Social media engagement and search engine optimization are getting more and more attention from marketers these days, and some companies have moved away from using email newsletters to communicate with consumers. potential and current customers. But according to market and consumer data firm Statista, the number of email users worldwide is expected to reach 4.6 billion users by 2025. For this reason, email must always be the lifeblood of your self-storage marketing strategy.

A well-designed newsletter can be leveraged to build customer loyalty and brand awareness, as well as improve your business results. If you don’t have an email newsletter yet, it may be easier than you think to create one. Let’s look at how this can benefit your self-storage operation and some tips for creating successful mailings.

Benefits of the newsletter

Regularly connecting with your self-storage audience via an email newsletter can provide several benefits. Here are five key benefits:

1. It keeps your brand in mind. Send your newsletters regularly to keep your brand and message in front of customers. If people can easily remember your name, they’re likely to contact you directly when they need storage rather than doing a general online search.

2. It increases brand loyalty and builds customer trust. When used correctly, a newsletter can be a very effective way to build trust and create a personal connection with self-storage customers. When you regularly provide subscribers with useful and relevant content, it will increase their trust in your brand. Over time, they will come to believe and trust your organization as a quality resource for products, services, and information.

3. It increases website traffic. To convert leads into paying customers, readers need to feel invited, encouraged, and enticed to visit your website and browse the content. Use clear call-to-action language in your newsletter to entice readers to click.

4. It drives sales and amplifies campaigns. Email newsletters can easily incorporate messages that stimulate a purchase or increase reader knowledge about specific product features or site amenities. They can also be a timely way to notify customers of current or upcoming sales and promotions. Additionally, you can use your sends to qualify leads by monitoring whether they open your emails and click on links.

5. It lets you own your content and subscriber list. As soon as you post content to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you are giving up certain rights to it. In most cases, the platform owns the content you post as well as your subscriber list. This is why it is essential to create your own mailing list. There are no restrictions on how you can communicate with these contacts, regardless of the email service they use. Additionally, you own all of the content you create and submit.

Creation of newsletters

Now that you can see that there are clear benefits to engaging your self-storage audience via an email newsletter, let’s explore some strategies for creating successful mailings.

Identify your strategy and set goals. Setting clear goals for your self-storage newsletter is essential from the start. Think about what you want to accomplish through email marketing. Looking to promote your blog or increase your website visibility? Maybe you want to increase social media engagement, raise awareness of your business, or give followers an exclusive first look at new products and services. Knowing in advance what you want to achieve will make it easier to determine the tone, imagery and layout of your newsletter.

Select an email management system. Even if you’re starting small with just a few hundred or even a few dozen subscribers, it’s wise to invest in an email management system. Services like Mailchimp offer out-of-the-box solutions that have become popular due to their affordability, ease of use, and quality templates. Do your homework and consider several options. Choosing the right platform for your goals and technical needs is essential.

Create a subscriber list. Although a strong and growing list of newsletter subscribers is the ultimate goal, you don’t need thousands of contacts to get started. Start small by engaging in more direct conversations with your readers. Solicit feedback and rate what your audience wants to see. When you’re ready to grow your list, host a giveaway or contest. Another way to start a steady flow of interest is to offer exclusive content. Whatever you do, make sure you’re providing genuine value to readers. Consumers are savvy and don’t appreciate tactics that overpromise and underdeliver, or worse, present themselves as spam.

Be upfront and set expectations. Make sure it’s clear to potential subscribers that they’re signing up for a recurrent newsletter. It is important that they have a clear way to opt in or opt out. When someone signs up, let them know what to expect, including whether they’ll receive your newsletter weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Set expectations, then hold your self-storage business accountable for meeting them.

To be coherent. Building a successful newsletter requires a consistent approach. Once you’ve set frequency expectations and found a style that represents both your brand and your audience, stick with it. Readers respond to cohesive design with consistency and fluidity.

Create quality content. The readability and quality of your self-storage newsletter will determine whether subscribers choose to continue receiving your emails. Stay focused on your target audience and your message. Your brand or content niche may lend itself to a lengthy pitch, but it doesn’t always have to be. 100-200 word newsletters, with click-to-read options, can be quite successful and even get more engagement than a long read. The key is to figure out what’s valuable to your readers, then stay on message.

Optimize for mobile. Make sure your newsletter is optimized for the mobile experience. According to marketing services provider 99firms, approximately 47% of consumers use a mobile device to check their emails. Depending on your audience, this number could be higher. Make sure your template is mobile-friendly and images and copy are automatically optimized for viewing on various devices. Litmus and Email on Acid are great resources to help you test.

Don’t underestimate the importance of strong subject lines and preview text. The subject line of your newsletter has a significant impact on whether a recipient opens the message. Preview text, usually in the top corner, is of similar importance and often visible to the user before opening. Compelling and catchy headlines will keep recipients reading and staying focused on the goal: your content! Keep titles short and sweet. Up to 70 characters is a good rule of thumb, although shorter is ideal where possible.

Track performance. Don’t just send your hard work to cyberspace and walk away. Identify key metrics such as bounce rate, open rate, click-through rate, and unsubscribe rate. To increase your open rate, try adjusting your subject lines or the days and times you send your newsletter. To improve click-through rate, write more eye-catching call-to-action text or make it more visible with bright colors and bold fonts. The results of the newsletter arrive quickly. You’ll have a good idea of ​​how your email is performing within the first 48 hours of sending. Performance will change slightly after this time, but if a subscriber doesn’t open and interact with the email within the first two days, chances are they won’t open it at all.

When executed effectively, email newsletters can be an indispensable part of a self-storage marketing strategy and a great way to keep customers connected to your brand. Follow the steps above to increase audience engagement and grow a bountiful list of followers.

Mike Beutler is a digital content management specialist for Additional storage space Inc., a real estate investment trust and a self-storage management company. He joined the company in 2020 after working in the airline industry for several years. He holds an associate degree from Weber State University and a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State University. For more information, call 866.447.6522; E-mail [email protected].