I have written quite a few times about the value of having a growing website featuring new articles about your work, but also the value of having a regular newsletter.
A study in the US of people making purchases found that whilst search was still the most common method of attracting a customer, newsletters were not too far behind.
Interestingly social networks such as Facebook and Twitter were not that effective.
More here - Study: Email Lands More Customers Than Facebook Or Twitter, But Still Fewer Than Organic Search
Why I think this is important for landscapers and garden designers is that people will begin making decisions and gathering ideas via search engines.
And despite the report claiming Twitter and Facebook are not as effective there is nothing stopping you using these to highlight what you are doing on your site and in your newsletter.
Related: Give others your garden projects to 'tweet, like and share'
If you have been regularly updating your website this will help in search engine result listings, moving people from a search result to your site.
There they can read some of your writing, and more importantly you can put in front of them a simple newsletter sign-up form.
Don't ask for a long list of details, an email address is fine, and you could even offer a simple guide in .pdf format offering tips and advice should they sign up.
Then every couple of weeks you send a newsletter mentioning updates to the site, descriptions of recent projects and any other interesting thoughts or ideas.
As people continue their research into a garden design or project your latest newsletter is in their inbox and your contact details are a click away.
It is something that takes time and requires a dollop of patience, but you can gain sustenance from seeing your newsletter subscription list growing, the number of people reading your website rising and hopefully some new clients to work with.
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Could i say i like the idea and would happily consider using a newsletter to my regular customers and potential client, the issue i would have is i wouldn't know where to start with a newsletter and what content should be included ?
Hi Benjamin,
The technology behind the newsletter is not very difficult, two services I have used are MadMimi and Mailchimp.
They are very low cost, if not free, so this will enable you to find your feet with how they work.
The biggest issue I have found with people is creating interesting articles for the newsletter, that's where the second link in the above piece comes in.
Give others your garden projects to 'tweet, like and share'
It offers a detailed outline of article ideas from your day-to-day work that highlight your latest projects and skills, but which include helpful advice and tips.
So here is an initial idea of the steps involved:
1. Sign up to the newsletter service, this provides you with an opt-in form you include on every page of your website.
2. Just ask for an email address in this opt-in form, don't make it difficult for people to keep up to date with you.
3. Using a recent project or job you have done, write up a piece about what you did, how it helped your client, what problems you faced and tackled, maybe a small photograph to illustrate. Around 500 words will be fine.
4. Leave the write up overnight and come back to it to check for grammar and any spelling errors.
5. Use one of the simple, single column templates within your email account to copy and paste your article in to. Include a sign off with your name and contact details at the end.
6. Send.
Rinse and repeat, and keep thinking how can I help people on my email list with their gardens, what simple tips can I pass on.
I hope this help, but any questions just shout.