn’t provide as many features and integrations as some of the other companies.
Emma: An all around comprehensive email marketing software that enables you to easily share a personal touch. Great for both small and large companies.
