The Spa Email Newsletter - useful or a nuisance?

The Spa Email Newsletter – useful or a nuisance?

I am convinced about using email newsletter for Spa businesses.

Really?

Absolutely, and I am sharing with you why:

Why email marketing?

Spa Marketeers are going to have to learn how to bring messages across with frequency at low cost if they are to cope with the increasing competition for the spa guest’s attention.

It is all about reachability. Mass marketing bears the risk of divergence loss. Traditional advertisement such as TV, newspaper or magazines may not reach your target spa customer.

However email is very direct and more personal. A much better way of focussing on the person and directly communicating with her.

The ROI for the spa email newsletter as marketing activities is high, compared to other marketing efforts, some say even 1:40 (for every dollar spent, your return is 40 dollars).

Newsletters are one of the most powerful marketing tools!

Advantages of Email

emails are a direct, personal contact into a person’s private inbox
email make a great platform to build a relationship with a person as they can work as two way communication channel
everyone reads emails and finds them important
not everyone does read all social media posts
email inboxes are unlimited pickup points, unlike social media where posts can disappear after a short while
email is measurable: who opens the email, at what time, which was the most read topic etc.
longer texts, more information can be send compared to social media
email is private, not public like social media
checking emails is strongly embedded in most people’s every day workflow, I for example check my emails several times a day
email is not likely to disappear soon

Like Numbers?

Here are some interesting figures of the 100 Epic Email Marketing Statistics.

2.7 billion Estimated number of email users by 2017 Source
91% Consumers who check their email at least daily Source
74% Online adults who prefer email over direct mail for commercial communications Source
60% Marketers who believe email is an ROI-producing activity Source
66% Online consumers that have made a purchase as a result of an email Source
71% Consumers aged 45-54 that have made a purchase as a result of an email Source
33% Email recipients that open emails based only on the subject line Source
2-5pm Time of day when most emails are opened Source
10pm-9am The worst time to send emails Source

screenshot mailchimp.com

Concerns and Spam

But aren’t emails seriously old-fashioned and dusty; I mean they have been around for more than 30 years, and aren’t there better channels such as social media nowadays?

Email unfortunately seem to have an image problem, particularly when thinking about uncool spam.

Spam is not sexy, unethical and provides little value, yet there is a lot out there, so it must be working after all, right?

No no, don’t worry, I am not going to praise spam, I am far from that.

The point I am trying to make is that the medium email as such is not uncool, but those senders are that misuse it in an unethical way for spam.

Of course you do not want to get on your guests nerves with your spa email newsletters!

So here is how to do better.

How to do it right then

focus not on selling via your spa email newsletter but instead on communication and building a relationship, by providing useful information, exclusive offers, a give away etc. Be clear in defining what your newsletter promise is to your spa guest, what is the value they receive
be ethical: always provide the unsubscribe / opt out option
respect laws and regulations, such as double opt-in, like I use for TalkWellness. The double opt in option (you provide your email address on my website and receive an email from me in which you can confirm that you really like to receive my newsletter) is mandatory for example in Germany
use a mail service ( such as mailchimp.com which I use for TalkWellness) that provides you with automated sending features, statistics, subscriber management and much more.
always ask for permission and be clear about how often you are going to send your newsletter (daily, weekly, quarterly etc).

How to collect email addresses for your spa – 5 ideas

Do you need to reinvent how you relate to your spa guests?

Here are 5 ideas how to collect email addresses in your spa to built up your email list:

personal invite from the receptionist: I would say in 99% of the spas that I visit, I am NOT asked about if I wish to leave my email address on check out.
pop up window on your homepage: the pop up window makes it easy for the website visitor to subscribe to your newsletter without having to click around to find the box. I use a plug-in which allows me to set the frequency, how often the pop up window appears, which I have set to 14 days as to not annoy you with pop ups every time you open a new page on my site.
Consultation card: most spas ask the spa guest to fill out a consultation card to learn more about potential contraindications, about life style and behaviour, preferences etc. Use one single line on the consultation card for the spa guest to leave their email address.
give away in exchange for the email address: maybe liaise with a product house partner and give away samples or vouchers as a thank you for your guest’s trust leaving their email address with you.
Provide a link to your newsletter subscription landing page in your spa booking confirmation email.

Remember: you want the person’s permission, that you may write emails to them.

Conclusion

Keeping your newsletter personal, valuable, ethical and elegant will accelerate your spa marketing efforts! Spa Email Newsletter is an easy way of bringing messages across with frequency at low cost!

I hope you have enjoyed this article. Let me know, if you wish assistance with this topic in your spa, happy to help!